In a rapidly changing environment, leaders need to maintain an attitude that requires humility and eagerness to learn. Therefore, by showcasing their weaknesses, this leadership style is more effective than a purely dominant leadership style. However, this is not an easy task, and leaders who simply show their weaknesses will appear to be less confident, so how do you find a middle way? There are several techniques that leaders can learn to show weaknesses.
At the end of the leadership workshop, Fabian was very anxious. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't figure out how.
After graduating from university in 1994, Fabian joined an international construction company as a rotational management trainee, and worked his way up the ranks for many years. His long experience in the workplace has taught him that great leaders need a team that works efficiently and flawlessly. Throughout Fabian's career, he has tried to emulate a type of person — someone who has been promoted for his outstanding intelligence.
But in the last five years, Fabian's business has been stolen by competitors. Because his team was not able to respond quickly to the constantly updated expectations of customers. Although the salary offered matched the actual ability of the employees, the three capable people left the company. Gradually, he found that everything was getting harder and harder.
The company sent him to participate in this leadership training course. The focus of this course is to introduce how to guide employees to try new things that must be faced, so that enterprises can adapt to market changes quickly and flexibly. Fabian noticed that his team was only able to create the desired results described in the class if he created a team culture where employees felt safe and allowed them to learn and experiment.
However, when he packed his things and was about to go home, Fabian became anxious. How can you ensure your credibility as a leader and demonstrate your tolerance for learning and trial and error? How can you portray yourself as not perfect without appearing weak?
How do you show your weaknesses calmly?
For many leaders, it is not easy to show their weaknesses and use them as strengths to improve their leadership. While this leadership style is more effective than a purely dominant leadership style in a rapidly changing environment, it doesn't necessarily feel good to be experienced. In fact, the feeling of trying to hide their limitations is the number one factor that causes many leaders to become imposter syndrome, especially when they are promoted to a new role and start a new working relationship. (Imposter syndrome, which refers to successful people who objectively have excellent talents, but cannot attribute their success to ability, but luck, timing, or the false praise of others, believing that they are "impostor" successful people).
Of course, great leadership does not depend on weakness. While a fast-changing environment requires humility and a studious attitude, leaders who simply show their weaknesses can appear less confident. So, how do you find a middle ground? Here are a few tips for showing your weaknesses.
Take learning as a level. How do you talk to yourself when trying something new? How do you communicate with your team? The way of self-talk and the choice of language are important. If we don't pay attention, we will have a sense of failure in case the learning does not meet expectations.
In lockdowns caused by the coronavirus, many people have had to learn new ways to get things done. For example, I have to lecture in front of a camera, not in front of a room of people. The first few attempts, I didn't know how to engage in social interactions, my mouth was dry, and I didn't know where to put my hands. The camera made me feel uncomfortable, and I didn't impress the senior leadership in the way I expected. A voice echoed in my head telling me I screwed up. But in fact, I was just learning.
The first step to calmly showing weaknesses is to use language, both in self-talk and in conversation with others. Language reminds us that learning always comes with practice. At all the critical moments when you feel vulnerable, try to use these kinds of phrases in your conversations – "The brain is a muscle, the more you practice, the stronger you get", "You can't learn to walk without wrestling". Language makes leaders role models, and it is normal to tell others that it is human to learn and make mistakes.
Share your darkest moments. Next, you can share some personal development journeys to create a long-term psychological safety for your team. Talk about your ups and downs in your life, get constructive feedback from your team members, and see areas for improvement and adjustment from their perspective. Sharing past mistakes and failures openly – rather than hiding them – will make leaders look more approachable and less on top. These experiences are your learning process, and daring to share also implies that you are not afraid of any evaluation.
For example, in one survey, CEOs reported on their feedback-sharing and feedback-seeking behaviors with their top management teams. The companies included in the study cover a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, healthcare, business services, technology, software, telecommunications, services, manufacturing, and consumer products and services. The results showed that CEOs felt more psychologically safe among team members when they shared constructive criticism they had received in the past. Talk about the important moments when you are forced to adjust and learn new things, which will help you create a team atmosphere where you can look at "people always have been" and "always learn".
