Latest / The Human Factor: Exploring the Intersection of Humanity, Technology, and Transformation / Episode 007: The Vulnerability Advantage: Why Admitting Weakness Makes Organizations Stronger
Transcript
- 0:05Picture the scene Fortune 500 board The CEO has just been
- 0:10asked about a failed digital transformation initiative that
- 0:13cost $12 million. Everyone in the room knows it
- 0:17failed, the press knew knows it failed, the employees definitely
- 0:22know it failed, and customers have surely felt the pain.
- 0:26The CEO leans forward and says we're seeing tremendous learning
- 0:30from our strategic pivot and we're excited about the
- 0:34optimization opportunities ahead.
- 0:37And the translation it failed, but I can't admit it.
- 0:40And in that moment, the CEO just made failure inevitable again.
- 0:45Because when leaders can't admit what everyone already knows,
- 0:49they guarantee they'll never learn what they need to know.
- 0:54Today, we're exploring one of the most counterintuitive
- 0:57principles in transformation psychology.
- 1:00Vulnerability isn't weakness, it's a superpower.
- 1:05But only if you know how to use it.
- 1:07I'm Kevin Novak, CEO of 2040, Digital Professor at the
- 1:11University of Maryland and author of the book The Truth
- 1:13about Transformation and the Ideas and Innovations Weekly
- 1:17newsletter. And I'm Elizabeth Stewart,
- 1:20Kevin's consulting partner at 2040 Digital.
- 1:23I spent the last 15 years helping organizations transform
- 1:27their operations and resources, both human and financial, and to
- 1:32manage change and address innovation.
- 1:34Welcome to the Human Factor Podcast, the show that explores
- 1:38the intersection of humanity, technology, and transformation,
- 1:42along with the psychology behind transformation success.
- 1:46You know, Kevin, this topic always generates the most
- 1:49resistance when we bring it up with leadership teams.
- 1:53Why is that? It's true, the idea that
- 1:56emitting weakness could be a strength goes against everything
- 1:59most executives have been taught about leadership.
- 2:04So Elizabeth, before we dive in, I want to acknowledge something.
- 2:09This episode idea came from you, from your patterns that you've
- 2:13been seeing in our client work. Can you share what sparked this?
- 2:18Of course, you know, over the past year I've noticed something
- 2:21fascinating. The organizations that
- 2:24transformed successfully aren't the ones that project the most
- 2:27confidence. They're the ones comfortable
- 2:30enough to say we don't know. Sometimes even at meeting, we
- 2:34don't know what we don't know, but we're going to figure it
- 2:37out. And conversely, the ones that
- 2:39fail are often the ones that pretend, sometimes assume to
- 2:43have all the answers. Exactly.
- 2:46There's this pattern I keep seeing leadership analysis, a
- 2:49transformation with absolute certainty.
- 2:52We know exactly where we're going and how to get there.
- 2:55Six months later, when reality doesn't match the plan, they
- 2:59can't adjust because they inbox themselves into false certainty.
- 3:04It's what I call the confidence job.
- 3:06The more confidently you present your strategy, the harder it
- 3:09becomes to adapt when you learn new information, since you are
- 3:13practically admitting your strategy may have been
- 3:16incomplete or flawed from the start.
- 3:19And transformation is all about learning new information.
- 3:23By definition, you're doing something you haven't done
- 3:25before, so how could you possibly have all the answers?
- 3:30Today, we're going to explore why vulnerability accelerates
- 3:34transformation, how pretending to have answers prevents finding
- 3:39real solutions, and what happens when organizations create what
- 3:42we call psychological safety through strategic vulnerability.
- 3:48We'll also share some surprising examples of how admitting
- 3:52weakness has become a competitive advantage for some
- 3:55of the world's most successful organizations.
- 3:58Kevin, let's start with what we call the hiding cascade.
- 4:01Can you explain what this is? It's a phenomenon where everyone
- 4:06in an organization is hiding the same problems, believing they're
- 4:09the only ones struggling. It starts at the top and
- 4:12cascades down through every level.
- 4:15You know, I saw this recently with the technology company
- 4:18implementing a new CRM system. Can I share that story?
- 4:23Oh please do, it's a perfect example.
