There are many definitions of the word “leader.” But what does it mean to be a good leader? How do good leaders guide their teams? Many ask what characteristics constitute good leadership. Different people will answer this question in myriad ways. Many observers believe exhibiting vulnerability is counterintuitive or even antithetical to one’s status as a good leader. However, we found that vulnerability is a bedrock principle inherent in leadership style and posture.
What are the characteristics of a good leader?
In today’s society, we often hear that good leaders are hard to find. We also hear phrases such as, “She is a born leader.” Finding good leaders is important to all organizations’ stability. Thus, identifying the crucial characteristics of a good leader is crucially important. We have identified the following primary characteristics of a good leader: truthful, collaborative, strategic, and accountable. “Truthful” ties very closely to vulnerability because it requires admission of weaknesses, mistakes, and concerns. “Collaborative” means a leader who considers the opinions and thoughts of others on the team. “Strategic” suggests a leader will ultimately set the agenda or plan of action. Finally, “accountable” means the leader takes ownership of what happens but also holds those on the team accountable for their part of the plan.
Displaying flexibility, consistency, persuasiveness, and motivation are all secondary characteristics of good leadership and support the primary aspects of leadership. Flexibility is demonstrated by the ability to pivot if necessary and may apply to the primary characteristic of being strategic. Consistency is the hallmark of a good leader, which is letting others know you are available and may apply to the primary characteristics of being truthful and accountable. Persuasiveness entails getting others to see your vision and is part of collaboration. Finally, motivation may require someone to be inspirational to those working with you and ties closely to being collaborative and accountable. Good leaders often demonstrate many of the primary and secondary characteristics.
What role does vulnerability play in good leadership?
Vulnerability may seem counterintuitive to the concept of leadership—it often feels like combining oil and water. But when authentically embraced, vulnerability enhances and strengthens one’s position as a good leader in an ever-changing world where both business and life move at the speed of light.
At its core, vulnerability is about expressing who you really are in words and behavior. Definitionally, vulnerability is another way of expressing and taking responsibility for our own personal and professional authenticity. Our ability to be our authentic selves empowers each of us to allow our vulnerability to shine bright and illuminates our strengths as good leaders.
Some might define vulnerability as being weak or passive. However, vulnerability actually empowers leaders to admit things that are true, which also creates and enhances transparency. Vulnerability works simultaneously with the ability to lead collaboratively and strategically; operate with flexibility and accountability; and be honest, a good communicator and listener, and display consistency.
In her book Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead, Brené Brown says, “Vulnerability is not a weakness, and the uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional.”[1] Brown also says, “Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.”[2] In summary, vulnerability allows leaders to lead with who they are and not the titles they hold.
How does vulnerability impact the algorithm of good leadership?
So, what is an algorithm, and how do we deploy an alchemy that fuses good leadership and algorithmic principles? As broadly defined, an algorithm is a step-by-step procedure for problem-solving. Algorithms are thorough, carefully designed, and complete. Algorithms employ logical steps and decision points, allowing every procedure element to be considered.
Good leaders think of the process of becoming good leaders and, through that intentional process, codify their own individual algorithm for good leadership, which serves as their personal and professional imprimatur of leadership to those they lead. There are steps to becoming a good leader, and vulnerability is one of those steps. If one considers a recipe, each ingredient is important to the recipe, and vulnerability is an ingredient. Thus, as one decides to focus on developing leadership skills, one should consider intentionally infusing vulnerability with every primary and secondary characteristic because it is an integral part of the process.
To be a good leader, one must also focus on developing a good team. In his book, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni provides an example of good team building and encourages the members of the team to focus on the following: trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results.[3]
Lencioni further explains that trust allows team members to state concerns to one another and make sure those concerns are not personal. Conflict allows team members to disagree and discuss issues. Commitment allows for buy-in by team members, with a focus on general agreement. Accountability is similar to the definition used when referring to a good leader and allows team members to have tough conversations about the commitment to plans. Finally, results allow the team to focus on goals that support their collective efforts and not individual goals.[4] As the leader, one wants to develop a cohesive team that allows the leader to maximize the team’s functionality.
In Daring Greatly, Brown also points out that “a leader is anyone who holds himself or herself accountable for finding potential in people and processes.” Brown states, “perfectionism is not the path that leads us to our gifts and our sense of purpose; it’s the hazardous detour.”[5] Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence. Perfectionism is also not about healthy achievement and growth. Instead, perfectionism is a defensive move. It’s the belief that if you do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.[6]
Examples of leadership in athletics
The two case studies that follow identify leaders who have maximized their leadership abilities in developing good teams. Coaches Dawn Staley and Mike Tomlin are inspirational leaders who demonstrate the various aspects of good leadership and good team building.
