The Power Of Vulnerability

Performance

• When mistakes or weakness are suppressed hidden errors and bottlenecks show their glaring teeth.

• Adversely, sharing challenges early and often will lead to increased adaptability, rapid problem solving and tighter group cohesion.

Growth

• The fear of judgement and reluctance to possible failure cripples individuals from taking risks. This fear leads to stagnation and lost opportunities while reinforcing poor behaviors.

• Having the courage to admit ignorance is the spark that ignites learning, skill development, while building a resilient mindset.

Leadership

• No one respects or wants to work with an ‘infallible’ leader. This ego based facade leads to a fear based culture where potential problems go unaddressed, disengagement is prominent and resentment lives ‘rent free’ in everyones head.

• Those who lead and are open about there struggles offer a trust based culture, fosters a psychological safe space and inspires solution based innovation.

How To Normalize Vulnerability

Perform Like You Mean it

• During projects at work have frequent discussions around what everyone is struggling with. Is it a common issue among the team? What could be root cause? Has anyone tried to implement a solution?

• Request feedback early and often while allowing the phrase “I don’t know..” to be the first step in finding a real solution.
  
  When vulnerability is not only accepted but encouraged groups outperform expectations across effectiveness and innovation metrics. ₍₁₎

Discomfort in Growth

• Setting learning goals instead of just performance lead to behavior and consistency improvements. (i.e. instead of “I will close 5 sales,” set “I will practice active listening in every call”)

• Pushing beyond current skill levels train the brain and leads to adaptability and boosted confidence.

Leadership Takes Courage

• You’re in a leadership role because you earned it and earning it took falling on your face over and over again. Don’t shy away from sharing your experiences, how it made you feel and how you overcame it.

• Be human with your team and admit uncertainty. During the next team goal setting exercise articulate not just the potential positive outcomes but the risks involved.

  61% of employees report feeling more engaged when leaders acknowledge their own challenges. ₍₂₎

Citations

1. Poyton, B. (2024, March 28). Google’s Project Aristotle: How psychological safety captured the world’s attention. Psych Safety

2. Gallup. (2020, April 22). How to improve employee engagement in the workplace. Gallup.