Vulnerability’s not all motherhood and apple pie. There are some really destructive ways that it can show up.
And no more so if you’re a founder CEO of a company, where your values and behaviours are very visible and define the company’s culture.
A vulnerability that shows no way through – meaning a vulnerability with no self-efficacy – can create a number of disempowering impacts in your company. Such as:
… The team can be left feeling directionless.
… Your team can lose belief. Without belief, nothing good happens. Especially when the tunnel is darkest and no one, including you, knows how long it is.
… Decisions will go out of your hands and be dictated by an external party, or the circumstance around you, or whomever happens to be most vocal in the company. Or randomness.
… Culturally, you’ll be modelling to your team how to be a victim of circumstance without the proactivity and resourcefulness that comes from having a way to figure things out.
All of these disempower. So vulnerable?
Yes, be vulnerable. If that means not pretending to have all the answers and being some form of omnipotent being.
But don’t be the kind of vulnerable that has gives no hope and efficacy. Be vulnerable to the extent that it empowers and gives permission to your team to work with you and find a way to whatever the challenge is.
[Paraphrased from the weekly Build on Purpose Newsletter #2. Subscribe below my profile pic.]How we can support you
- Join us on a workshop on how to scale your company; create time to focus on the bigger picture; and keep values and purpose core to your company. For max 5 CEOs of companies with revenues between £1.5m and £15m.
- Subscribe to our Bite-Sized Business Tips - thought snippets for values-centred business leaders. Every few days, a short focussed read on a specific topic of how to lead a company that values both profit and purpose.
- Talk to us to explore how we can help you scale your company in the direction you want to take it.