- 4:27Well, the CEOCEO announced the CRM transformation with great
- 4:31fanfare. This will revolutionize how we
- 4:34serve customers. The executive team nodded
- 4:37enthusiastically. Privately, the CFO was terrified
- 4:41about the cost, as he should be. The CTO was worried about
- 4:45integration, as he should be. The head of sales knew her team
- 4:49would revolt. But in the meeting, everyone
- 4:51smiled and agreed. Because admitting concern would
- 4:55be seen as a weakness or disloyalty.
- 4:59Exactly. So each executive went to their
- 5:02teams and presented the Saint Paul's Confidence dealership is
- 5:06fully aligned. This is going to be amazing.
- 5:09Their direct reports had the same concerns but stayed quiet
- 5:12for the same reasons. And this cascade continues all
- 5:16the way down to the front lines. But the people who actually use
- 5:21the system everyday are thinking, Oh my goodness, this
- 5:25is never going to work. But I guess I'm the only one who
- 5:28sees it. And six months later, the
- 5:31implementation is failing. But here's the tragic part.
- 5:35Everyone knew it would fail. The collective intelligence of
- 5:38the organization had identified every problem, but that
- 5:41intelligence was trapped behind a wall of false confidence.
- 5:46And the research on this is fascinating.
- 5:49Amy Edmondson from Harvard has spent decades studying
- 5:52psychological safety. Her data shows that teams where
- 5:56people admit mistakes and ask questions outperform confident
- 6:00teams as a confident teams by 40% on average.
- 6:06But here's what's counterintuitive.
- 6:08It's not the junior people who need to be vulnerable first.
- 6:10It's it's the leaders. That's right.
- 6:15Google's Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was
- 6:18the number one factor in team performance.
- 6:21But safety doesn't mean convert, OK.
- 6:24It means people feel safe being uncomfortable.
- 6:27Safe to say I don't know. Safe to say I was wrong.
- 6:34Safe to say I need help. And that's safety.
- 6:39It only exists when leaders model it first.
- 6:42When Aceo says I don't have all the answers, it doesn't make
- 6:46people lose confidence in him or her.
- 6:49It gives them permission to be open and and honest.
- 6:53Yeah, let let me share an example from my own experience.
- 6:56I was teaching a class at the University of Maryland.
- 6:59The student asked me about a specific technology and its
- 7:02influence on changing society. It was surfacing a new social
- 7:07network that was using AI that I wasn't aware of.
- 7:11I could have given a generic answer that sounded
- 7:13authoritative to be the professor.
- 7:16Instead, I said, you know what? I don't know, but that's a great
- 7:20question. Let's all talk through it
- 7:22together. So what happened next?
- 7:25The entire dynamic of the class changed that evening.
- 7:28Students that have been silent started sharing their own
- 7:31thoughts and uncertainties. It turned from a lecture into a
- 7:34collaborative discussion and an exploratory session, which is
- 7:38the most great way to to get kids engaged.
- 7:42And we actually came up with rational and important answers
- 7:45to the initial question, and it was so much better than I could
- 7:48have provided alone. That's the vulnerability
- 7:52advantage in action. By admitting what you don't
- 7:55know, you unlock the collective intelligence of the group or the
- 7:59team. But most organizations do the
- 8:01opposite. They create what you call
- 8:03competence theater. And competence theater is when
- 8:08everyone performs confidence they don't feel.
- 8:11Meetings become performances when people recite their lines
- 8:14like everything's on track. No major issues, full steam
- 8:18ahead. Meanwhile, the real
- 8:20conversations happen in the hallways, private messages and
- 8:23after work drinks. So people say, Can you believe
- 8:27this disaster? Or this is never going to work.
- 8:31What? What can we do?
- 8:33The organization has two realities, the official one
- 8:36where everything is fine, and the shadow one where everyone
- 8:39knows that it's simply not Elizabeth.
- 8:44There's a paradox here that we need to address.
- 8:47How do you maintain credibility while admitting uncertainty?
- 8:51Won't people lose faith in leadership that doesn't have all
- 8:54the answers? This is a vulnerability
- 8:58competence paradox. OK, It's based on a fundamental
- 9:02misunderstanding of what competence actually means in
- 9:05complex environments. Of course, traditional thinking
- 9:08says competence equals having the answers.
- 9:12But in transformation, cometence equals finding answers.
