Vulnerability is something leaders like Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks value. He once said, “The hardest thing about being a leader is demonstrating or showing vulnerability… When the leader demonstrates vulnerability and sensibility and brings people together, the team wins.”
We still have many organizations that seem to think that being vulnerable is unnecessary or a negative. That it implies you’re weak.
Vulnerability researcher Brene Brown says ‘There’s no way to opt out of vulnerability. You do do it–so if you’re not aware of how you do it or how you deal with it, that is probably holding you back in business somehow.
Vulnerability is simply defined as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. And if you are alive you do vulnerability. If you are alive and in a relationship and in business, you do it hourly’.
Helping attendees and organizations with how to step into their vulnerability is something I am passionate about and in my new keynote ‘The Courage To Be You’ I not only share the importance of understanding the power of vulnerability. I model it in a powerful way. As one of my clients shared I “set a tone of vulnerability throughout the event.”
“There was a pivotal change in the room when Kirsty shared her story. It laid the groundwork for others to share things that I never imagined I would come here to hear. Her session created a safe place for the audience to deal with their own fear’s and set a tone of vulnerability throughout the event.” Ed Wesley – Dreamhost
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NXenFI995g&list=PLQIikebAPmLXatPXuc9skekrLMOfGq8E8&index=4[/youtube]
Success camouflaged all of my unworthiness. A lack of vulnerability showed up as dysfunctional behavior, self-sabotaging behavior, self-loathing behavior.
Even when I was in the top 100 of 120,000 sales agents worldwide. It was almost like the success didn’t mean anything because underneath this was running the show. You see, we don’t get to separate out, our personal lives, and our business life. This stuff insidiously infects our self-worth, our self-esteem, our confidence, the choices that we make and it might start of small, like feeling like you don’t have a voice. Maybe you don’t speak up in the boardroom, maybe you don’t go for that promotion that you wanted, and then it starts to escalate.
You see you can’t go professionally where you won’t go personally.
I truly believe our conference would not have been as successful without Kirsty’s contribution and the connection she made with the attendees. When she came off stage there was not a dry eye in the audience.
Kirsty is a deep, substantial and impactful speaker. Her talk modeled the depth we wanted to see from the participants at our event, and because of her example, we got it. I cannot recommend her more highly.
~Traci Fenton, Founder + CEO, WorldBlu
If you want your attendees to be more vulnerable at your next event, or your leaders to be more vulnerable in the workplace or just for your people to be more vulnerable in their own personal life. It begins with you modeling it as an organization.
Have the courage to bring in a speaker that is out of the box and doing something new in this space & who will help you to model vulnerability. kx
WATCH the video playlist below to see me speak on the power of vulnerability. Or click here to read more on shame & vulnerablity in the workplace.
To book Kirsty Spraggon to speak email [email protected]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb9Nwdd07xU&index=15&list=PLQIikebAPmLXatPXuc9skekrLMOfGq8E8[/youtube]