As someone who became one of the original paid-up members of the Brene Brown Vulnerability Fan Club, I totally, totally agree that it is not entirely transferable from American culture to others! In saying that, I will also call on one of her teachings, which is that vulnerability isn't just letting everything hang out there for everyone to see. The way I describe it to people I work with is being genuine and real enough so that people can *know* what to expect from me, not *wonder* what to expect from me. That means just getting to know each other a little bit better. I think in leadership, it's something to be admired, but it is definitely nuanced depending on cultural context.
I too am a follower and a fan of the Edelman Trust Barometer. It's been giving us great macro data for a number of years now, so the lack of trust in institutions is hardly surprising to me.
What is concerning, though, Bruce, is that people want to hang out with like-minded people all the time, so we're creating these bubbles of sameness. I think what the danger is here is that actively seeking out folks with alternate views to your own, really listening and then respectfully debating (not to convince but respectfully debating) those points of view, is sadly an art that's becoming lost.
Michelle, your point about predictability in leadership is a sharp one. When vulnerability is divorced from cultural context, it often risks looking like performative oversharing. In many professional cultures, trust isn’t built through raw exposure, but through the consistency you mentioned: removing the guesswork for the team. Regarding those "bubbles of sameness," it seems we have traded the discomfort of debate for the safety of an echo chamber, which ultimately atrophies our ability to lead through complexity.
I'm from Germany - so I am totally with you on the blurring line between vulnerability and cringe. And yet - what IF we were all a bit more vulnerable and put our professionals masks off more often? The good part of being vulnerable is you understand better what moves people, what they value and ultimately whether you want to get to know them better. You don't get this from the typical German watercooler conversation: "Wie geht's?" "Muss". End of discussion.
yes, to clarify I'm not at all against people opening up but saying that we need to understand the context of the trust deficit right now when attempting anything
Yes, this was clear from your piece. I recently had a training which included exercises to show vulnerability and this does not come naturally to me. But in the end, I came to the conclusion that we'd all understand each other a bit better if we'd be more open and this (to link this to the trust issue) would also allow us to be more trustful again and develop empathy rather than cynicism. That would be my hope, anyway.
I’d also suggest that it has to be an ongoing way of working, rather than a one-off show of vulnerability that is followed by the shutters coming down again. What’s worse, is that when leaders selectively choose who they are vulnerable/more open with. I’ve been in situations when in a group, with stakeholders that a leader will open up quite a lot, but then back in the office or in internal settings, they’ll be shut down all over again. As Michelle says in her comment, it means you end up with unpredictable leadership behaviour which just acts as a barrier to good business
As someone who became one of the original paid-up members of the Brene Brown Vulnerability Fan Club, I totally, totally agree that it is not entirely transferable from American culture to others! In saying that, I will also call on one of her teachings, which is that vulnerability isn't just letting everything hang out there for everyone to see. The way I describe it to people I work with is being genuine and real enough so that people can *know* what to expect from me, not *wonder* what to expect from me. That means just getting to know each other a little bit better. I think in leadership, it's something to be admired, but it is definitely nuanced depending on cultural context.
I too am a follower and a fan of the Edelman Trust Barometer. It's been giving us great macro data for a number of years now, so the lack of trust in institutions is hardly surprising to me.
What is concerning, though, Bruce, is that people want to hang out with like-minded people all the time, so we're creating these bubbles of sameness. I think what the danger is here is that actively seeking out folks with alternate views to your own, really listening and then respectfully debating (not to convince but respectfully debating) those points of view, is sadly an art that's becoming lost.
Michelle, your point about predictability in leadership is a sharp one. When vulnerability is divorced from cultural context, it often risks looking like performative oversharing. In many professional cultures, trust isn’t built through raw exposure, but through the consistency you mentioned: removing the guesswork for the team. Regarding those "bubbles of sameness," it seems we have traded the discomfort of debate for the safety of an echo chamber, which ultimately atrophies our ability to lead through complexity.
I'm from Germany - so I am totally with you on the blurring line between vulnerability and cringe. And yet - what IF we were all a bit more vulnerable and put our professionals masks off more often? The good part of being vulnerable is you understand better what moves people, what they value and ultimately whether you want to get to know them better. You don't get this from the typical German watercooler conversation: "Wie geht's?" "Muss". End of discussion.
yes, to clarify I'm not at all against people opening up but saying that we need to understand the context of the trust deficit right now when attempting anything
Yes, this was clear from your piece. I recently had a training which included exercises to show vulnerability and this does not come naturally to me. But in the end, I came to the conclusion that we'd all understand each other a bit better if we'd be more open and this (to link this to the trust issue) would also allow us to be more trustful again and develop empathy rather than cynicism. That would be my hope, anyway.
I’d also suggest that it has to be an ongoing way of working, rather than a one-off show of vulnerability that is followed by the shutters coming down again. What’s worse, is that when leaders selectively choose who they are vulnerable/more open with. I’ve been in situations when in a group, with stakeholders that a leader will open up quite a lot, but then back in the office or in internal settings, they’ll be shut down all over again. As Michelle says in her comment, it means you end up with unpredictable leadership behaviour which just acts as a barrier to good business