How showing your vulnerability can help you as a manager
When you are a manager it can be difficult to let your guard down. The pressures of your role mean you may need to withhold confidential information or put on a brave face during tough times. And as change happens quickly, you feel like you need to have all the answers to every question. That can be exhausting, not to mention isolating.
Authenticity and human connections
So, in a world which demands that people, businesses and experiences are authentic, it’s worth emphasising that to be authentic you must also be vulnerable. So, if you thought that showing signs of vulnerability in the workplace might make you appear exposed and less effective as a manager, you might want to rethink?
The latest thoughts from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) illustrate how showing a bit of your human side to your work colleagues in the right situation, can help you to:
Be more open and emotionally available
Build the kind of emotional rapport and bonding with people that creates genuine engagement
Improve team performance and overall productivity
What do we mean by vulnerability?
Vulnerability at work does not mean being weak or submissive. It simply means having the courage to be yourself. So, ditch the armour, put aside any pretences, leave your ego at the door and relax your boundaries. Being a good manager during a pandemic, where everyone is adjusting to a new way of working, relies on vulnerability, awareness, understanding, compassion, empathy, support and reaching out to others. It’s an opportunity to tune in to personal fears and anxieties and share them, so you can help employees and colleagues deal with their own reactions during what is a very stressful time.
Productive work experience
Our advice is to forget about trying to project a certain image. Let your guard down and embrace your vulnerability. And whilst showing your real self and projecting warmth can be daunting at first, before long you will reap the benefits of a more enjoyable and productive work experience and a work culture that becomes a source of energy, creativity and ideas.
As a manager that could mean:
Calling an employee or colleague whose family member is unwell
Reaching out to someone who has just had a loss in their family
Asking someone for help
Taking responsibility for something that went wrong
Sharing lessons learnt from a failure
Being open about plans, goals or beliefs
Listening and understanding, rather than driving the conversation
Setting new examples of the type of communication, culture or teamwork you want
Embracing other people’s ideas
Leading others with transparency, honesty and accountability
According to Entrepreneur.com’s article ‘Being vulnerable is the boldest act of business leadership’ – “A vulnerable leader is comfortable with not having all the answers, engages perspectives and thoughts of their people and does not have to be the first with an idea or the first one to answer.”
Click here to contact me and find out more about how by showing your vulnerability in the right situations can lead to you becoming a better manager.