An Invitation to become a more Vulnerable Leader
Welcome to the Leadership Vision Podcast where we share our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of a strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture.
According to dictionary.com, vulnerability is the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.
Yuck! That sounds terrible, no wonder nobody wants to be vulnerable. Who wants to willingly open themselves up to being attacked?
I certainly don’t, but as it turns out, there’s actually a tremendous amount of positive things that can come from being vulnerable.
A personal hero of many of ours around the Leadership Vision office, is Brene Brown. She is a social scientist, author, speaker, and has done significant research on, and written extensively about the topic of vulnerability.
According to Dr. Brown, Vulnerability is “the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.” It also builds trust, builds resilience, and helps you establish your personal values.
With that in mind, maybe we all should be a little more vulnerable today.
Today on the podcast, Sara Schlipp-Riedel and I talk about vulnerability. We barely scratch the surface of this deep and important topic, but we hope, at least, it will give you the permission to be a little more vulnerable and embody all of who you are meant to be.
We work with a lot of people in all industries, and over and over again, we find them struggling to express the truth of who they are. To put this in Strengths terms, they’re holding back, and not fully living out of the best parts of themselves. Maybe they are a little embarrassed about how Disciplined, or Focused they are. Maybe they don’t like that they are constantly asking questions, or always running to the next thing. I’ve met countless people who are stuffing the best parts of themselves for fear of being rejected, made fun of, or not valued if they are themselves. How many of us struggle with feelings of being not enough, or being too much of something?
Now obviously there is tremendous complexity within each of our individual stories, but we all stand to gain from hearing those stories. Sometimes that takes risking something, stepping out in vulnerability, and asking others to accept who we are.
Sara and I recorded this in what sounds like a cave, or a basement bunker of some type. It kind of was actually, but the echos were tremendous, and I know it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it made me feel a little vulnerable. I considered scrapping it, not wanting to show a less than perfect side of the podcast, but I decided to post it anyway because I think the topic is too important.
About The Leadership Vision Podcast
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in the discovery, practice, and implementation of a strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. We believe that knowing your Strengths is only the beginning. Our highest potential exists in the ongoing exploration of our talents. Subscribe to the Leadership Vision Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
Please contact us if you have ANY questions about anything you heard in this episode or if you’d like to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
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