Benefits of Vulnerability-Based Business Leadership

Corey Blake Reveals How Vulnerability-Based Leadership Builds Happy High-Performance Teams

Showing vulnerability in the workplace has long been taboo, but it shouldn’t be, says Corey Blake, founder and CEO of Round Table Companies. In fact, practicing vulnerability in the workplace has so many benefits, Blake writes in this article, that it should be encouraged.

Benefits of Vulnerability in Leadership in the Workplace

“When leaders dare to wade into deeper waters and reveal their hidden stories,” writes Blake, “everyone follows suit.”

Blake acknowledges that being vulnerable in the workplace can seem scary, but he has also experienced the rewards and seen that the practice is well worth the risk. By fostering a sense of psychological safety in the workplace, vulnerability-based leadership improves both worker well-being and company success. In this piece, Blake explores five key benefits of vulnerability at work, from increased innovation to higher employee retention rates, and shows leaders exactly how to get started.

Growing Vulnerability within Your Work Teams

If you don’t know where to start building vulnerability in your leadership and in your teams, you are not alone. In this transformative work, Blake offers a detailed playbook for running a successful vulnerability session with your team, complete with timing suggestions and scripts to support leaders. Breaking down the process step by step, Blake demonstrates how leaders can ground and safely engage their team members, offers guidelines for leaders sharing their own vulnerabilities, and provides tips for helping team members reflect on and grow from the exercise.

Establishing a Vulnerability Culture in the Workplace

Blake recognizes that moving toward vulnerability in leadership is a huge challenge.

“For any established culture,” says Blake, “being vulnerable at work is a shift that will require time, resources, and outside expertise to be handled effectively.”

The benefits of being vulnerable with our colleagues, however, can be plentiful.