Cultivate a Culture of Trust with Vulnerable Leadership
Would you consider yourself a vulnerable leader?
We’ve all worked with a colleague who would avoid asking for help, contributing in meetings or receiving criticism simply due to a lack of trust. In fact, a culture of mistrust exists in many companies and stifles growth, innovation and reputation while repelling the best talent from joining the organisation.
We are a massive advocate for Patrick Lencioni’s “5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, which are:
Absence of trust
Fear of conflict
Lack of commitment
Avoidance of accountability
Inattention to results
The absence of trust is often cited as the root cause of the remaining five dysfunctions. A high performing team consists of colleagues who trust each other’s knowledge, skill and intent. A team with no trust spends most of their energy mired in quarrel, fear and other dysfunctions.
So, how does a CEO or a team leader build this foundation of trust? We were fortunate to work with a client whose courage to expose personal vulnerability in the workplace created a real-time trust building chain reaction.
As we set out on our two-day strategic planning retreat, we did what Patrick Lencioni calls the “Personal Histories” exercise. This entails all participants (starting with the CEO) discussing their answers to three questions:
Where did you grow up?
Which order were you in your family?
What was your most significant childhood memory (learning)?
The CEO led by example. Visibly emotional about a significant struggle and learning from his childhood, he set the tone. What followed were truly raw and sincere accounts from the rest of the leadership team. Tears flowed from almost every executive as they dug deep to recount a struggle and the lesson within.
Whilst many on this team had known each other for a number of years, they all learned something new about one another. Showing vulnerability and openness was certainly a leap of faith for the whole team and very different from the usual stoic, objective and action-oriented approach to their business and teamwork.
By sharing deeply personal stories, an immeasurable foundation was laid. This was crucial for an organisation wanting to take the next big step in its growth journey.
It was no surprise that the remainder of the two days were absolutely sensational. Colleagues took risks putting forward their thoughts and perspectives where they would typically have held back. This organisation has now put in place a one strategic plan that is fully owned by its leadership team. The company has also implemented an accountability framework that positions them well to ensure that the strategy is brought to life on a daily basis and will be executed in a highly trustful and collaborative manner.
Most importantly, this organisation’s leadership is now bolstered by deep personal connections and a new level of trust from being honest, authentic and extremely vulnerable. These are the key ingredients for an organisation to achieve its lofty goals and ambitions. I am grateful to have had an opportunity to support them on their exciting journey.
Some of you will say, this stuff is all too “soft and fluffy”. I personally don’t see anything "soft and fluffy” about an organisation taking its performance to the next level!
To reiterate — sometimes our greatest strength comes from our most vulnerable place.
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