Good managers show their vulnerabilities

Good managers always show their vulnerabilities and seek advice from the team members.

Good managers are aware that when they try to hide their weaknesses, every little microtask becomes a place where insecurities manifest themselves.

Daniel Coyle, author of many famous books like The Talent Code, and The Culture Code, shares a radical idea of creating trust in the teams which is sharing your vulnerabilities.

According to Jeff Polzer, a professor of organizational behavior at Harvard who spent most of his time studying teams says "People tend to think of vulnerability in a touchy-feely way, but that’s not what’s happening".

Polzer says. “It’s about sending a really clear signal that you have weaknesses, that you could use help. And if that behavior becomes a model for others, then you can set the insecurities aside and get to work, start to trust each other and help each other."

Polzer calls this phenomenon as "the vulnerability loop" - A shared exchange of openness, it’s the most basic building block of cooperation and trust.

Vulnerability loops seem swift and spontaneous, but they all follow the same steps:

1. Person A sends a signal of vulnerability.

2. Person B detects this signal.

3. Person B responds by signaling their own vulnerability.

4. Person A detects this signal.

5. A norm is established; closeness and trust increase.

For a group of people to work together and make forward progress, they need to have trust. not just in each other’s abilities, but trust is each other's intentions.

Trusting other's intentions or giving them the benefit of doubt is incredibly hard. However, psychology research indicates that if we take the first step of showing trust and sharing our vulnerabilities, people do reciprocate.