Charlene Lucas Shares How Embracing Vulnerability Helps Build Her Personal Brand on LinkedIn

Emotional connection is the holy grail of engagement.?

Through the years of sharing my own content and helping others build their personal brands through LinkedIn, I've seen how emotions drive conversations.

So how do we create that emotional connection?

The answer is simple, yet very hard for most of us: by embracing vulnerability.

Vulnerability is defined as “the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed either physically or emotionally.”?

Vulnerability might be seen by others as a weakness. But what I see working on LinkedIn is different. Done right, embracing vulnerability can be your strength, especially in attracting like-minded people who relate with your stories.

Because authenticity is so important in building your personal brand, at some point, you would have to also be vulnerable.

“Vulnerability is not winning or losing. It's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness. It's our greatest measure of courage.” — Brené Brown

So to help unpack the value of embracing vulnerability in building your personal brand, I'd like to introduce to you one of the Top 100 Filipinos on LinkedIn who has shown how embracing vulnerability could actually be a powerful tool in attracting your ideal clients through LinkedIn: Charlene Lucas .

Get to know Charlene Lucas

Charlene is a psychologist, trauma therapist and organizational behavior consultant. As a registered psychologist, Charlene focuses on workplace mental health, organizational behavior, adult trauma, abuse, burnout, stabilization of emotions, loss or grief, and women empowerment. More about Charlene:

• Top 3 of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women on LinkedIn 2021
• Top 10 Most Inspiring Filipinos on LinkedIn 2021
• Top 100 Filipinos on LinkedIn, 2020 and 2021
• Marketing in Asia's Rising 70 Personalities in LinkedIn 2020
• Trauma and abuse survivor
• International speaker on topics such as mental health, abuse and trauma

I had an opportunity to interview Charlene about how she had the courage to embrace vulnerability and how it opened so many opportunities for her.

Personally, I admire Charlene's courage and her openness so I reached out to her for this interview. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

VB: What does vulnerability mean to you?

Charlene: I define vulnerability as getting out of your shell, exposing yourself to people and your innermost feelings, thoughts, and soul to people. It's like letting your heart be open to everyone, telling them, “This is me, the real me.”

VB: It sounds simple, but actually for most people, it's not easy. I've met a lot of people who are not willing to tell their stories. And I believe that when we don't tell our stories, we're missing a lot of opportunities because stories are the ones that connect with people.?

Charlene: We are social creatures. We want connection, relatedness, but when we become vulnerable or authentic, there's the fear of people might not accept me... It feels like they're attacking your nerve or your core and your essence... we want to avoid the pain that we will feel when we are not accepted for who we really are.?

It's easy to actually copy someone, and if it’s attacked,? you can just simply brush it off, right? “This is not my quote, this is not mine,” so it's easy. But when it's your true self or your essence, it's painful. It's very, very painful.?

VB: Did you have that experience when you shared your story with one person, and then that person “judged” you??

Charlene: Yes, I did. Unfortunately, it was my long-time friend or let's say best friend, I would say. That's the part of me that she didn’t know because my story, Miss V, it's not something that you want to share...

As much as possible, you want to erase it in your life. If you can just do time travel, if you can just only take some liquid eraser, you will do that.

But when I shared that to my best friend, she said some painful things to me, like instead of understanding, I was like, somehow attacked or blamed, so I shut down.

And for me, of course, there's the understanding that:

You are not for everyone and everyone's not for you. Not all people will understand you.

VB: One of the things that really captured my attention was when you published this article on Marketing in Asia, This is my Trauma Survival Guide .?

What made you decide to tell your story and embrace vulnerability??

Charlene: So at first, I was encouraged by my mentor, Dr. Lourdes Medina, to share my story with everybody for people to be encouraged to heal, especially the wound that I have, the same wound as I am, because when it comes to abuse, it's really hard to tell that to people, a lot of people.?

In mental health right now, there’s a lot of stigma when you're suffering from mental health. What more if you are suffering from abuse and not just only physical abuse, but sexual abuse, as well. So I'm just going to be vulnerable while we’re here. This is a safe space.?

I was really actually scared of telling my story, so my mentor encouraged me in March 2020. Then I just published my story on September 2020. I was really afraid of what people would say to me, especially the one closest to me.?

