Rise of Tribes

Vulnerability is a big word. Let us understand what this means first. “Vulnerability in the workplace” is the ability to express your true thoughts and feelings authentically, fostering trust, connection, and effective leadership. It involves openly sharing emotions, admitting struggles, providing honest feedback, and participating in difficult conversations without fear of judgment or repercussions.

Leaders and employees who embrace vulnerability demonstrate emotional intelligence, authenticity, and trustworthiness, which are essential for modern organizational success.

Part B will cover Vulnerability from a Leader’s perspective.

“Tears rolled down my cheek, I cried that day, at office, much to my own embarrassment’.

This was my own experience in my first job. A mistake made from me in a project design, made my senior lose her credibility with a consultant, making her furious. My senior blasted me, in front of the entire office. Being a few months old in the company and recently out from college, I could not contain the tears that rolled down my cheek. I rushed out, not wanting others to see me cry at work. This experience is still vivid in my memory. I did have a few other ‘breakdown moments’ later in my career as well – but very few (not because I ‘mastered perfection’, but because you tend to learn to hold back on tears, though certain situations trigger you).

This is us being vulnerable. And no, vulnerability does not imply weakness, it only means, you are Human! How many of you relate to this in your own work life? It need not always be tears, it can be an instance where you felt underestimated, humiliated, unheard or even betrayed (someone close got the promotion you looked forward to, etc).

Prelude to this post: Vulnerability at workplace is a good thing – because it shows you are human!

Each of us, as humans have moments, where we deal with ‘big emotions’ (this term is not only for children but for adults as well). We have this stigma around ‘big emotions’ at workplaces – some say it makes us look weak, people call us ‘sensitive’, ‘too emotional’ and we are given free advice of ‘harden up’, ‘become strong’, etc.

The Good news?

To err is to be human and having ‘big emotions’ about a mistake, about a lost opportunity, about even missing a deadline – It is ABSOLUTELY OK. Does this mean, every mistake can be overlooked? No. But it does mean, that the mistake is not the end of the world. We learn from our mistakes, make course correction and move forward from it. No need of beating yourself up about an instance for months or years to come.

Call to Action:

1. Awareness: The difference each of us should be aware of is – at our workplaces, we have a mix of people in terms of how they handle the ‘Big emotions’. There are people who: (a)Feel more (any feedback discussion may end in a breakdown) (b) People who are able to hold back (process it at a later time) (c) People who may suppress it completely (only to explode at a different moment, for a relatively smaller trigger!) We need to be aware of the spectrum and where our team members fit in this, when we interact with them.
2. ‘No judgement zone’ from each of us – as we allow and hold space for our colleagues/ peers to deal with these Big emotions the way they do. Just being there helps, no need of comforting words or gestures, just be there.
3. The ‘Feelers’: If you are one of the ‘feelers’ who breaks down at the slightest deviation of a plan – it is OK. Let it out. But with time, make sure to build that trusted group of colleagues who can become the safe space, where you can let it out. With time, you will learn to modulate yourself better. Modulation is needed and is sufficient, suppression is not the ask here.

While it is important for team members and colleagues to be aware of how to deal with members who feel these emotions closely, it is also important to sensitize the leaders in the organization who work with these members. More on #Vulnerability in Leaders in my next post.

If you are one of the Feelers, trying to figure out how to modulate the big emotions – drop me a note, happy to help!