Sharing Vulnerability-Building a Winning Culture

Here’s another look at sharing vulnerability to build on the previous post. A winning culture starts inside of you. Then, in your business and relationships you spread your beliefs about yourself, your world and most importantly how you care for others. Culture, in a business or in personal relationships, is defined by how you care for others. One of the key components in building a winning culture with others is to create an atmosphere where you can share vulnerability. Sharing vulnerability is not easy for most people. If you share vulnerability you may say to someone, “I don’t know.” Or, “I need your help.” Another way to share vulnerability is to ask for someone’s opinion or expertise. You are not asking for direct help in this case. You want their opinion to help you gain clarity on something where you are stuck or confused. But when you share your vulnerability is this truly sharing vulnerability. There is a subtle yet important difference. The answer when it comes to sharing vulnerability is that both parties have to show vulnerability. I have the privilege of doing business coaching in The Woodlands and business coaching in Houston. I also have clients out of town that I collaborate with on the phone. Much of the progress in the coaching relationship comes when we, the client and I, share our vulnerabilities. If one person shares their vulnerability and the other person does not acknowledge it, then the vulnerability is not shared. For example, much of what I do is personal development business coaching. I collaborate with and support people who are already successful. True support that is focused comes from identifying and sharing our vulnerabilities. Notice, I said sharing our vulnerabilities. A recent example was with a client who was having a challenge hiring the right people for his business. He shared with me his frustration and we delved into the root cause. When he shared his vulnerability in hiring with me. I acknowledged it and, this is very important, I shared my vulnerability that I had when I hired people for a company I built that had eighty employees. I was always hiring out of neediness, not need. In other words, I would let things go too long. Then when the decision had to be made to fire a person, something that I tried to avoid, I was left with no options. As a result, I would hire the first person that might fill the job. This was not a process that gave me good results. I shared this with my client. The result of my sharing my vulnerability led us into a deeper discussion of where he was vulnerable. Psychologically, when you do this, sharing vulnerability, you build a bond and trust that is unique. With this bond and trust very positive things can happen when you collaborate with others. When you are a leader or not, sharing vulnerability is a very good way to connect with others and to build the trust and cooperation necessary to create a good culture with other people. Obviously, it is not something you do in every situation. Yet, if you are stuck in a relationship try sharing your vulnerability. If the other person picks up on it then you can take the relationship and create a culture of caring and trust. If you are looking for self-improvement tips for success, next time you are having a challenge, share your vulnerability. When you do, you will increase the odds of creating a better culture based on trust and cooperation.