“I’m fat so I didn’t think you all would listen to me….”
Who knew these words could begin the transformation of a team.
My client recently started team meetings and they are ROCKING. People are open, engaged AND moving into action.
Whenever my clients share wins, I always ask “What did you do to contribute to that win?”
So I asked her what she had done as a leader to contribute to this awesome culture…
And you may be surprised by her answer.
She said, “At the beginning of the meeting, I let them know that I had been worried to start team meetings because I am fat so I thought they wouldn’t listen to me.”
VULNERABILITY…..THIS IS SO POWERFUL.
In fact, I believe that vulnerability is one of the MOST important leadership skills.
Because this leader was willing to open up and share her fears- she created a safe and trusting space. A space where people feel comfortable sharing their fears and concerns… and a space where people feel inspired to move into action.
Now I want to be clear that I am not talking about oversharing in the awkward way that makes everyone uncomfortable.
I am talking about choosing to use our challenges to normalize what is hard for everyone.
So many of us have a false perception that we need to show up perfectly polished, knowing all of the answers, and never faltering in order for our team to want to follow us.
If you think about leaders who have impacted your life, what qualities stand out? Knowledge, poise, and perfection aren’t anywhere on my list.
Even with my belief that this skill is critical- I still find myself challenged at times to be vulnerable (vulnerable moment here- haha). That “what will people think” thought can be a tricky one to overcome. I still have moments where I think, will they find value in what I am saying? What if they see if I don’t know everything- will they still trust in me?
The lesson I continue to learn is that true connection, team culture, and trust are only achieved when we can stop thinking about ourselves.
Because the truth is nobody else cares how much we know- they care about how we make them feel. And when we are perfect how do they feel? Less than.
When we show that we too have times when we are challenged, afraid, overwhelmed…but still showing up. Still taking action. How do they feel?
So my challenge to you today is to get vulnerable. Share a time with your team when you were challenged or afraid yet pushed through and did it anyway. See how this starts to transform your culture.
You’ve got this.
Thank you for reading today’s post. If you want to chat more about how to create a thriving culture of success, register for one of our free trainings on sales, leadership, or recruiting at emergesalestraining.com/freetraining.
Have a great day!