- 9:16Those are very different things. Can you elaborate on that
- 9:20distinction a little more? Sure.
- 9:23So in a stable environment with known problems, competence means
- 9:27expertise, right? You've seen this before.
- 9:30You know the solution. But transformation by definition
- 9:34means doing something new. The problem is novel, the
- 9:38context is unique. Previous solutions may not
- 9:41apply. So competence becomes about
- 9:44process, not answers. Right.
- 9:47It's about knowing how to navigate uncertainty, not
- 9:51pretending uncertainty doesn't exist.
- 9:54You know, I love the framework you developed for this.
- 9:56They're confident uncertainty model.
- 10:00Thank you, Kevin. It came from observing leaders
- 10:03who successfully balance vulnerability with credibility.
- 10:07They're confident in their ability to figure things out
- 10:10while being uncertain about exactly what they'll figure out.
- 10:13Yeah, they say things like I don't know the answer, but I
- 10:17know how we'll find it. Or they might say, this may not
- 10:22work, but here's how we'll know quickly and how we can adjust.
- 10:27And of course, that's very different from false certainty.
- 10:30This will definitely work because I said so.
- 10:33There's actually neuroscience behind why vulnerable leaders
- 10:37inspire more confidence when someone admits uncertainty.
- 10:42Our brains recognize authenticity.
- 10:45Mirror neurons fire differently when we observe genuine emotion
- 10:49versus perform emotion or fake emotion.
- 10:53People have excellent BS detectors.
- 10:56That is very, very true. We evolved to detect deception
- 11:01because it was a survival. It was survival critical.
- 11:04In the small tribes. When a leader projects false
- 11:07confidence, people sense it, even if they can't articulate
- 11:11why. Yeah, this creates what I call a
- 11:13trust deficit. The gap between what leaders
- 11:16saying and what people sense creates organizational anxiety,
- 11:20and anxiety destroys performance.
- 11:23Studies show that teens operating under false certainty
- 11:26make 34% more errors than teens that acknowledge uncertainty.
- 11:31And that's because they're spending cognitive energy
- 11:34maintaining the facade instead of solving problems.
- 11:37So let me share a story that illustrates this perfectly.
- 11:40Kevin, a healthcare system was implementing a new patient
- 11:45management system. The CIO stood up and said, I'll
- 11:49be honest, this is the most complex integration I've ever
- 11:52attempted. I don't know if our approach
- 11:55will work, but here's how we'll find out fast, and here's how
- 11:59we'll adjust if it doesn't. That's vulnerability, but
- 12:03confident. And the response was
- 12:06fascinating. Instead of panic, there was
- 12:09relief. One department had actually
- 12:11said, Thank God someone finally admitted this is hard.
- 12:15Because everyone already knew it was hard.
- 12:19But they were all pretending it wasn't.
- 12:21Once the CIO broke the spell, real problem solving could
- 12:25begin. Teams started sharing concerns
- 12:28early instead of fighting them. They created rapid feedback
- 12:32loops instead of long review cycles.
- 12:34And then they celebrated learning from failures instead
- 12:38of fighting them. So what were the results?
- 12:42Well, the implementation still had challenges, but they solved
- 12:45them 60% faster than previous system rollouts.
- 12:48Not because they had better technology or even more
- 12:51resources, but because they had the psychological permission to
- 12:55be honest about the problems. And this connects to something
- 12:58called the competence curse. The more expert someone is, the
- 13:02harder it is for them to admit ignorance.
- 13:05Which is particularly problematic in transformation
- 13:08because experts expertise in the old way can actually be a
- 13:12liability for the new way. I see this with digital
- 13:16transformation constantly. The executives who built their
- 13:19careers in pre digital feel they need to be experts in digital to
- 13:23maintain credibility. So they pretend to understand
- 13:27technologies. They actually don't.
- 13:30They make decisions based on limited knowledge, and they
- 13:33create strategies that simply don't make any sense.
- 13:37When what they should be saying is I built this company without
- 13:41digital, now I need to learn digital and I need your help.
- 13:46And that statement alone could inspire more confidence in any
- 13:50amount of false expertise. So how do organizations create
- 13:54what you call strategic vulnerability?
- 13:57How do you build a culture where admitting weakness is seen as a
- 14:00strength? It starts with understanding the
- 14:04difference between productive and unproductive vulnerability.
