Vulnerable Leadership

The practice of leaders openly sharing personal struggles, failures, and feedback with their teams rather than performing authority. Dan Rose developed this approach at Facebook, where he delivered annual end-of-year talks in which he shared personal feedback he’d received (including that peers didn’t trust him), his family’s experiences with illness and mental health, and reflections on mortality and purpose. His thesis: teams led with vulnerability stay together longer, have more fun, and get more done because the openness creates the psychological safety needed for genuine performance.

Where this appears

• I Had a December Tradition… (tweet) — Dan Rose’s thread on his Facebook “end of year talks” practice
• Dan Rose — person stub for the Facebook executive who developed this leadership approach