This Magic Monday, take a chance and be vulnerable. Connection builds better relationships with your employees and clients.
Any given day, you have an amazing opportunity to help your clients improve. You get to share your expertise and leave them a little better than you found them.
But, you also get to connect with our clients. Really connect with them at a meaningful, emotional, human level that will persist long past a singular project.
At the core of all of this is vulnerability. Your clients or customers must be willing to embrace change (which is scary), to learn something new (which can be hard to admit), and to feel worthy of the attention and help (which can be hard to accept). In projects large and small, there are many different types of clients. There are those who are energized by your help and willing to accept it and those who may see help as a sign of weakness.
Here are the questions to consider:
- When I encounter a detractor, could it be more because they fear change?
- Are they a little ashamed they aren’t the expert?
- Are they afraid to admit they fear the path forward is surely defeat?
Nope. Sharing these concerns, my friends is vulnerability.
Vulnerability sometimes gets a bad rap because we tend to associate it with feelings of fear, shame, and worthiness; it is exposing. We fail to understand the positive side of vulnerability, which is joy, creativity, love, and even innovation. Innovation requires the ability to accept the risk of failure, which requires vulnerability.
Think about that for a moment. Innovation requires vulnerability.
When you come across detractors, think about how you can teach them about the other side of vulnerability.
Consider a couple of things:
- Being open about vulnerability, and helping them to see its role in innovation.
- Helping them lean into discomfort and work together as a team.
- Having a crucial conversation to move things forward.
- Displaying the courage to be imperfect, and reminding them of the benefits of ‘progress over perfection.’
At Centric, we are lucky to be part of a culture that embraces vulnerability and UMCX – Unmatched Client Experiences – which at its heart is human connection. Check out Brené Brown’s Ted Talk on vulnerability where she says ‘Connection is why we [humans] are here.’ A fitting description for UMCX.