How to lead with vulnerability. In my executive coaching practice, I come across strong and smart women leaders whose success has come from always being prepared, being on, proving that they are smarter and more competent than those they compete with for the next opportunity. In their effort to be perceived as strong they often have a hard time being vulnerable. This can now be the one thing that holds them back from their true leadership potential. How can vulnerability be your biggest strength The recent viral over four million views and counting Ted. Talk by author Brene Brown talks about the importance of vulnerability. It got me thinking about how important vulnerability is as a leadership practice, particularly for transformational leaders. As transformational leaders our greatest source of impact is through connecting with others. Transformational leaders impact through personal influence of who they are rather than their positional power. There can only be limited impact in leadership if we have no way to connect with others beyond our transactional hierarchical positions. According to Brene Brown our ability to be vulnerable requires courage and forms the basis for our connection with others, a connection that is critical if we are to inspire others. Personal Story of Vulnerability. I was recently in my zumba dance class when about half way through the class I noticed an embarrassingly large tear in my zumba pants right around the inseam of the thigh. I was aghast. What if someone else noticed All the spontaneity and the joy of zumba was gone and I spent the vast majority of the rest of the class somewhat self conscious, trying my best to hide the tear, and not making very many moves something sort of counter productive if youre in a zumba class. Ultimately I had a what the heck moment and decided to just come out of the closet, so to speak. Feigning as much nonchalance as I could muster, I declared to the person dancing next to me Look at the tear in my pants. Emotional Intelligence And Johari Window Exercise' title='Emotional Intelligence And Johari Window Exercise' />Any idea where I can get some good zumba pants I had expected some kind of a reactionhorror, embarrassed laugh. I didnt get any. It was a matter of fact I got a great deal at TJMaxx. Whew The fear of being vulnerable was big. The act of being vulnerable felt like relief. Do You Dare to BareCommunication, in General. The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw. If you cannot in the long. The tendency to mimic other peoples experiences and expressions is known as emotional contagion. True or False. Vol. No. 3, May, 2004. Mathematical and Natural Sciences. Study on Bilinear Scheme and Application to Threedimensional Convective Equation Itaru Hataue and Yosuke. Sony Vegas Pro 10 Keygen And Crack. Multiple intelligences theory. Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligence Theory was first published in Howard Gardners book, Frames Of Mind 1983, and quickly became. Youre probably wondering What does a wardrobe malfunction during Zumba have to do with leadership Turns out its an interesting metaphor for how as leaders we are embarrassed to bare ourselves to others. As a leader, have you ever felt that there are parts of yourself youve had to check at the door when you come to work We all have aspects of ourselves that were afraid to share for fear of not being accepted, so we check them at the door. We numb who we are to fit a mold that we believe is desirable. The hard part of this according to Brene Brown is that when we numb ourselves, it also kills off the joy and connection that we are fully capable of. This is the kind of connection that deeply engages others and creates our potential for transformational leadership. At this point, I have a confession to make. I dont do vulnerability well. It takes a lot of effort on my part. I have spent my entire life convincing myself and others that Im strong, smart, and in charge. It got me high positions and stock options. Vulnerability seems like it would be the opposite. In my corporate jobs as a Region President or Chief Marketing Officer, I felt I needed to constantly prove my value to the organization by being smarter than the next person. Vulnerability is particularly hard for women who have worked tirelessly to get to where they are, or have hidden parts of themselves to fit what they perceive as the success mold. So, in my effort to be strong, I made a decision to not be vulnerable, to not show too much emotion, to always be certain, to be convinced and convincing that I am right. Vulnerability Requires Great Strength. Here is what I have now discovered. Strength and vulnerability are not opposites. Vulnerability requires great levels of strength and courage. It is actually the next level of evolution in our strength as leaders. It requires courage to be who we are despite our fears of not being accepted or liked. It requires that we ourselves accept the parts of ourselves that we dont like or are ashamed of. It requires courage to talk about our failures and take accountability for them. It requires courage to admit that we are feeling uncertain or that we dont know all the answers. All of these require an evolution within our being in order to grow from being transactional to transformational leaders. CEO of Pepsi on Vulnerability. The story goes that the first thing Indra Nooyi did after being told that she was the chosen one to take on the role of CEO of Pepsi, was to get on a plane and get to her biggest competitor for the job. She wanted to convince him to stay with Pepsi. She told him she needed him and that the company would be better with him on board. Thats showing vulnerability. It takes courage. A smaller person would have been only too glad to let their nemesis leave. Leadership Practice of Vulnerability. So, how do we evolve in our ability to be vulnerable Here are some exercises to practice vulnerability 1      Become Self Aware There are a couple of leadership practices that I believe are truly transformational to growing our self awareness that I recommend to my executive coaching clients. If you are practicing mindfulness, just start to be aware of when you feel vulnerable. If you are journaling, write about it in your journal. Reflect on what made you feel vulnerable. What is are some qualities you believe you need to hide from others in the workplace Some of these may be attributes you dont accept about yourself. Remember what we dont accept about ourselves can derail us as leaders, so bringing some awareness to this is important work. Reveal Something Practice revealing more about yourself to your work colleagues. Share something about your background, your values, your story, or a failure you experienced and what you learned from it. For example, after 91. I tried to underplay the fact that I am Muslim albeit a slightly Buddhist leaning Muslim in my workplace. There was some collective shame associated with what the terrorists had done and how they justified their acts, literally hijacking the religion. I stayed well away from conversations related to 91. I was surprised when my boss asked me if I was okay and wanted to make sure I hadnt experienced backlash. Youd be surprised how many truths we dont reveal about ourselves, truths that we expend a lot of energy maintaining as secrets, that people already know about us. Diana Keough, a friend, story teller and CEO of Share. WIK Media shares her own riveting story in her Ted. X Talk The Power of Personal Story. She suggests sharing with others this is what you need to know about me to really know me and how this revealing of who you really are can free you up to be who you are truly capable of being, to expand your ability to connect and innovate. Declare How You Feel In The Moment The next time you are feeling uncertain or embarrassed, just declare it. I am a bit uncertain about this. I start with I have a confession to make. It usually gets people to listen and be prepared for whats coming next. The fact is that when you are uncertain, most people know that anyway. Putting it out in the open creates an environment of greater authenticity and truth. This website is currently unavailable. The website you were trying to reach is temporarily unavailable. If you are the owner of this website, please contact Technical Support as soon as possible.