Case Study in Vulnerability

The Situation

Veronica is a Vice President?at a Fortune 500 organization. The dynamic on Veronica’s team?was rather informal and she enjoyed a very relaxed relationship with her direct reports. The informality, however,?did at times interfere with the extent to which Veronica communicated clear expectations. Additionally, her direct reports were not seeking clarification when they did not understand her expectations. Nor did they demonstrate?an appropriate level of accountability for timely deliverables.

As a result, a frustrated Veronica would often swoop in to grab the ball and run with it when her expectations were not being met. This frustrated her direct reports. As a result, they began to put less effort into their work. They assumed that whatever they delivered would not be good enough for Veronica, who would?eventually redo their work anyway. This cycle of behavior was not only negatively affecting Veronica’s team, it also negatively impacted how her team was perceived by the larger organization.

Taking Action????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Among the things that Veronica and I discussed was her ability to be vulnerable. I think of vulnerability as the removal of one’s mask to allow for an open, honest, and transparent exchange of information. Veronica, like most of my clients, cringed at the mention of the word “vulnerability” and responded with “I can’t do that, what will people think?” My response is always the same, "Imperfection is a human condition. We all suffer from it. People will think that you are human and your relatability will skyrocket.”

I didn’t think that Veronica had bought this into her thinking until this happened.

During a facilitated session with Veronica and her direct reports, the topic of her “swooping” surfaced. Her direct reports shared how Veronica’s actions affected their confidence to do their jobs. I was surprised when Veronica responded in a tone unusual for her, “I don’t like to fail. My fear of failure is what drives my performance and my behavior.” As you can imagine, that was?a watershed moment. All the anger and frustration that once swirled around the room had vanished. The team finally understood Veronica’s “why."

The Moral of the Story

While Veronica’s transparency did not address the issues of?clear expectations?and lack of accountability, it did help her direct reports understand her a lot better. It also opened the door for a conversation about?the issues. There is value in demonstrating vulnerability. It is honest. It increases understanding. It reveals information that allows others to provide support. It demonstrates your humanity and frees you to be yourself.

Tips for leveraging More of Your Own Vulnerability

1. Use coaching conversations to share a personal story about a failure you experienced and overcame. This will enhance your relatability and your approachability. As a result, you will hear about performance challenges sooner, be able to address them in a more timely fashion, and?enhance the overall performance of your team.

2. In conversations with your direct reports, peers, and colleagues get comfortable admitting when you do not have the answer and invite people into a collaborative conversation to “figure it out.” Not only is there synergy in collaboration, but this approach will go a long way in strengthening your relationships.

3. Finally, reflect on the constructive feedback that?you have received over the years. What?themes?surface? Think about what might be driving your behavior.?In Veronica’s case, her swooping was related to her fear of failure. Share your awareness with your leader, a coach, mentor, or trusted thought partner. Together identify ways to address the behavior. Again, in Veronica’s case, we talked about the importance of communicating clear expectations and holding her direct reports accountable for deliverables. With her direct reports, we discussed the importance of asking for clarity when they did not understand Veronica’s expectations. We also talked about increasing their levels of accountability and commitment to timely deliverables.

Carl Shawn Watkins is the Founder and CEO of Carl Shawn Watkins Consulting, LLC.?His clients are high-performing and high-potential executives and leaders who are known for their strong performance. His belief that "Vulnerability is Strength" is fundamental to his coaching & consulting model which is fueled by the principles of Emotional Intelligence. He is the coach that helps leaders discover, develop, and explore more.

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