Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage are not always comfortable, but they’re never weaknesses.
–Brene’ Brown
When it comes to deeper connections and shared vulnerabilities at work, what are the unspoken rules? I was a brand-new affiliate psychology professor on my way to my first class when, in passing, the Dean of Instruction asked me: “How are you feeling about your new class?” I replied: “Insecure and overwhelmed.” She stopped dead in her tracks saying: “Oh my, we all feel that way, but no one ever actually says it.” To this day, I’m not sure if I had just done a good thing or a bad thing. What were the rules? What I can say is that whenever I have had a brief water cooler style conversation about a vulnerability – usually with another colleague in my building, I felt much less isolated. This begs the question of those who establish the cultural norms at work – how do you encourage safe, open, honest, connected conversations?