- 14:08Not all vulnerability is helpful, you know.
- 14:10Can you give an example of each? So unproductive.
- 14:15Unproductive vulnerability is emotional dumping without a
- 14:18purpose. A leader saying I'm overwhelmed
- 14:21and I don't know what to do and there's no follow up that
- 14:25creates anxiety without direction.
- 14:27Its vulnerability is abdication. Exactly.
- 14:32Productive vulnerability acknowledges limitation while
- 14:35maintaining agency. This is challenging me in new
- 14:38ways. Here's what I'm learning, and
- 14:41here's what I need from you. It's really vulnerability as
- 14:44invitation. It becomes inclusive and
- 14:47welcoming. Yes, it invites others into
- 14:51problem solving rather than dumping problems on them.
- 14:55So you've developed a framework for this, the Admit Protocol.
- 15:00The admit stands for this. OK a acknowledge what you don't
- 15:04know D define what you need to learn M mobilize resources to
- 15:11learn it. I iterate based on feedback and
- 15:15D transparency about the process.
- 15:18So let's walk through each item. Acknowledge is simply stating
- 15:23the uncertainty clearly. No hedging, no minimizing.
- 15:27You just say we don't know if this approach will work.
- 15:30Which of course is different from.
- 15:31We're fairly confident this might work.
- 15:34That hedging language actually creates more anxiety because
- 15:38people sense the hidden uncertainty.
- 15:41Define means being specific about knowledge gaps.
- 15:44Not we need to learn about AI, but we need to understand how AI
- 15:50will impact a specific workflow. Mobilize is where vulnerability
- 15:54becomes productive. That's right.
- 15:57You're not just admitting ignorance, you're active
- 16:00actively addressing it. Here's who we're bringing in,
- 16:04here's what we're studying, and here's how we'll experiment.
- 16:08Iterate acknowledges that learning isn't linear.
- 16:13No, it isn't, You say we'll try this, we'll learn, and we
- 16:16adjust. Our first attempt probably won't
- 16:19be perfect or even right. And transparency means sharing
- 16:23the learning process, not just the outcomes.
- 16:27Here's what we tried, Here's what failed, Here's what we
- 16:30learned, and here's what we're trying next.
- 16:34I want to share how we've used this at 2040 Digital.
- 16:37When we started developing the human factor method, I I could
- 16:40have presented it as a finished framework.
- 16:43Instead, we were transparent about its evolution.
- 16:48How did the clients respond? They became Co creators, they
- 16:51shared what worked, what didn't and and what was missing.
- 16:55The framework became stronger because we admitted it wasn't
- 16:58perfect. It also became adaptable to each
- 17:01client situation, which was always first and foremost my
- 17:04goal. And that's the paradox.
- 17:07Admitting imperfection leads to better outcomes than claiming
- 17:11perfection. And there's another element
- 17:13here, what you call vulnerability boundaries.
- 17:17Oh yes, that is crucial. Strategic vulnerability doesn't
- 17:21mean sharing everything with everyone.
- 17:23There are boundaries, you know. What kind of boundaries?
- 17:28So temporal boundaries, which is some uncertainties, need to be
- 17:32resolved before sharing broadly. If you're considering layoffs,
- 17:35for example, you work through the decision before creating
- 17:39organizational anxiety. Hierarchical boundaries.
- 17:43Sometimes senior leadership needs to process uncertainty
- 17:47before cascading it down, not to hide it, but to frame it
- 17:51productively. And personal versus professional
- 17:54boundaries. Critical distinction, Kevin
- 17:58sharing that you don't understand a technology is
- 18:01professional vulnerability. Sharing your marriage problems?
- 18:05No, that is not strategic vulnerability in a work
- 18:08environment. Unless it's affecting your
- 18:11performance in a way the team needs to understand.
- 18:14Well, even then it's about professional impact, not
- 18:17personal details. You could say I'm dealing with
- 18:20some personal challenges that might affect my availability
- 18:24versus detailed personal information about your marital
- 18:27wolves. Let's look at some examples of
- 18:31organizations that have used strategic vulnerability as a
- 18:34competitive advantage. Microsoft for instance, for
- 18:38instance under Satya Nadella is a perfect example.
