The Vulnerable Leader
As you may have noticed from many of my posts, I am a strong advocate for vulnerability-based leadership, and I base my entire leadership philosophy on it. Interestingly, this approach was not always viewed as a sign of strength, particularly when leading sales organizations earlier in my career.
Typical traits of sales leaders in the early to mid-2000s included:
Refusal to admit or own mistakes
Fear-based leadership
One-size-fits-all leadership approach
Dislike of having their ideas challenged
Need to know all the answers
Although some of these leaders experienced financial success, it was never sustainable. Sales representatives viewed their careers as temporary, opting to leave the high-stress rat race as soon as they saved enough money or got out of debt. As a result, physical and mental health were at an all-time low.
Leaders even boasted about sales reps who closed deals while hospitalized, glorifying the harmful and unsustainable work culture. They would joke about convincing sales reps to buy cars they couldn't afford, using the car payment as their best "assistant manager" to hit their quota.
It may sound crazy, but this type of "old school" sales philosophy was the norm.
So what is vulnerability-based leadership? It is essentially the opposite of what was explained above. So let’s avoid leadership lessons from Ben Affleck in Boiler Room!
Here are a few traits of a vulnerable leader:
Authentic and comfortable in their own skin
Admits mistakes and takes accountability
Practices humility
Empathetic, but transparent
Embraces and acknowledges their weaknesses
Being a vulnerable leader means being authentic, being a good human being, and understanding that the team you lead is also human. Although it sounds easy, surprisingly, most leaders I mentor struggle with this. One of the biggest reasons for the struggle is the difficulty of being confident, authentic, and comfortable in one's own skin, which is the topic I’ll go deep on next week.
Over the next few weeks, I will practice what I preach and explore each of these areas as an open book. I will share my own personal experiences and struggles with the hope that it can give each of you the confidence to do the same. To end this, I’ll leave you with an awesome quote from the Vulnerable queen herself, Brene Brown.
“We desperately need more leaders who are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather than unevolved leaders who lead from hurt and fear.”
-Brené Brown
