Leading others is one of the greatest honours (and greatest challenges) of my life. I dive into it daily with a mixture of anticipation, inspiration, vulnerability, fear, and hope. Our leaders matter. What we do as leaders matters greatly.
One of my greatest inspirations for leadership is Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (2012), research professor, and thought leader about vulnerability and courage.
She gives voice to so many of us engaged in leadership who “enter the arena” with equal parts bravery and vulnerability. One (often) hidden aspect of leadership is the courage it takes to be vulnerable, to challenge assumptions, to create innovative solutions to ongoing problems, and to ultimately, lead people down paths we have not yet walked ourselves.
“If you don’t understand vulnerability, you cannot manage and lead people. If you’re not showing up vulnerably as a leader, you can’t expect anyone to follow you—period.” –Brene Brown
The challenge we have as leaders is to combine our vulnerability with a bravery to lead others, to care for them, to imagine a better future for our families and our communities, our corporations and institutions — our world. The stakes are (at times) high. The outcomes matter. That’s why, as leaders, we must be at the same time aware of our vulnerability and areas of weakness, and confident enough to imagine better paths ahead — and lead others down those paths.
“Is there anyone that does not need to navigate uncertainty and risk on a regular basis? To be alive is to be vulnerable; to be a leader is to be vulnerable every minute of the day. You don’t get to opt out.” — Brene Brown
We travel this journey together as we engage individually and collectively in our own leadership development.
A shout out to LDRS 500 Leadership Foundation students at TWU in Summer 2018 as we embark on this learning experience together.
Leadership Prof