Stripping away the armor, we're diving headfirst into the complex world of vulnerability in leadership on the TLD podcast. I'm your host, Colby, and I've got a treasure trove of personal revelations and concrete strategies to share that could turn your leadership approach on its head. Prepare to redefine strength, as we dissect the myths of vulnerability and discover the surprising ways in which openness about our own limitations can forge more resilient and connected teams. From navigating tough conversations without losing your nerve to steering your crew through the winds of change, this episode is a masterclass in the subtle art of balancing accountability with the human touch.
No holds barred, we're getting real about the challenges leaders face and the pivotal moments that call for a dose of genuine self-reflection. My anecdotes and insights are set to lay bare the transformative impact of embracing vulnerability. You'll come away equipped with practical tips to admit struggles while maintaining team morale and performance. It's not a sign of weakness; it's the hallmark of a leader poised to inspire dedication, understanding, and a collective drive to excel. Tune in for a powerful conversation that could just be the catalyst for an unparalleled shift in your leadership style and your team's dynamic.
Stripping away the armor, we're diving headfirst into the complex world of vulnerability in leadership on the TLD podcast. I'm your host, Colby, and I've got a treasure trove of personal revelations and concrete strategies to share that could turn your leadership approach on its head. Prepare to redefine strength, as we dissect the myths of vulnerability and discover the surprising ways in which openness about our own limitations can forge more resilient and connected teams. From navigating tough conversations without losing your nerve to steering your crew through the winds of change, this episode is a masterclass in the subtle art of balancing accountability with the human touch.
No holds barred, we're getting real about the challenges leaders face and the pivotal moments that call for a dose of genuine self-reflection. My anecdotes and insights are set to lay bare the transformative impact of embracing vulnerability. You'll come away equipped with practical tips to admit struggles while maintaining team morale and performance. It's not a sign of weakness; it's the hallmark of a leader poised to inspire dedication, understanding, and a collective drive to excel. Tune in for a powerful conversation that could just be the catalyst for an unparalleled shift in your leadership style and your team's dynamic.
Hey leaders, welcome back to the TLD podcast. This is me, colby, your host, and I am excited about today's topic. But before I get to that, I want to say thank you to everyone who's been listening, who's been asking me some pretty tough but great questions on LinkedIn and everywhere else. But, man, you have really tapped into that LinkedIn connection and I really appreciate it because I feel like we are doing some good. We're connecting people, we're answering questions and really creating some, some next steps for leaders to to go or, let me say this, to be better, faster, and that's what it's all about. I really feel like we're making progress and helping the leaders that we really need to reach. So thank you all for sharing this message, for reaching out. It's doing wonders.
Speaker 1:
I want to jump right in today, because this is a topic that a lot of leaders don't like, because there's such a misconception, a misperception of the word vulnerable and you're thinking, oh God, here we go, this touchy, feely stuff. You know, do I really want to listen to this? Let me tell you something If you're not in touch with your people, if you haven't figured out how to be vulnerable with them, you're going to lose your team, because if you are only a results first leader. If that's, if that's your only goal is results, then you're going to lose your team. You're going to have high turnover and you're not going to understand why, and at some point you're going to be forced to really reconcile with yourself about why people are leaving your team and it's all going to come down to you. You're going to have to be the one to look in the mirror and realize that it was you. So may I highly recommend you listen to this full conversation today and really do a gut check, really look in the mirror and try to figure out where it is you can be vulnerable with your team. Where it is, you can be vulnerable with your team, and that's that's today's topic is how and when to be vulnerable with your employees, with your team. Okay, I'm going to give you three or four points today, and I really hope that you're going to take this and run with it, because it's not about just being, you know, over the top emotional with people, but it is about being vulnerable and real with your team, okay. So what does that mean? I'm going to give you some examples and hopefully this paints a a good picture for you.
Speaker 1:
One of the first ones I tend to find is that there are so many leaders out there who won't admit they're not good at something, and the first thing that comes to mind is having a tough conversation, and they don't like having these tough conversations, and so, therefore, they won't have these tough conversations, or at least not one that is productive. So one of the ways you can be so, one of the ways you can be vulnerable, one of the ways you can be real and having these tough conversations, is to just admit it in the conversation. Right up at front, you can just say hey, look, I need to have this conversation with you. It's probably going to be a tough conversation, but, to be honest, I'm not real good at it. I struggle with tough conversations. I tend to, you know, not hold people as accountable as I should, but I need to have this conversation with you, and so I wrote some stuff down that I need to cover with you. That's what this paper is and, uh, you know, I just I just want to make sure I cover everything and that I don't forget it. So if you see me kind of looking at this paper, that's what I'm doing, but I'm just not great at having tough conversations. Now that is a a very vulnerable way of addressing someone and still being able to have the tough conversation. And if you think they'll laugh at you, if you think they won't respect you, it's just the opposite they will respect you more for the fact that you admitted that you struggle with this, but that you're still doing it. That's how it works. They they want you to hold them accountable and they want to have those conversations. But if you struggle with them, just say it up front, okay.
