authentic leadership – Page 2 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” – Psalm 147:3

A quick Google search netted 279 million hits. No, it wasn’t a search for the newest leadership success story or the latest self-help book that’s been released. This search was perhaps a little more ominous. The search category was simply “broken leaders”.

Broken leaders. It’s not the most pleasant of topics we like to hear and read about. We side-step it, and avoid discussing it, and squirm maybe just a little when the topic is addressed. I mean, after all, we have an image to uphold and a reputation to protect.

Let’s be clear – leadership is hard. John Maxwell, a leadership mentor to many of us summed it up once by saying, “Sometimes leadership sucks”. It’s hard and it’s messy, and not for the faint of heart. Or is it?

As a leader, and in the solitude of this moment in which you are now reading, you might be acknowledging for the first time that you are a broken leader. You’re tired, you’re hurt, you’re discouraged. Behind the public smiles are private disappointments, battle scars, and the lost ambition to try another day. If that’s the case, please keep reading.

The truth is, every leader I know–myself included, have come face to face with our own own brokenness. And it’s in these times that we must be brought back to simple truths that can put it all in perspective. So, to all the broken leaders reading this right now, please remember the following.

You are not alone

The struggles you face are the struggles we all face. On your leadership journey, you do not walk alone. The road to success is a journey of the broken- people who struggle and yet every day are trying to make a difference and add value. We strive together, we serve together, and we walk this road by sharing the load. Regardless of your circumstances today, you need to remember that you are not alone. Click To TweetThe brokenness you feel and the burden you carry is shared by many.

You are stronger than you think

I can’t begin to count the number of times when I thought I could not go on as a leader because of a setback, a failure, or discouragement, etc. But by God’s grace, I can look back and see that in my times of brokenness that hope was not lost but rather it was found in One stronger than me. If you are feeling broken as a leader and you think that you can’t go any further, take a moment and look back at how far you’ve come. Click To Tweet You are stronger than you think.

Your worth is not defined by your worst

Now might be a good time to cut yourself some slack. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the darkest moments in my leadership journey were not ones brought to bear by others – but by the man in the mirror. Over the years, I’ve come to learn that not every fear is fatal and not every mistake is final. But the attitude we chose decides the outcome. Simply put – we’ve all blown it. We’ve made mistakes. We’ve experienced setbacks of our own creation. Your worth is not defined by your worst, forgive yourself and move on. Click To Tweet

Your brokenness can be your blessing

Growing pains are not pleasant. And the feeling of brokenness you have right now as a leader may, in reality, be your growing pains. This season in your life – the brokenness and pain – is serving a greater purpose and is preparing you for your next level in leadership.

“Many of life’s failures, “ said Thomas Edison, “are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”. In your brokenness, you will be tempted to quit and abandon your dream. I’d like to challenge and inspire you today to not see your brokenness as the end of your leadership journey, but rather to see it as the blessing it has the potential to be in your life.

It’s out of your brokenness – your fears, your frustrations, your setbacks, and scars that you will be able to reach back and pull up the struggling leader behind you. Your brokenness may be God’s way of helping you let go of the pieces in your life that don’t belong. Click To Tweet

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I found that the more truthful and vulnerable I was, the more empowering it was for me. – Alanis Morissette

A word about being vulnerable

I read where Will Rogers’ stage specialty used to be rope tricks. One day, on stage, in the middle of his act, he got tangled in his lariat. Instead of getting upset, he drawled, “A rope ain’t so bad to get tangled up in if it ain’t around your neck.” The audience roared. Encouraged by the warm reception, Rogers began adding humorous comments to all his performances. It was the comments, not the rope tricks, that eventually made him famous.

As leaders, we tend to get ourselves into predicaments that are hard to escape precisely due to our obsession with protecting our image. Our greatest leadership strength can be found not in faking perfection but in embracing our own vulnerabilities.

Think for a moment about how different your leadership would look if you dropped the pretense of perfection and having all of the answers in exchange for authentic leadership. Imagine how different your life would be.

Allow me to explore a few ways in which being vulnerable can strengthen your leadership and why it matters.

Vulnerability empowers you as a leader

Think for a moment about the qualities you look for most of the leaders in your life. Melanie Curtin identified the top four qualities that millennials are looking for in an article for Inc. The top four qualities were mentoring, a gentle spirit, authenticity, and integrity,

All four of those qualities are essential to good leadership. When a leader is vulnerable these qualities will shine through. After all, how can you be an authentic leadership without being vulnerable?

If you want to gain respect and earn the trust of the people you lead, you will have to drop the mask and forget about the glittering image and get real.

Vulnerability puts the humanity into your leadership

Some of the most impactful lessons I have learned in leadership over the years from my mentors were not the great success stories they shared. It was the stories of their defeats, failures, and setbacks that inspired me. Why? Because they failed? No. It was inspiring because it allowed me to see them as human and that if they can fail, recover, and succeed then I could as well. It built my confidence.

Being vulnerable as a leader doesn’t mean that you make excuses for your failures or that you lower the bar on your goals or aspirations. Being vulnerable means that you allow your people to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and still be inspired by your leadership.

Vulnerability creates connections in your leadership

Vulnerability opens up a whole new realm of leadership for you that just doesn’t come any other way. So long as you are guarded, distant, and protecting your image, then your people will always be made to feel they can never measure up to your example- or at least make it feel it’s out of their reach.

Vulnerability creates connections and builds bridges with your people that will open up doors and relationships that could not happen otherwise.

If you want to grow your influence as a leader then it’s time to be real, time to be genuine, and time to be vulnerable. Most people can spot a phony a long way off.

Vulnerability quotes

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.” – Brene’ Brown

“We are at our most powerful the moment the moment we no longer need to be powerful.” – Eric Micha’el Leventhal

“Developing people by investing in them doesn’t mean pretending you have all the answers.” – John Maxwell

“Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority.” – Tom Hopkins

A final word

Vulnerability in leadership is essential to good leadership. It’s not an expression of weakness, it’s an expression of being empowered as a leader and comfortable in your own skin. Embrace being vulnerable and watch your influence grow.

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Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Tag: authentic leadership

A Message To Broken Leaders

Leadership In A Word: Vulnerable