Courageous Leadership: VULNERABILITY
Hello Friends,
We have some fun news to share! Ada just earned her Certification in Meditation from the University of Central Florida. She will be sharing what she learned in our courses, and if you would like to include some meditation instruction in your coaching, please bring this to our attention. CONGRATULATIONS, ADA!! (From Annette)
Today - finally - we want to get back to our blog series on Courageous Leadership.
As you know from our newsletter last week, we will be offering a new 8-week lunchtime course on Courageous Leadership beginning on Thursday, September 10, 2020. This will be an opportunity to network, share about your business, and learn new leadership skills.
We began our discussion of the Four Traits of Courageous Leadership back in April, with the first two. As you may remember, the four traits are:
Honesty
Consistency
Vulnerability
Consideration
Vulnerability is up for today!
One thing we want to keep in mind is that these essential traits are all of equal importance. Honesty is not more important that Consistency, nor is Vulnerability better than Consideration. Each plays their own unique role, and in fact, all four traits work together to create Courageous Leadership in all areas of life.
Vulnerability is a key ingredient to Courageous Leadership because no one can be honest if they are not willing to be Vulnerable. We are deep into reading Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, which we highly recommend! Brené is known for her work with shame and vulnerability, and we love her definition of vulnerability: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up when you can’t control the outcome.” In other sources outside of Dare to Lead, Brené says that, “[v]ulnerability is about showing up and being seen.”
In terms of Courageous Leadership, Vulnerability represents our willingness to be wrong and open to a different way than our own of looking at a situation. It is about establishing trust by approaching each situation with an open heart and an open mind. We have met many people who cannot allow themselves to be vulnerable because they think they must be the “rock” or sole support for their organization, family, or friends. Yet – we can be supportive AND vulnerable all at the same time. In fact, with Vulnerability comes authenticity and integrity, two extremely important ingredients for supporting others.
Most importantly, the foundation for Vulnerability is self-acceptance. It is you saying: This is me and I am willing to hear you.
Lots of love to you all,
Annette and Ada