This result was reaffirmed in another study, where a field experiment showed that randomly assigning leaders to share their experiences of vulnerability increased psychological safety after one year (compared to the control group where the assigned leader sought vulnerability sharing from employees did not). The conclusion is that the sharing of feedback on past learning by leaders does not damage their reputation as effective and highly capable leaders.
AbsolutelyIt's not easy for leaders to expose weaknesses. In fact, interviews with leaders and staff members included in the study showed that many felt anxious and embarrassed about the process of sharing their vulnerability and receiving feedback. These leaders admit that they feel nervous before the start and anxious that their employees may look the other way for their abilities and trust. As one of the leaders interviewed, "I was a little nervous about sharing my development history......Strengthened all the restless ...... that have been going through my careerI've always had imposter syndrome. I really don't feel like I'm good enough."
Moreover,The positive effect of a leader's honesty on building a sense of psychological safety in employees is not immediately apparent. Some employees will be surprised and uncomfortable, and some employees will distrust or even doubt the intentions of the leader at first. One leader described the immediate response of employees to the feedback sharing by saying, "No one is talking," and "I look around at you and everyone is quiet. Another leader said: "Everyone is 'like a great enemy' and 'why are you doing this'. ”
But sharing a traumatic learning process, while not easy, is what makes it work. Traditionally, leaders are expected to demonstrate strength, confidence, and competence. Therefore, if a leader admits that he or she has shortcomings and failures, employees are likely to be surprised and take the initiative to find a smooth explanation. In other words, it makes them think harder about what the leader is doing. In this study, both leaders and employees are convinced that feedback sharing helps normalize "weaknesses" over time. Feedback sharing motivates leaders to stick to their commitment to continuous output and motivates employees to reciprocate with their own learning feedback. Over time, these interactions and conversations will make leaders more willing to open up and employees more willing to speak up.
Show moral humility. Leaders understand that their morals and ethics are always watched. And, given the frequency of ethical misconduct in the workplace, leaders need to motivate themselves to behave ethically in their teams in a variety of ways.
It's a pityEthical behavior with the intent of influencing others can lead to negative outcomes. For example, if a leader promotes high standards of ethics, it can sometimes come across as hypocritical and disgusting. This may lead to followers being morally "derailed" or make these standards seem too trivial to be insignificant.
Ironically, when it comes to raising ethical standards, leaders are better off if they show moral humility. There are two ways to do this. First, you can show that you are aware of what is wrong when solving ethical problems. Then, show that you are open to the ideas of others when dealing with ethical issues. By demonstrating appreciation for the good qualities of others, as well as acknowledging the knowledge and skills that others possess in solving ethical dilemmas, leaders initiate ethical concerns and ethical conversations while avoiding the moral superiority of some employees.
For example, in a study of 13 organizations in China, including manufacturing, real estate, and high-tech, researchers surveyed 64 leaders and 295 employees with different functional roles, including research, production, sales, and more. The second follow-up study was conducted in the USA with a total of 250 participants. The results of two studies show that leaders who openly discuss mistakes made in addressing ethical issues are less likely to engage in unethical behavior (such as falsifying receipts and false accounts) and are more open to their employees' opinions when addressing ethical issues.
Employees who perceive the humility of their leaders in dealing with ethical issues will also contribute more altruistic behavior. For example, these employees will be more willing to help colleagues who are absent or overburdened. When leaders demonstrate humility rather than moral superiority, employees are more likely to offer unpaid, random labor because they are more inclined to perceive it as ethically correct.
Leaders wonder, "What can be done to create a stronger sense of psychological safety and resilience for the team?" The answer is to calmly show your weaknesses. This can also help leaders turn self-doubt into motivation to work, allowing them to be open about their imposter syndrome.
Keywords:Leadership
Dan Cable |Wen.
Dan Cable is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. His latest book, Exceptional, is dedicated to helping readers unleash their personal brilliance and unleash their potential. "Alive at Work" introduces the neurological principles that make people love their work.
Yang Qiushi |Translated by Zhou Qiang |Redaction.
In an employee's career, it is very rare to meet a good leader. So, what are the traits or abilities that a good leader needs to have in the eyes of employees? We found that some are good at communicating, some are good at delegation, some dare to expose their weaknesses, some are excellent professional coaches, and so on. If you have a leader like that, follow it.
What kind of leader is worth following? 