How can you coach employees to be more open to vulnerability?

Be the example. Research shows that vulnerability sparks vulnerability. Be transparent about your mistakes, and how you learn from them. This develops an environment of psychological safety where team members feel free to speak up because failure is normalized. When learning from failure is expected, problem-solving and innovation can occur.

It is important to create a safe space where they feel comfortable expressing themselves. Lead by example, sharing personal experiences to normalize vulnerability. Provide coaching and support to help employees understand its benefits. Offer training on effective communication and active listening. Recognize and celebrate instances of vulnerability to reinforce its value. Encourage risk-taking and learning from failure. Give ongoing feedback and guidance. Foster open dialogue and emphasize the importance of vulnerability in personal and professional growth.

While we can strive to create safe spaces (good intentions), the vary nature of vulnerability is there is risk, uncertainty and emotional exposure. We need to teach employees and leaders to create safe spaces within themselves. We need to teach people how sit with the discomfort of fear, and communicate when they experience judgement instead of attempting to create a "perfect" environment where humans will no longer judge, criticize or react. Those things will happen (even with the best of intentions). We need a shared definition and understanding of vulnerability (based on research), the skills create safety within ourselves, and the skills to navigate hurts with other people when they show up in an imperfect, human way.

Lead by Example. Demonstrate inclusive behavior as a leader. Model respectful communication, embrace diversity, and treat everyone with fairness and empathy. You can start to share something personal about yourself to normalize vulnerability. This creates a more informal atmosphere and encourages your team member to open up as well.

Encourage self-reflection by asking team members to identify their limiting beliefs. One can share examples and discuss how these beliefs can hinder their personal and professional growth. Foster a growth mindset by emphasizing the potential for change and improvement. Create a safe space for open dialogue, allowing team members to share their concerns and challenges. Offer support and guidance to help them reframe limiting beliefs into more empowering perspectives. Regularly reinforce positive outcomes resulting from challenging and overcoming such beliefs. I strongly recommend BHLP by ISABS for one to learn how to be vulnerable and a Growth Mindset program.

There are known myths associated with vulnerability. We can definitely ask questions to create awareness and choice with those myths. It's critical that helping professionals understand what vulnerability is and how it operates to ensure we aren't further promoting the myths (which I see a lot of helping professionals doing). Good intentions, but not based in research. Our own blind spots can get in the way of helping our clients.

I would say positive feedback can also be constructive feedback. We can support employees by focusing on what they are doing well, as well as highlighting opportunities for growth. Understanding what vulnerability avoidance looks like is key for providing meaningful feedback.

Establish a culture of constructive feedback. Encourage employees to provide feedback to one another in a constructive and empathetic manner. This helps in normalizing the idea that everyone has areas for improvement.

To encourage employee vulnerability: - Normalize it: Show leaders' vulnerabilities and weave it into the company ethos. - Promote introspection: Suggest journaling and coaching for deeper self-understanding. - Simulate experiences: Use role-play to practice vulnerability in a protected setting. - Develop emotional intelligence: Self-awareness and empathic abilities. - Address fear of failure: Affirm that errors are essential for progress. - Establish trust: Forge a trusting atmosphere prioritizing team values. - Introduce mindfulness: Teach techniques to handle stress and emotions. - Recognize vulnerability: Applaud it openly to emphasize its organizational importance. These measures can lead to a more creative and collaborative workplace.

I recommend reading Brené Brown's research on vulnerability, including her early work on shame before attempting to coach or train on vulnerability. There's a lot of misinformation and mythology out there.

Vulnerability always begins with how willing and able you are to be vulnerable with yourself in other areas of your life. Coaching an employee to be more open to vulnerability, I would invite them to ask: Do they allow themselves to be vulnerable and share openly with others? Do they feel safe in doing so? What does vulnerability mean to them? Understanding what it means to the employee, how it has been practiced as an individual and how it's been modelled in others is an important starting point. It can be difficult to begin in the workplace without understanding how vulnerability shows up in other parts of their life and if others do not easily model it.