The Strength of Vulnerable Leaders
In
business, vulnerability is generally seen as weakness. Recent headlines scream
for business to avoid vulnerability or suffer the consequences: “30%
of Auto Parts Retailers’ Business Is Vulnerable to Amazon,” “Five
Industries Most Vulnerable to Digital Disruption,” “Apple
Users Are Also Vulnerable to WannaCry-Type Attacks.” Having a strategy or a model or a position that is
susceptible to attack is the last thing investors, executives, and employees
want. By the same token, personal vulnerability is considered a liability
for leaders. Conventional wisdom holds that it is difficult to lead or
negotiate or make demands from a position of perceived weakness.
But it
turns out that the popular perception of vulnerability is a myth — one that
keeps leaders from being effective. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to
believe that vulnerability can be an asset for leaders, as Emma Seppala argued
in this
2014 Harvard Business Review article. Why? Vulnerable leaders inspire, are more authentic,
and build bonds that lead to increased performance.
Brené
Brown, a well-known author and vulnerability
researcher at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, gives
us a new lens through which to view vulnerability. In her book Daring
Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love,
Parent, and Lead, Brown argues that vulnerability is
“engaging in life, being all in, dedicating yourself to something.” Put another
way, embracing vulnerability means having the courage to face your fears and
the wild uncertainty of the future. A vulnerable leader decides that she will
meet that uncertainty with an open heart, willing to experience all the ups and
downs that come with it. Vulnerable leaders know they can confront brutal
realities head-on while maintaining faith they will ultimately prevail. Once a
leader decides to be open and all-in — to be vulnerable — several positive
outcomes follow.
Vulnerability
inspires teams.
In
2011, professors Peter Fuda and Richard Bahdman, of Australia’s Macquarie
Graduate School of Management, conducted an in-depth
study of seven CEOs that had experienced
remarkable personal growth and professional success in their businesses.
Vulnerability emerged as a key theme from their interviews and linguistic
analysis. One of their subjects, Clynton, a managing director of a large Germany
beauty corporation, had received harsh feedback that he was too direct and
his style was harming the team. Rather than hide this information, he chose to
be vulnerable. Clynton presented his failings and his dedication to improve at
an annual meeting of his top 60 managers. Doing so generated tremendous
personal support for his goals and inspired his team. The organization has
outperformed its competitors in the six years since the meeting.
Vulnerability
is required for authenticity.
We know
that authenticity helps build trust, which is especially valuable now, when
trust in business and leaders in general is sorely lacking. And authenticity
means being open and honest about your beliefs and values. Authentic behaviors
include admitting mistakes, showing emotion, and not hiding behind a
manufactured facade. It’s impossible to be authentic without being willing to
be vulnerable.
In their study, Fuda and Bahdman provided
examples of the effectiveness of authenticity. One subject, Mike, the CEO of a
multinational IT outsourcer, suffered an identity crisis after taking the
reins. He vacillated between being overly tough and overly nice, and felt that
he could not be himself. Three months into his tenure, the company’s poor
financial performance touched off questions about his leadership. And so he
consciously went back to his core values — fairness and accountability — and
adopted a more authentic leadership position. In other words, he was vulnerable
enough to be himself and believe in his values. As a result, his team began to
engage with him more positively. Over the next five years, his leadership
ratings and his business’s profits radically improved.
Vulnerability
allows for building greater bonds and increasing emotional connection.
Earlier
this year, I noted teams that bond together through shared experiences
often perform better. Vulnerability plays a key role in laying the groundwork
for such experiences. When leaders are vulnerable, they are more open and
emotionally available, which creates more bonding opportunities and improves
team performance.
In seeking to connect with our inner
vulnerability, we face a significant obstacle. We are socialized, educated, and
trained to build up our defenses against vulnerability. Which means we have to
consciously build the capacity to be vulnerable, a counterintuitive and
uncomfortable undertaking.
From personal experience, I’ve learned that
building the confidence to be embarrassed is one way to do so. When I was in
officer training in the U.S. Army, senior infantry officers told me that
soldiers will give you a nickname, often a disparaging one. Our leaders told us
not to worry about what the nickname was, although we should worry if we don’t
get one, as it meant our soldiers hadn’t really accepted us as leaders. A year
later I was a Second Lieutenant and took over a platoon that had already been
in some of the most extreme combat that soldiers had seen in Iraq, including
Fallujah in 2004 and the original retaking of Mosul in 2005. I could not match
these soldiers on experience, but I still had to lead the platoon.
Within
a month or so, while on patrol, one of my best soldiers absent-mindedly asked
me, “Sir, you want to know what the guys call you?” Our unit was called the
Deathmasters, so I hoped for a similarly intimidating nickname. He replied,
“Bubble Boy.” He explained further: “Originally they called you Donnie Darko
because you look like Jake Gyllenhaal’s unfortunate cousin, but we thought that
sounded too cool.” I was embarrassed by the nickname. I had led from the front
on our patrols and raids and thought the name implied I was avoiding danger. I
also felt that calling me boy was disrespectful of my rank and
position.
Instead of reacting with shame or anger, I
accepted the nickname. I knew I had the best infantry training the Army could
provide and was a capable leader. I was not afraid to be vulnerable. And over
the next 90 days our platoon decreased attacks in our area and captured several
high-value targets. Even today, Bubble Boy is one of the names I’m most proud
of.
Leaders do not have to be perfect in order to
be successful. Quite the opposite. Admitting mistakes, being open and honest,
and accepting foibles and flaws yields far more effective results than
projecting an untouchable facade. Tough leaders may inspire through fear or
intimidation. Vulnerable leaders inspire with authenticity and humanity. And
it’s the latter that is more likely to yield better results.
Augusto Giacoman
https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/The-Strength-of-Vulnerable-Leaders?gko=5ff21&utm_source=itw&utm_medium=20171130&utm_campaign=resp
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