Exposing the Truth: Why Your Past Struggles Don't Define Vulnerability in Leadership

I have a confession.

I have been guilty of confusing a disclosure pointing to my past as an act of vulnerability.

If you scroll your feed long enough, youll see someone doing the same thing:

• “I struggled with alcohol…"

• "I was addicted to power/drugs/money/sex…"

• "I was homeless and now I ___________…”

This isnt vulnerability.

Theres no denying: storytelling is powerful and plays an incredibly vital role in leadership.

Im not here to trivialize anyones scars. Your story is important.

Im not here to rebuke, slander, or otherwise shame the use of revealing where youve been to celebrate how far youve come.

But, as a cornerstone of emotional intelligence, lets be clear on what vulnerability is and isnt.

📖 Storytelling isnt an act of vulnerability.

🫶🏼 Sharing your pain and triumphs to elicit an emotional response in an attempt to endear yourself and create a shortcut to trust is not vulnerability.

Those are merely the tools of the trade for pastors and politicians.

• Vulnerability is about having the courage to reveal yourself in the present. 😮‍💨

• Vulnerability is about exposing what youre currently experiencing. 🔦

• Vulnerability is the enemy of narcissism. ✌🏼