Leadership Vulnerability

I'm working on a project which will become more public in the early part of 2023. While I am a tactical outcomes-based person, which this project will highlight and hopefully be helpful to people, the theme is around leadership vulnerability. Having worked on this particular endeavor, for seven-to-eight months now, I've become fascinated with the concept of those who hold the most amount of power being the most vulnerable for what they don't know.

When we think of CEOs, or other leaders, many times, particularly if we're young, we think of these individuals being omnipotent. They should know all the answers. And we assume they do. In some ways, it's kind of the way kids look at their parents. Part of the mystique of being a parent, besides being bigger and older, is that children not knowing everything believe everything a parent tells them. That's immense power. Much like employees looking up to their leadership inside organizations. It's also a great responsibility.

But what about those areas where leaders don't have all the answers? And this is where vulnerability comes in. Are leaders vulnerable enough, or willing to be vulnerable, to admit that they don't know all the answers? That takes a great deal of self-confidence and even, as Maslow puts it, self-actualization.  Actually, I'm finding more and more leaders unwilling to admit their lack of wisdom in certain areas, in particular philanthropy, and either put on a brave face or ignore the challenge by just changing the subject. You don't solve problems if you just choose to ignore them.

Sure, I have my moments where I don't show enough of my vulnerability. Law school helped out tremendously because you learned very quickly that there's no way anyone can know every aspect of the law. Simply, it is too broad, too much, and too voluminous.  The power of knowledge is knowing what you know, knowing what you don't, and, most importantly, knowing who to turn to or where to get the information when you don't know it. I try to say as much as I can that I don't know when I don't, but I know where to get the information someone requires. At least that's my goal.

Here's hoping that vulnerability is something that more leaders are willing to accept and demonstrate so we can have the type of leaders not only in the nonprofit world, but in all aspects of life, that we need and deserve.