We have all heard of vulnerability and we all know what it feels like to be vulnerable. Talking about mistakes, challenges, struggles, and showing emotion in our personal lives have tremendous value. But what about inside of our organizations where we have a very different dynamic?
In school, we’ve all experienced that dreaded moment when a teacher calls us to answer a question we don’t know. I remember a particularly embarrassing incident in college when my economics professor put me on the spot in front of a packed class, and I fumbled with a made-up answer.
In today’s episode, I speak with Stephen Smith, CEO of Amsted Industries, an 18,000 person manufacturing company which is entirely employee owned. Stephen shares his belief that vulnerability is about acknowledging that you can be wrong and being willing to expose yourself as a human being. He emphasized that showing vulnerability helps to level the playing field and eliminates defensiveness, which can hinder effective decision-making.
The traditional role of a middle manager has always been to link the employees on the ground floor with the senior leaders of the organization. Middle managers were the eyes, ears, and the hands of the higher ups. Meaning, they were responsible for keeping the engine running, reporting any issues, and making sure that the strategic direct of the higher-ups was being implemented.
One of those stories is from Ann Mukherjee, Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, a an 18,000 person global alcohol company. It’s a story about the difference between being right versus doing the right thing.
In today’s episode, I speak with Scott Boatwright, the Chief Restaurant Officer at Chipotle. Scott is responsible for over 110,000 employees across 3200 stores, and he shares his journey of transforming Chipotle into a brand that is not only loved by its customers but also its employees.
Today’s conversation is with Joel Quadracci, CEO of Quad, a full-service marketing agency with around 16,000 employees. Joel shares the importance of authenticity and “being real” in leadership, arguing that vulnerability should not be seen as a weakness but rather as a sign of genuine human connection.
After a recent talk I gave to an organization, I had lunch with the CEO to talk about leadership and some of the things she was focusing on and struggling with. She recently took over as CEO and was working on changing the corporate culture where employees could speak up, share ideas, and feel like they weren’t working in such a strict hierarchy.
As a leader at my company I’m expected to be strong, bold, courageous, visionary, competent, and confident. Yet at the same time, my employees want me to be vulnerable and talk about my challenges, struggles, failures, and personal life. How can I reconcile and balance these two seemingly opposing truths?
Today’s episode is with Tina Freese Decker, the President and CEO of Corewell Health, with 60,000+ employees and based in New York. Corewell Health was formerly known as Beaumont Health. Today, Tina shares the importance of vulnerability in leadership.