Speaker 1:
The second thing is leading through change. Okay, when there's big changes coming up during, you know, times of significant change or uncertainty, man vulnerability can be a powerful tool. When I was a leader at one particular hospital, we had an upcoming RIF or for you, new managers, that's a reduction in force, or RIF it. It was not going to be easy. Not that any riff is easy, but this one was going to be to be pretty tough. So I called a meeting with all my managers and just acknowledge the elephant in the room. You know, let's talk about the anxieties how, how can I offer support to the team? And we just sat there and we talked through the situations, we talked about the possibilities, what this meant for us, what this meant for the team, and we didn't try to sweep anything under the rug, we didn't try to sugarcoat anything. We wanted to be very real and honest about this situation. It was going to be hard, it was going to be tough, but we still had to have that conversation and this, this transparency, it it actually built the trust and that allowed the employees to to really navigate that change beside me, not not from behind me, out of a place of fear. But we went through it together and that made all the difference, all right.
Speaker 1:
The third place is when meeting mistakes or failures Y'all. No leader is perfect. If you're claiming to be perfect, you're lying out of your teeth. No leader is perfect. If you're claiming to be perfect, you're lying out of your teeth. No leader is perfect. As a leader, you have to own your mistakes and failures.
Speaker 1:
Okay, that is a powerful, powerful way to demonstrate vulnerability your, your incorrect decisions or just just areas where you fell short. You will actually humanize yourself to your team. Okay, you will build trust with your team. You'll create an environment where it's okay to take risks and learn from failures. This vulnerability can can encourage your employees to be more open about their own mistakes. It can foster a culture of growth and learning.
Speaker 1:
Look, I've had to admit my mistakes plenty of times. You know what? Not once did my team point and laugh in my face, even when they probably had good reason to do it. That's because I'd invested in our relationships. Point and laugh in my face even when they probably had good reason to do it. That's because I'd invested in our relationships. I had built up trust with the team. And so when I stand up and say you know what I screwed up, this one's on me. They respected me because of because I did that. Okay.
Speaker 1:
And this last one, when you need to address personal or professional struggles. This is tough for a lot of leaders. Actually, for some leaders, it might be the easiest because it allows them to be real for one of the first times first times but leaders often face this immense pressure to project this image of strength and composure and you have to hide all your personal and professional struggles. You have to create some sort of distance or disconnect your emotions from your team's, but really vulnerably sharing challenges you're facing, like if you're having a health issue or work-life balance struggles, imposter syndrome, whatever the case may be you not only humanize yourself but you create that space for empathy with your team. You create support and understanding from your employees.
Speaker 1:
I remember several years ago when I lost my grandfather and it put me in a bad place, like he was my superhero from the time. I was young. And when I lost him I was not in a great place. And you know what? I still had to go to work, I still had to perform, I still had to get out there and put on that, that happy face, and one day I just, I just couldn't do it. It was eating on me so much that I stood in front of that team and their kickoff meeting and just said look y'all, I'm. I am not in a good place. Some of you know this, some of you may not. I lost my grandfather, who was my superhero, and I'm just, I am struggling and I need some grace from y'all. I need some grace from y'all and I need um. I need to probably be in my office more than than out on the floor today, um, so please grant me that grace today and and I apologize, but um, that's just kind of what I'm dealing with right now you wouldn't believe the amount of support and the connection that I had with not just the managers under me but but the frontline employees, that I was able to be that real with them. It created this completely different dynamic in that moment where their boss's boss or their boss's boss's boss was suddenly human, that I, I felt that same pain that they've felt before and that was absolutely amazing. I still think back to that team and in those moments and remember how close we all felt for a while and you know, it didn't stop, like when I wasn't mourning anymore. It's not like, okay, you know Colby's, okay, we'll just move on. It created this bond that lasted for a really long time and I'm still in contact with some of those people. It just changed the game.
Speaker 1:
If you haven't read any Brene Brown's books, dare to Lead. There's several out there. I really encourage you because she really dives into this aspect of vulnerability. But I think the main thing is this so many leaders hear the word vulnerability and they think of it as a weakness. They don't see that as a strength. When it's in today's world, it's just the opposite. You have to be people-centered, and part of being people-centered is being vulnerable and being real with them, and so don't look at vulnerability as a weakness. Look at it as as being brave enough to tell the truth. Look at it as being brave enough to to embrace your team and trust them with something that you wouldn't normally bring out and that takes courage. So I think Brene Brown does a much better job of explaining this than I do, but I think you get the point.
Speaker 1:
I want to thank you again for listening, for sharing, for being a part of this podcast. I cannot thank you enough. I got a lot going on and I love hearing from y'all, and please continue to reach out to me on LinkedIn those. That link is in the show notes, so just click on that and feel free to connect or follow. I'd love to be a part of what you're doing. See if I can help you if any way possible. You can also reach out to me via our webpage, which is nextstepadvisorscom. There's no E in next, it's just NXT, so, nextstepadvisorscom. Feel free to reach out there if you'd like, or you can find us on our Instagram page.
Speaker 1:
Thingsle Leaders Do Okay. Again, thank you. I appreciate all of you. If you wouldn't mind, please share what you're listening to with another leader, because it is truly, truly making a difference. It is amazing what you're all doing and the people you're making sure that we get a hold of. So thank you for all that you do. Go out there, lead your teams well, be vulnerable. Be brave enough to be vulnerable, because those are the things that leaders do.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.
