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Can
vulnerability lead to success?
One of Stephen
Covey's famous Seven Habits of Highly Effective people tells us
that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. All
too often we let lesser things obscure our vision and that main
thing. Covey doesn't list vulnerability as one of the Seven Habits
but in view of its role in successful team building, it should certainly
be up there in the top ten.
The idea of
being vulnerable as a leader conjures up images of weakness and
ineptitude. But as is often the case our understanding of a word
doesn't always match the whole definition. The Oxford dictionary
defines vulnerable as follows:
vulnerable
adj. that can be wounded; open to or not proof against attack, injury,
criticism, etc
All too often
we see vulnerability as a weakness because we assume it only means
'can be wounded.' We forget that when a person is vulnerable in
the sense that they are open to criticism, they are in fact exceptionally
strong. Having the courage to face candid feedback takes great strength,
this confidence tends only to be found in people who possess sufficient
self belief to weigh up the value of any criticism levelled against
them.
The reverse
of this often manifests itself in leaders who avoid candid feedback
by pronouncing their own opinions with such vigour that no one else
would dare to question them. In doing this they immediately weaken
the team, as decisions can only be made from the top without drawing
on the views, experiences and opinions of those they are working
with. Take for example the story of a famous 18th century organist
who travelled around giving recitals. In each town he hired a boy
to pump the organ bellows. After one concert the boy followed the
organist back to his hotel saying, "We certainly had a great
concert tonight didn't we?" "What do you mean we?"
said the great performer. "I had a great concert ; now go home!"
The next night half way through a magnificent fugue, the organ stopped
dead, the great virtuoso looked stupefied. At that point the little
organ-grinder popped his head up, grinned and said, "We ain't
havin a very good concert tonight, are we?"
Really great
leaders are able to combine the need for decisive, clear and confident
direction with openness and accessibility. They also appreciate
that authority comes as much from asking the right questions as
from giving the right answers.
Think of the
best and worst leaders you have worked with: which of them listened
to honest feedback? Were any of them the first to raise a hand or
admit that they didn't understand a concept or instruction? When
you saw a leader behave in this way how did those around them behave?
More often than not, we find that leaders that exhibit this level
of vulnerability engender those around them with the same openness.
Organisational politics is overcome by a sense of trust and a desire
to see the team reach its potential rather than to pick on the faults
of the few.
Its a little
bit like the way we humans behave when we fall in love. From an
early stage we want to become vulnerable and to share our life history
with our new partner. Subconsciously we know that this openness
will bring us closer and move us further along the romantic road.
The petty differences don't matter because the journey is such fun.
Similarly if a team is prepared to be vulnerable with each other
those annoying little habits can't ever become issues. Instead they
can be addressed early on and the main thing can remain the main
thing.
Author: Dan
Collins
Dan Collins can be contacted c/o of Fresh
Tracks on (tel) +44 (0) 01920 822 220, (fax) +44 (0) 1920 822
884 or at mail@freshtracks.co.uk
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