Dr. Carol Grannis is the Chief Self-Esteem Officer for Self Esteem Brands, the parent company of the Anytime Fitness franchise system which is the fastest-growing franchise in the country. She has 28 years of experience in HR, Employee Engagement, and Training and Development. She is also a speaker, lecturer and facilitator for groups all over the world. On this week’s show, she chats with Marcel Schwantes about the leadership powerhouse of vulnerability.

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Show Notes

• Vulnerability is self-disclosure. It is being courageous about disclosing a mistake, something personal about yourself that’s hard, or an emotion. There is a palpable, resonant feeling among people in the room when leaders are vulnerable. [5:10]
• Trust is built when a leader shares a mistake or something personal. Another outcome is that people see you as human. [6:33]
• You can be too vulnerable. Carol says that when you share your mistakes without also sharing a solution and what you learned from your mistakes, your team may doubt your capability as a leader. The pivot point is to share your mistake and then say, “here’s what I’ve learned about it and this is what I’m going to do differently.” [8:48]
• Self-disclosure can be planned or unplanned. Most leaders plan to share a story about their vulnerability as a trust-building strategy. They find that when they share, people are in the moment, and there is a sense of relief and connection. [10:40]
• Our culture teaches us to be tough and competitive. This is why it’s so hard for people to be vulnerable, Carol says. We also fear how we would be perceived as a leader if we display vulnerability. [15:09]
• It is a myth that self-disclosure comes easier for women than for men. Carol finds that when asked intentional questions, men show up just as much as women do. [17:22]
• Marcel asks why people still lead with the iron fist instead of love and care? Carol responds that it is because leaders are rewarded for financial or sales outcomes. Iron fist leadership may get you short-term results but will eventually burn you out. [19:20]
• Carol shares her stories of when she felt love and fear at work. [24:52]
• It is important for leaders to show love by acknowledging, caring about and understanding their employees. It is just as important for leaders to show love to themselves. [30:28]
• Carol challenges listeners to do the Personal Histories Exercise at their next team meeting. Leaders should go first and practice vulnerability. She promises that the tenor, resonance, and relationship of your team will change. [32:20]

Resources

• Self-Disclosure Model
• Carol’s Twitter: @CarolGrannis
• Carol’s Instagram: @carol.grannis
• Email: carol.grannis@sebrands.com

Share your Story of Love and Fear (Be Part of Our Research!)

• Learn more about how to participate
• Direct link to research questions on Survey Monkey

Related Episodes

• Mark C. Crowley: The Physiological Impacts of Bad Management (Episode #14)
• Annie McKee: How to be Happy at Work (Episode #13)
• Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic: Are Women Better Leaders? (Episode #11)

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