What Vulnerability Looks Like at Work
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” - Brené Brown
What becomes possible when we surface what’s uncomfortable, together?
It’s easy to imagine vulnerability at work as confessional or emotional. But in practice, it often looks quieter. A well-placed question. A moment of uncertainty held with care. A willingness to name something others might be quietly sensing but unsure how to say.
Vulnerability in leadership is less about disclosure and more about invitation. It is the courage to create space for what is unspoken (e.g.,doubt, disagreement, concern) to be heard and understood. And it’s that understanding that allows people to move forward, not just aligned, but connected.
In Understood, I write about how perspective-getting must be multifaceted. Vulnerability helps make that possible. It invites nuance and complexity to the table, not to stall progress, but to honour it. And it often begins with a simple shift: from control to curiosity.
Here are a few invitations that model this shift:
What’s an assumption we’re treating as fact here that might deserve testing?
What’s missing in our conversation that future-us will wish we’d discussed now?
Who is quietly impacted by this decision, and what might they say if they were in the room?
These questions, grounded in generosity and clarity, model the very essence of vulnerability, the not knowing, and still asking.
For leaders, it helps to frame these moments gently:
Offer choice: Share what’s useful for the work; pass is okay.
Bound the ask: Work-relevant only; no personal histories.
Decentre blame: Let’s surface assumptions, risks, and dependencies,not people.
Follow through: Capture insights, document them, and act. That’s what turns safety into trust.
Dr. Timothy R. Clark, in The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation, demonstrates that when leaders ask thoughtful, open-ended questions, psychological safety tends to increase. People feel safer to contribute, challenge, and care. Vulnerability, then, isn’t a soft skill, it’s a leadership strength that fosters clarity, agency, and relational power.
You might try something like this. In your next meeting, pause to ask one of the questions
above. Watch not just what is said, but what opens up.
With understanding,
Maria