The importance of “sparring with vulnerability” as a foundation emerges in the search for courageous leadership. It is striking that the concept of vulnerability seems to be a broadly interpretable concept. For each of us, the word “vulnerability” means something else. Not surprisingly, there are therefore various misconceptions around;
1, vulnerability is weakness
2, “I don’t do vulnerability”
3, I can handle It alone
4, you can remove the uncertainty and the inconvenience from vulnerability
5, trust comes before vulnerability.
6, being vulnerable means complete openness with everyone
Now that we know what vulnerability is not, we can further zoom in on what it is and what possibilities it offers.
Vulnerability is the emotion we experience in challenging times. The feeling of insecurity, risk taking and emotional exposure are some examples. Vulnerability requires the courage to show you. Certainly if you do not have the outcome under control. Recognizing and engaging in dialogue with your important others will help you understand the emotion better. This way you get a grip on it and you can continue to act according to your values.
Acting as if we are not doing vulnerability means that we allow fear to guide our thinking and behavior. Without being aware of it.
In short, you can do something with vulnerability or vulnerability does something with you.