But when I read in LinkedIn about Kirsty Bonner , she's one of the influencers and I follow her because of her HR tips, her career tips. We are not connected, but I'm following her.?And then in August, I read that she committed suicide due to PTSD. So at that point, I could not describe how I felt.

It's like somebody is knocking on my chest: You should have at least told your story. Not just only your story, but your healing story because you might have at least saved, I know this is, let's say a shot on the moon, but at least you might have touched Kirsty Bonner, and somebody, you know who will not fall in that situation because you understand.?

So that pushed me and I connected with Ms. Jennette Cajucom because I don't know how to start my story. I don't know how I am going to show this to the world without being that, let’s say vulgar, or something like that. So Ms. Jen helped me.?

When I finally published my story, I thought I was going to be judged. I thought I was going to be criticized, attacked, but no. People encouraged me, people gave me their support, and that time, I know I'm not the only one. I'm not the only one who is suffering from that.

There are a lot of people who are voiceless, who don't want to speak up because they are afraid, and I got the courage.

Charlene: I gained my courage or turned that weakness into strength, my focus is, “Who can I reach? Who will benefit from this story and who needs to hear this?”?

So my thinking is who is that, not only Kirsty Bonner, but who is that Charlene in public, that needs help, that needs to see this, that needs to hear this?

I also tell my story to complete my healing cycle, as well, because if you want to heal from your pain, you need to face it head on.?

I share it in public because I would say, it’s my duty, my obligation, as a psychologist, as somebody who not only underwent that, but also a psychologist, to reach out to people. So that's my motivation. That's how I turned my weakness into a strength.

You get to connect more with people… Now, there are some people, you know, they're manifesting a trauma, same as mine. And when I share my story, and when I tell them that I was also abused when I was a child, they become more comfortable and the healing process is much easier.?

How does embracing vulnerability help you build your personal brand on LinkedIn??

Charlene: I get to connect more on a deeper level to people on LinkedIn. So that's the number one. I'm not only here for business. I'm not only here for popularity. I didn't even think about that.

So for me, it's just to connect with another Kirsty Bonner, another Charlene that needed help. That's my intention in getting on LinkedIn as well as also building my reputation as well for clients to seek help, because of course of the pandemic right now, everything is online. So that's one thing.?

When I started building my brand on LinkedIn, my only intention was just to, let's say not only just mental health, but also raise awareness when it comes to abuse and other topics that people don't want to talk about.?

And fortunately, I touched a lot of clients and I touched a lot of people. I got invited to speak, so it's just a bonus. But for me, I'm always searching for that Kirsty Bonner and for that Charlene whenever I post something.

What opportunities came to you as a result of showing up as who you are and sharing your story??

Charlene: I get to attract people who need my services, needs healing.

Most of my clients thanked me for my posts because they somehow changed their mindset at the same time. I also have this one client who told me, “That's why I choose you as my therapist, because I know you suffered the same wound and you get to understand.” So that’s the result of me showing up telling my story to people.

VB: Did you see the difference when you started sharing your story?

Charlene: I would say that before, yes, people engage with my post. But the thing is, I don't get approached by clients. Not as much as now. Now, I’m booked with clients two weeks before. So they want me to be their therapist.?

I also get a lot of speaking engagements, especially women or groups of women who are mothers as well, who are suffering, abused by their husbands and youth as well that they cannot get out of their home because of abusive parents. So I got invited and for me, it's a blessing. That's the result I’m actually looking for.

What's your advice to people who are afraid to show some level of vulnerability on LinkedIn?

Charlene: I would agree with you, Ms. V. Don't focus too much on the title, but focus on connecting with people. A lot of people have titles and go to prestigious schools. But the question is, do they really connect with people? Do they answer what people need right now??

Don't be afraid to tell your story, to be who you really are, because you will never know who you will inspire.??

We are all human and we want to be connected with a person who truly understands, who had suffered the same, and had found wisdom in their pain.

Of course, not all people would appreciate you, some will say hurtful things to you, but focus on the lives that you can touch, focus on the people that you can inspire. Share your heart and show vulnerability, not only to bring healing, but to give hope to others as well.?

Watch my full interview with Charlene here:

Connect with Charlene or reach out to her through her email: [email protected]