All personal growth requires some form of vulnerability: to be open to new ideas, to admit that you don’t know how to do something, or that you want to change, or that you too also have experienced feelings of shame (I’m not worthy) or guilt (I made a mistake). “Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behaviour (addiction, abuse, bullying, depression). Brené Brown explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.”
Here are my favourite quotes from her talk:
“Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage.”
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”
She also quoted Teddy Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
The most liberating gift you can give yourself is the freedom to make mistakes and to admit you’re a work in progress. Imagine the impact on organizations if leaders were more capable of modelling vulnerability, of admitting and honouring mistakes, of honouring experiments and noble efforts. How much more fun would it be to work in a place like that, and how much more progress and adaptability do you think could happen?
This is a great example of why I love to work with leaders on their own personal growth while also helping them tune their practices within their organization.
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Adaptive Talent is a talent consultancy designed to help organizations achieve amazing results and ongoing adaptability. Founded in 2008 and based in Vancouver, Canada we offer retained search, assessments, total rewards consulting, training, leadership coaching and development programs, and culture & organizational development consulting.