Su writes, “Speaking with a corporate client, I was intrigued again about the concept of vulnerability in leadership. It seemed that, even in a reasonably open and trusting culture, the area that there was greatest resistance to being vulnerable was about leading people. So asking for feedback on technical expertise, or self-identifying other areas for development were perceived as far easier.

I wonder if this is because leadership feels deeply personal and about values. Perhaps opening up at this depth speaks to the soul and so trust needs to be absolute. But of course if the leaders in our organisations are not prepared to be vulnerable, then this has an impact on others in the organisation too, and can perpetuate, even at a low level, mistrust.

Helping leaders recognise their obstacles in being vulnerable, and deciding what they might choose to do about that can be transformational to enable their own leadership and therefore the experience and performance of those around them.  Although many organisations speak of aspirational values of vulnerability and openness, this can be difficult to live out – for many different reasons!

If this feels like something you as a leader would like to focus on, or if you are in L+D and notice that this might be good to work on as an organisation, do get in touch with us. We can think with you about things that might help: it could be 1:1 coaching, Action Learning Sets or something else.”

Ⓒ 3D Coaching Ltd 2024

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