Summary: People in your churches and in your lives are hungry for others to be transparent about their past and vulnerable about their present. Emotionally intelligent leaders are not afraid to be honest and real at the right times and with the right people. Don’t be a leader who thinks they need to “have it all together, all the time.”
Great leaders understand the power of transparency and vulnerability. Let’s seek to define these two terms. Transparency is being open and honest about your past. On the other hand, vulnerability is being open and honest about yourself and your standing right now. Transparency is where you have been and vulnerability is where you are currently.
I believe, with all my heart, that people in your churches and in your lives are hungry for others to be transparent about their past and vulnerable about their present. In a false world of social media perfection, we all need to showcase the harder realities of our authentic lives.
Now listen. For all of the black and white people out there, please understand that we must be wise in our transparency and our vulnerability. As my wife likes to say, “Healthy vulnerability is not sharing ALL the things, with ALL the people, ALL the time.” Poor leadership lacks discernment. There are places and spaces where “laying it all out” would not be the best move.
And yet, emotionally intelligent leaders are not afraid to be honest and real at the right times and with the right people. We are not called to present a “curated image” but rather an “authentic image.” Don’t be a leader who thinks they need to “have it all together, all the time.” This is not only untrue, it is unhealthy.
Can I challenge you to begin to exercise the possibly attrified muscle group of vulnerability this week? It may pave the way for great things.