- 18:42It's a complete transformation from the bomber era.
- 18:45When Nadella became CEO, Kevin Microsoft was seen as arrogant,
- 18:50insular and declining. His first pager speech included
- 18:54the line We need to rediscover our soul.
- 18:58And he admitted the company had completely lost its soul along
- 19:01the way. He talked about moving from know
- 19:04it alls to learn it alls. That's vulnerability as an
- 19:08organizational strategy. And it worked.
- 19:11Microsoft's market cap has increased significantly under
- 19:14his leadership, and they are now seen as a critical linchpin in
- 19:17AI development and hosting. And not despite the
- 19:21vulnerability, but because of it.
- 19:24By admitting they didn't have all the answers, Microsoft
- 19:27became open to partnerships, to new technologies and customer
- 19:31feedback they'd previously ignored.
- 19:34Another example is Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates.
- 19:40Where radical conspiracy is a core principle.
- 19:43They record every meeting. Anyone can challenge anyone,
- 19:46regardless of the hierarchy. Mistakes.
- 19:48Mistakes are dissected publicly. That may sound brutal, but it's
- 19:54actually psychological safety through radical vulnerability.
- 19:58Everyone's imperfections are visible, so no one needs to hide
- 20:02them. Let's bring this to practical
- 20:05application. A leader listening to this is
- 20:08probably thinking, OK I get it, but how do I start?
- 20:12Start small and be specific. Pick one area where you
- 20:16genuinely don't have the answers.
- 20:19Not your deepest strategic uncertainty, but something
- 20:21that's truly manageable. In your next team meeting, for
- 20:25example, say something like I want to be transparent about
- 20:28something. I don't fully understand how our
- 20:31customers use our new feature. I've been assuming X, but I
- 20:35realize I might be wrong. So what are you all seeing?
- 20:39And then this is really crucial. Actually listen to the responses
- 20:43that you get. And without defending your own
- 20:46assumptions, without explaining why you thought what you
- 20:49thought. But just listen and learn.
- 20:51So E what usually happens. Well, three things, right?
- 20:55First, relief. People physically relax when
- 20:58leaders admit uncertainty. Second, engagement.
- 21:02People who normally stay quiet, they start contributing 3rd
- 21:07information. You learned things that have
- 21:09been hidden by the confidence cascade.
- 21:12But here's what leaders fear loss of respect.
- 21:16But Kevin, in your experience, have you ever lost respect for a
- 21:20leader who genuinely admitted they didn't know something?
- 21:24Never I I've lost respect for leaders who pretended to know
- 21:27things that they didn't. But admitting ignorance was
- 21:31commitment to learning. That builds respect.
- 21:35This research on this, Stanford's Carol Dweck, studied
- 21:40how children respond to adults who admit mistakes.
- 21:43Children actually trust adults more when they acknowledge
- 21:47errors than when they claim perfection.
- 21:50And we don't. You and let me do this with our
- 21:53own kids. All the time.
- 21:55And we really, we really don't change that much as adults.
- 21:59We don't. We still trust authenticity over
- 22:02authority. So let me show a share of
- 22:05failure of mine. Early in developing our
- 22:07assessment toilet transformation assessment.com, I was convinced
- 22:11we needed to measure 50 different variables.
- 22:14I presented this to our team with great confidence.
- 22:19And what happened? The data and team insight was
- 22:22overwhelming. What I plan to include was a
- 22:24lot, the team shared users would be overwhelmed as they tried to
- 22:29complete the assessment. It was just so stressful.
- 22:32The results were going to be too complex, they said, to be even
- 22:36actionable or even for us to interpret.
- 22:39But I've been so confident that I initially defended it rather
- 22:43than admitting that there was a problem.
- 22:46So how did you shift, Kevin? So, Elizabeth, you actually
- 22:49called me out. You said, Kevin, this isn't
- 22:51working and everyone knows it is.
- 22:53And for anyone who knows Elizabeth, she's very direct and
- 22:56I, I respect that greatly. And I, and I'm glad you admitted
- 23:01that, because I do remember that conversation.
- 23:05And and it stung, but you were right.
- 23:07I brought the team together and said OK, I was wrong, this is
- 23:11too complex. Help me fix it.
- 23:14And. We simplified it to the core
- 23:16factors that actually predict transformation success.
