Managers: Vulnerability Creates Trust
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Great Place to Work conference in San Diego. This is my third year attending the event – always lots of great takeaways. I can’t wait to share them all with you this year.
The theme of the conference was “trust.” It’s an important subject and we’ve talked about it a lot over the years. During the conference, I spoke with Great Place to Work CEO Michael C. Bush and asked him if the concept of trust has changed over time. While he said that the basic tenets of trust haven’t changed, “people’s expectations are higher where trust is concerned.”
Here’s an example that happened later during the event that brings the higher expectations comment to reality. I was chatting with Sharon Price John, CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop, and she mentioned how vulnerability creates trust and how that can sometimes be a challenge for managers. Often NOT being vulnerable is a valued characteristic among those in management. NOT demonstrating vulnerability can be what gets you the promotion to senior management and the C-Suite. But then, let’s face it, we want to think of our managers as strong, capable, with the power to get things done. So managers become conflicted.
There needs to be a connection between what managers need today and what they need to take the organization to the next level. And that’s trust. The way we build trust is by being vulnerable.
- It’s by letting our guard down. We have to be comfortable telling the people around us that we don’t know all the answers. We need to tell people when we’re tired and need time to decompress.
- It’s making mistakes and learning from them. Allowing people around us to give feedback that will make our performance better.
- It’s acceptable to disagree and still respect each other. Learning how to express differing viewpoints and reach consensus or compromise requires a high degree of trust.
I’m reminded of a book by Marshall Goldsmith titled, “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” Our skills as a manager should be constantly evolving. Being a manager doesn’t require just one skill set. There are times when managers need to show they’re not vulnerable. And moments when they need to show the organization their vulnerability. It’s figuring out that right balance that creates trust. People today expect managers to be able to do this and build trust at every level of the organization.
Image taken by Sharlyn Lauby onboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
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