The bravery of fearless leadership and why you have to be vulnerable
Rapidly changing and high-pressure environments, like sports or business, have seen vulnerability emerge as a key to unlocking authentic leadership and, by extension, high performance. From first-hand experience, I’ve seen how vulnerability transforms leaders and teams, enabling them to reach their fullest potential. We know that leadership isn't just about having all the answers. It's about showing up as your true self, with your strengths and imperfections, and leading from a place of authenticity.
What is vulnerability in leadership?
Vulnerability is often misunderstood as weakness or exposing too much of yourself. But in leadership, vulnerability is the courage to be open, honest, and transparent, especially in difficult moments. It’s admitting that you don’t have all the answers, acknowledging mistakes, and being willing to receive feedback. Far from diminishing your authority, vulnerability actually strengthens your credibility and fosters trust and resilience within your team.
Here’s how:
Building stronger connections
When leaders show up as their authentic selves, others are given permission to do the same, forging deeper and more meaningful connections, building environments where trust thrives.
I saw this unfold when the leader of a team I was coaching shared how overwhelmed she felt juggling the demands of new parenthood with a growing team. Her openness sparked deeper conversations among her team. Over the course of the day, colleagues opened up, sharing their own challenges from health scares to feelings of imposter syndrome. The result? Meetings with a different quality to them; more honest, more supportive, more human.
This kind of connection can transform team dynamics. People don’t just feel seen and heard; they feel valued. And when people feel valued, they contribute more fully, listen more deeply, and trust more easily.
Enhancing emotional intelligence
Authentic leaders don’t hide their emotions, they harness them. Cultivating their already high Emotional Intelligence.
At a recent event with a team facing 12 months of real uncertainty, a leader openly shared, “I’m feeling both excited about our opportunities and anxious about the uncertainty ahead. I don’t have perfect visibility into everything that’s coming but I know that if we focus on our key priorities, work collaboratively and openly we can overcome these challenges together.”
That simple act of emotional honesty created trust, inviting others to voice their own feelings and concerns. With vulnerability comes emotional attunement — the ability to lead with empathy.
The more in touch you are with your own emotions, the more capable you are of recognising and responding to the emotions of others. That’s the essence of emotional intelligence, and it has a direct impact on how teams communicate, navigate challenge, and stay focused under pressure.
Creating psychological safety
Vulnerable leaders create environments where psychological safety can flourish allowing people to take risks, innovate, and challenge the status quo without fear of backlash; encouraging feedback, inviting diverse perspectives, and normalising failure as part of the growth process.
When teams know their leader is willing to admit mistakes or ask for help, they feel empowered to do the same. This not only accelerates problem-solving but fosters a culture of innovation. People are more likely to bring forward bold, new ideas when they aren’t afraid of the consequences of being wrong.
Strengthening resilience
Resilience isn’t about never falling; it’s about how quickly you get back up. Vulnerability helps leaders model that. In elite sport, we reviewed every race, win or lose. Owning my mistakes and acknowledging where I fell short felt uncomfortable, but it helped us grow. That openness allowed the team to extract valuable lessons and improve together.
In high-performance settings, setbacks are inevitable. Vulnerability allows leaders to navigate these challenges with transparency teaching that failure isn’t final—it’s a step toward success. When teams develop environments where admitting mistakes is safe and learning is prioritised over blame, innovation accelerates and resilience deepens.
Driving authentic leadership
People follow leaders who are real. Vulnerability breaks down the facade of perfection, making leaders more relatable and trustworthy. Authentic leaders aren’t afraid to be imperfect—they embrace it, and that encourages teams to grow alongside them.
How to embrace vulnerability in your leadership
1. Share your story: Open up about your journey – your struggles, your failures, and what you’ve learned along the way. This helps your team see you as a real person, not just a figure of authority.
2. Seek feedback: Regularly ask your team for feedback, and be willing to act on it. This shows that you value their perspectives and are committed to continuous improvement.
3. Acknowledge your limits: Be honest about what you don’t know. This invites collaboration and empowers your team to contribute their expertise.
4. Model resilience: When faced with challenges, share how you’re working through them rather than hiding your struggles. This demonstrates that setbacks are a natural part of growth.
5. Celebrate failure: Encourage your team to take calculated risks, and when things don’t go as planned, celebrate the effort and the lessons learned. This shifts the culture from one of fear to one of innovation.
If you need support to promote more authentic leadership within your workplace, then please contact us to discuss further.
Published: Monday 24 March 2025
Written by: Anna Hemmings, MBE, OLY.