- 23:20The assessment became more powerful by becoming more
- 23:23simple, but it only happened because I admitted the original
- 23:26approach failed. So what can leaders do tomorrow
- 23:31to start building strategic vulnerability?
- 23:34First, audit your confidence performances.
- 23:37Where are you pretending to have answers that you don't have?
- 23:42Make a list. Be honest with yourself before
- 23:45being honest with others. Second, practice Elizabeth's
- 23:49admit protocol with something small, Pick a low stakes
- 23:52uncertainty and walk through those five steps. 3rd, create
- 23:57vulnerability permissions in your next meeting.
- 24:01Explicitly invite uncertainty. What are we pretending to know
- 24:05that we actually don't? 4th Reward vulnerable truth
- 24:10telling. When somebody admits a mistake
- 24:13or uncertainty, thank them publicly.
- 24:16Yeah, you can say thank you for flagging that.
- 24:19That took courage and it helps us all. 5th distinguish between
- 24:24confidence in your values and certainty about your methods.
- 24:29You can be absolutely confident in where you're trying to go
- 24:33while being uncertain about exactly how to get there.
- 24:37And that's really the sweet spot.
- 24:39Confident uncertainty, Elizabeth, this has been one of
- 24:44my favorite conversations that we've had.
- 24:46Any final thoughts? Just that vulnerability isn't
- 24:50the opposite of strength, it's the foundation of strength.
- 24:54When organizations stop wasting energy maintaining facades, they
- 24:58can use that energy to actually transform.
- 25:01And you become more successful as a leader when they see you as
- 25:04authentic. The organizations that will
- 25:07thrive aren't the ones with all the answers.
- 25:10They're the ones brave enough to admit they don't have all of the
- 25:14answers. And smart enough to find them
- 25:17together. In our next episode, we're
- 25:20diving into something that connects directly to what
- 25:23Elizabeth and I discussed today about vulnerability and
- 25:26psychological safety. We're exploring the resistance
- 25:30that hides behind a parent support.
- 25:33Episode 8 is called The 12 Types of Resistance When Support Isn't
- 25:37Really Support. Here's why this matters after we
- 25:41talked about how communication fails even when you're saying
- 25:45the right things in Episode 6, and how vulnerability creates
- 25:49the foundation for authentic change today in Episode 7, you
- 25:53need to understand what's actually happening beneath the
- 25:56surface. When people say they support
- 25:59your transformation, but their behavior tells you a different
- 26:02story, I'm going to show you the 12 distinct psychological
- 26:06patterns that appear helpful, professional, and supportive
- 26:09while systematically preventing transformation from succeeding.
- 26:14Innovation resistance that appears as quality control.
- 26:17Knowledge transfer resistance that shows up as documentation
- 26:21requirements. Authority distribution
- 26:23resistance that manifest as governance proposals.
- 26:27Each pattern sounds rational in isolation, but together they
- 26:31create the invisible drag that explains why transformations
- 26:35with full support still fail at predictable rates.
- 26:39The supporters aren't lying about their commitment, they're
- 26:42operating with multiple simultaneous truths that they
- 26:46can't consciously reconcile. And once you can see these
- 26:49patterns as patterns rather than individual concerns, once you
- 26:53can address the underlying psychology rather than just the
- 26:57surface request, transformation becomes possible in ways no, it
- 27:01never was when you were fighting resistance directly.
- 27:05That's episode 8, and it builds directly on everything we've
- 27:08discussed about communication, vulnerability and psychological
- 27:13safety across these last three episodes.
- 27:16If you found value in today's episode, subscribe to the
- 27:19podcast, share it with your team, and please leave a rating.
- 27:23And if you're wondering how psychologically safe your
- 27:26organization really is, take our free assessment at
- 27:29transformationassessment.com. Again, Transformation
- 27:34Assessment, oneword.com and subscribe to our Ideas and
- 27:38Innovation newsletter or on substance.
- 27:42Until next time, remember, transformation isn't about
- 27:45having all the answers, it's about being brave enough to
- 27:48admit that you don't. And smart enough to find them.
- 27:53I'm Kevin Novak. And I'm Elizabeth Stewart.
- 27:57This has been the Human Factor podcast.
- 27:59Thank you for watching or listening.