Effective leadership involves more than just displaying strength; it also requires the courage to be vulnerable. By openly sharing their vulnerability in the workplace, leaders can foster a more cohesive, supportive, and innovative team culture.
Selective Vulnerability in the Workplace
Leaders who spend all their time trying to show everyone how amazing they are do it because they aren’t amazing. If you are amazing you don’t need to show anyone because everyone can see it.
Understanding the fact that you are vulnerable helps in building confidence, sharing ideas and walking through challenges. This is also so true in our personal lives! Years ago I had 2 extremely sick kids, and the advice from our family counselor was for me to stop being a motor who’s pushing through with strength, but to be willing to open up and show my vulnerable side, to share my concerns and worries with my family, so that they feel comfortable doing the same and we can support each other.
There is so much strength in showing some sort of selective vulnerability in the workplace, contrary to popular opinion. It requires tremendous courage and strength to acknowledge vulnerability, just as it does to admit fault, apologize for hurting someone, forgive others, and say sorry – all of which are essential for growth, healing, and building strong relationships. All these are not weaknesses but strength.
Professional vulnerability
To create a culture that employees are engaged in, show employees that they are appreciated and part of the success of the company. They are our most valuable asset and without them we would not be able to produce quality products that customers desire. To bring out the best in your team learn what skills they have and what they are passionate about and allow them to use those skills at work. Where are you vulnerable and where is the team doing the most? This creates trust and a culture of growth. Then you will be able to show them how amazing they are. There is no I in team. Everyone must do row the boat in the same direction in order for it to move forward.
Advantages of selective vulnerability in the workplace
– Open communication is encouraged.
– Empathy is fostered
– Team relationships are strengthened and
– People are psychologically safe to raise their hands and say, “I don’t know” or “I made a mistake.”
Overcoming invulnerability is about the acceptance for other opinions. Acceptance that you might need a support from a senior person during the process.
The essence of leadership lies not in showcasing one’s own greatness, but in recognizing and uplifting the greatness within others. Empowering others and highlighting their strengths can be far more motivating and impactful than simply showcasing one’s own abilities. It inculcates a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and encouraged to excel.
Vulnerability meaning in leadership
Leadership is about recognizing and nurturing the talents and strengths of those around us. Showing vulnerability as a leader supports psychological security of your team members. They’re able to seek guidance, make mistakes, communication clearly, speak-up, open up and be motivated to work diligently.
leadership is designed to be a sincere service to the team, thinking less about own self and focusing more on growth of your teammates, empowering them, offering opportunities to contribute, providing them resources, autonomy and support, appreciating their efforts, allowing them to voice their opinions, ideas, valuing their inputs and sound arguments, listening to them attentively and showing in your actions that you understand their feelings, caring for their needs, celebrating every success, giving credit of success to them, dealing with mistakes constructively, helping them to overcome setbacks, making them believe in themselves, inspiring them to do more, learn more and grow more to become the best they can be.
A leader’s display of vulnerability is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of true strength and courage, a bridge to genuine connection and trust within a team. It’s a strength that highlights a workspace and community where innovation and growth can begin and thrive.
Benefits of being vulnerable at work
As a leader who’s been in the trenches, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of leading with humility and openness. It’s the cornerstone of servant leadership and the path to unlocking true potential in those we guide, showing vulnerability not only creates a culture of open communication, but also solidifies empathy and trust among team members.
It’s unfortunate when leaders perpetuate the misconception that vulnerability equates to weakness. In reality, vulnerability is a leadership strength that cultivates trust and teamwork. When leaders embrace vulnerability, they create a culture that values authenticity, encourages open communication, and empowers individuals to share their ideas and talents, leading to more effective collaboration and better outcomes. Encouraging vulnerability should no doubt be a hallmark of effective leadership.
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Don’t excuse it, show vulnerabilities, individuals who focus excessively on self-promotion often lack genuine self-confidence. This behavior typically stems from a deficiency in the necessary knowledge and skills required for effective leadership and management. Such individuals may resort to claiming others’ achievements as their own to appear competent, revealing their inadequacies and a propensity for deceit. Consequently, they frequently become liabilities within organizations, contributing to a culture of dishonesty and apathy rather than fostering genuine growth and success.
Vulnerability at Work: 5 Tough examples
- Accepting and conceding to faults, mistakes and shortcomings
- Apologizing to subordinates when you err against them and show remorse.
- Listening to complaints and tryout suggestions of others
- Offering to handle the tough tasks and take inherent responsibilities
- Teaching and sharing knowledge with others when are where necessary.
These examples of vulnerability at work are characterized by being open and honest. It creates a foundation of trust that strengthens the team and fosters genuine collaboration.
Talking about the impact of vulnerability in the workplace and how I coped. It’s sad that in over a decade of working with some amazing, hardworking colleagues, that I was the first to ever tell them something positive about how they worked and what they were like to work with. I was their peer, not even their leader. If any day and in anyway, you have nice words to share to someone, share them because it helps boosts morale and confidence hugely.
The theory of servant leadership is thought to have been coined by Robert Greenleaf, a twentieth-century researcher. Greenleaf considered that the leader should put the emphasis on their team members so that they can become autonomous and free-thinking and proposed a leadership style in which leaders put the needs, aspirations, and interests of their teams above their own but for the ultimate result of growth.