Vulnerability Based Trust

Team coaching is one of my favorite types of coaching I do. There are several constructs to creating a functional team. At the foundation is vulnerability based trust. What does that mean? It means people need to be able to be their authentic selves and be valued for it. They need to be able to say in earnest “I don’t know,” “I’m sorry,” “I don’t understand,” AND be met with respect and support. When people are afraid to be honest, share their thoughts, air their disagreements, the team can stall, be less effective, and certainly less efficient. This behavior, vulnerability based trust, needs to be modeled and appreciated by the leader first and safety established. If the leader him/herself struggles with this, the team will as well. That’s why self-awareness is so important for leaders. They may be derailing the team due to their own discomfort. Discomfort doesn’t have to be permanent though, it can pass with some steps to understand and alter it.