“You begin humanising your organisation by opening up yourself to the humanity of others, and you begin that process by first attending to your own humanity.” - George Kohlrieser  -book "Care to Dare"

Elevate your Hopes and Dreams

Your hopes, dreams and aspirations are legitimate and real ! To feel more alive and get in touch with your humanity, find a way to elevate your hopes and dreams, your passion and joy, your conviction and determination, and your spontaneous enthusiasm for your work and for life.  

Questions to Reflect

  • When has one of your dreams come true ?

  • How did it make you feel ?

  • Do your hopes and dreams feel real to you ?

  • What actions could you take today to give wings to your dreams ?

 Actions Steps

  • Listen to the inner voice telling you your hopes

  • Believe in your dreams

  • Reflect on your level of seriousness about achieving your dreams:

    • Do you have the burning commitment and the focus ?

    • Are you willing to apply the necessary discipline to succeed ? what will you sacrifice ?

    • Do you have the determination to continue when you meet your first obstacle ? How will you cope with failure and defeats along the way ?

    • Who will help you, challenge you and keep you on track with your continuous development ?

  • Take actions today, as if those dreams are real and accessible

If you believe your hopes and dreams are real, and that they could be reachable, you will take actions towards them. And the only way is by believing and acting. What dreams will you act on today ?  

Show your Vulnerability

The number 1 Top of the Mind Fear - shared by business leaders - is the fear of being vulnerable.

We are too often considering emotions as weakness, and the sharing of feelings derived from our emotions as proof that we are not rational.  Modern neuroscience has helped us understand the fallacy of these assumptions. Awareness and sharing of emotions and feelings can makes us strong and impactful, as well as being a highest form of rationality.

We can learn to channel emotions and thus inspire others, ensure accountability and create positive change.

I believe it’s time for those of us who want to inspire, motivate, and lead others to step into our role as a leader with transparency, honesty, and vulnerability. As Mother Teresa said, “Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.”

What if instead of obsessing about being smart, qualified, strong, powerful, innovative, creative, and other conventional leadership qualities, we allowed ourselves to be vulnerable as a way of freeing us up from the intense pressure we often feel as leaders and as a way to influence people in an authentic way?

In the moment when the leader shows emotions, he becomes more accessible as a human being and people therefore want to bond with him. While it may seem counter-intuitive and can sometimes be a little scary, being a vulnerable leader is what I think is needed (and often missing) in our businesses.

Here are some key principles of vulnerable leadership:

Don’t expect to know everything yourself

As leaders most of us like to help others, but often we have a difficult time asking for and receiving help. It’s ok to ask for help, and to admit what you don’t know.

Being the kind of leader who is comfortable enough with yourself, your teams and the people around you to admit when you don’t know something, can’t do something, or simply need help in making something happen, is not a sign of weakness; it’s both a sign of strength and an opportunity to empower others in an authentic way.

Admit and own your mistakes

We all make mistakes, especially as leaders. The more willing we are to admit and own our mistakes (not make excuses, point fingers, or avoid responsibility) the more others will trust us and want to follow our lead. Taking responsibility and apologising for the mistakes we make are not always easy things to do, but they’re essential for us to have true credibility with the people around us.

At the end of day, what matters is that we all learn from our mistakes and then keep on trying.

Share your fear and insecurity

Fear and insecurity are inseparable from being human and being a leader. We all get scared, but too often deny or avoid it, so as not to look weak. However, admitting our fear and sharing it with others does a few important things:

  1. it can free us up from the fear itself.

  2. it allows others to realise we’re human.

  3. it gives the people around us permission to feel and express their own fear, which is essential for individuals and groups if they’re going to come together and move through adversity.

Sharing our fears with others is not something we do to make excuses or to dump our “stuff” onto other people, it’s a bold act of vulnerable leadership and something that can have a profound impact on those around us.

So I’d encourage you to embrace the power of vulnerability by practicing vulnerability and here are the key benefits:

  1. Energy. Self-protective leaders spend their energy maintaining image. It’s draining. Vulnerability enables leaders to spend their energy on energising others.

  2. Connection. Courage to be seen gives others courage to connect. Vulnerability is an open door for those who wish to connect.

  3. Teamwork. Protective silos block teamwork. Vulnerability breaks silos.

  4. Engagement. People dare to engage when they dare to be themselves.

  5. Transparency. Strong relationships require transparency.

What others behaviours and inspirations are for you key to humanise leadership ? Please share your thoughts and opinions at info@beboldcoaching.ch , as I believe that we learn from each others by exchanging !

Elias Gharbi - Leadership Executive Coach