{"id":970,"date":"2025-01-28T13:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/powerinsideout.com\/?p=970"},"modified":"2026-02-13T15:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:43:51","slug":"naked-leadership-when-strength-lies-in-showing-vulnerability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powerinsideout.com\/en\/naked-leadership-when-strength-lies-in-showing-vulnerability\/","title":{"rendered":"Naked Leadership: When Strength Lies in showing vulnerability"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Naked Leadership: When Strength Lies in showing vulnerability<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Driving Rapid Growth for Your Company with Fortune 500 Best Practices | Digital Transformation Leader | Leadership Development | Sales Director | Certified Organizational Coach |<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

January 28, 2025<\/span><\/p>

Every leader strives to be their best. Over the years, I’ve attended many leadership training courses, but only in the last years did I start to hear about a crucial skill: vulnerability.<\/span><\/p>

Why is this new topic present?<\/span><\/p>

When a company hires a leader, it’s about that leader’s knowledge and leadership capabilities. That leader comes to help the team or company grow using their experience. If you’re the CEO, everyone that goes to you for a question wants your wisdom. If you promote an individual contributor to a leader, it’s because of the capabilities that person has demonstrated. So, as leaders, we tend to think we need to bring the answers, and when that happens, we’re successful leaders. Given that situation, saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not good at this” might seem like saying you’re not fit for the job.<\/span><\/p>

A few years back, I was assigned leadership of a new team spanning Latin America and Canada. While I had a strong track record in Latin America, building trust with the Canadian team presented a unique challenge. Initially, I felt compelled to present myself as a seasoned leader who could effortlessly handle the role. However, the reality was that I had limited knowledge of the Canadian market. This disconnect left me worried about being perceived as underqualified for my new responsibilities.<\/span><\/p>

In hindsight, I realized that authentic leadership would have been a more effective approach. By acknowledging my expertise in Latin America while being open about my need to learn about the Canadian market, I could have fostered a more collaborative and trusting relationship with my new team members.<\/span><\/p>

Vulnerability: What Does It Really Mean?<\/span><\/p>

Vulnerability means openness, susceptibility, and the willingness to expose one’s weaknesses or emotional state. At its core, vulnerability represents the condition of being potentially exposed to others. At work, this seems extremely dangerous. If you’re vulnerable, others may not respect you and people may try to take advantage of you.<\/span><\/p>

The reality:<\/span> vulnerability is not a weakness, but a strategic strength that can transform organizational culture and leadership effectiveness. The most profound understanding of vulnerability is not about weakness, but about courage – the strength to be transparent, to acknowledge limitations, and to open oneself to potential risk while maintaining resilience.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

V<\/span>ulnerability means courage<\/span><\/p>\n

Workplace vulnerability doesn’t mean being weak or wimpy, nor does it involve acting like a pushover. Being vulnerable at work shows employees you are candid, compassionate, and authentic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trust in the Team<\/span><\/p>\n

When I started training as a coach at Patrick Lencioni’s Workshop, “The 5 dysfunctions of a Team” to deliver the program across the Americas, I learned that to create a cohesive leadership team, a fundamental pillar of the team is to create trust. And to achieve real trust you need “vulnerability-based trust”.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lencioni defines vulnerability-based trust as “a place where leaders comfortably and quickly acknowledge, without provocation, their mistakes, weaknesses, failures, and need for help.” Only when you are open to being vulnerable is when you can really create trust within your team.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Impact of Leadership Vulnerability in our brain<\/span><\/p>

When the leader is capable of being vulnerable, there are impacts on the team:<\/span><\/p>