Coach Dawn Staley
Staley is currently the head coach of the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team. She also won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head coach of a US gold-medal-winning team. Staley was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Staley transformed the program at South Carolina from one that did not consistently win into one that is now competing for the NCAA title every season. In 2015, Carolyn Peck, the former women’s basketball coach at Purdue University, gave Staley a piece of the net from her team’s championship at Purdue in 1999.[7] Peck was the first Black female head coach to win an NCAA basketball title. This motivated Staley to continue the tradition and motivate other female coaches to reach the championship. In 2021, Staley gave every female coach of color a piece of the net from South Carolina’s 2017 championship game. The net was used to encourage the coaches to reach for the top. Staley has also been active and vocal in advocating for equal pay for female coaches.
The WNBA recognized Staley’s leadership ability by creating an annual award in her name. In 2008, the WNBA awarded its first Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award to a player in the WNBA “who best exemplifies the characteristics of a leader in the community where she works or lives.”[8]
One example from a recent Sports Illustrated piece demonstrates a few aspects of Staley’s effective leadership. In a March 2023 NCAA tournament game against UCLA, South Carolina was winning 46–30 late in the third quarter when a UCLA player was injured. The referees did not award UCLA an injury timeout. But instead of allowing her team to take advantage of the Bruins’ injury and make an easy basket, Staley called a timeout to ensure the player got the assistance she needed. UCLA coach Cori Close said Staley’s decision to call a timeout was a class act. “That’s exactly what it showed: her class and her global view of the game and what was most important in that moment,” Close said. Staley calling a timeout demonstrated care and concern for the issue at hand. It was an excellent display of care and vulnerability.[9]
During Staley’s career, she has demonstrated many characteristics identified for good leadership. She has led by example for many issues concerning women in sports, and she has positively led her team.
Coach Mike Tomlin
Like Staley, Mike Tomlin is another example of a professional sports coach who exemplifies what he believes about vulnerability and good leadership.
Tomlin is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a professional football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL). Tomlin was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 22, 2007, as the head coach. He had previously been a defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At 34, Tomlin was one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL at that time. He won a Super Bowl two years later in a game against the Arizona Cardinals. Tomlin has remained the coach of the Steelers for 16 seasons. During those 16 seasons, the Steelers have never had a losing season, and Tomlin’s overall record is 163–93–2. Tomlin has led the Steelers to two Super Bowls, winning the 2008 championship and losing the 2010 title.
In an interview with radio host Rich Eisen in 2022, Tomlin was asked about his reputation as a player’s coach and stated: “I have a bunch of individual relationships.” During the show, Tomlin said, “I don’t try to treat people the same, I try to treat people the way they deserve to be treated. . . . So, I have a bunch of individual relationships, and it’s something to manage.”[10]
In an interview on the podcast The Pivot, when speaking about creating relationships with his players, Tomlin said, “You can’t do ordinary stuff and expect unique results.”[11] Tomlin also stated that a leader must be vulnerable, open, open to intimacy, and able to discuss his successes and failures. Tomlin shared that he has to let his players see him and helps his players “with every aspect of their lives, football and otherwise.” He added, “Somebody has to be all in for everyone to be all in, and so when you are in a position of leadership, shouldn’t you own the initial component of that?”
In a January 2023 press conference following the conclusion of the season, Tomlin also said, “We don’t prepare for failure.”[12] He added that he does not think about the off-season until his team is eliminated. When asked whether it is tough to evaluate a coach because the coach worked with inexperienced players, he replied, “I’m paid to do tricky.”
The highlights above show that Tomlin understands the importance of vulnerability as being a part of good leadership. Tomlin understands that getting to know his players and letting his players get to know him—including his failures and successes—is key to leadership. Tomlin is willing to reveal himself to his players first so they understand that he is available to them. Finally, Tomlin also believes that being a leader requires one to make hard decisions and that sometimes the decisions are “tricky.” Thus, Tomlin suggests he should ultimately be held accountable for decisions involving the team. It is obvious from his statements that Tomlin embraces the concept that a leader must be vulnerable to be effective. Tomlin also embraces being accountable for his decisions that affect his team’s performance. Good leaders understand that one must be all-in and accountable.
As highlighted above, Tomlin wanted his players to see him and understand that not everything is always going to be perfect. In fact, Tomlin’s statements simply convey that one can succeed with failures or mistakes occurring during the process. Brené Brown says that learning new things inevitably involves messing up and making mistakes. So, daring leadership doesn’t avoid this reality but puts systems in place to deal with mistakes without shame.[13] We must find gracious space to normalize and model good leadership when things do not go as planned.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that we must constantly be vigilant about communication, trust, be good listeners, find the appropriate measure of accountability, and be prepared but not scared. Remember to embrace vulnerability because it is a key ingredient of good leadership.
Takeaways
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Identify the key aspects of good leadership and build opportunities to apply a measured approach to good leadership.
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Explore vulnerability as a crucial part of the algorithm of good leadership.
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Examine opportunities for applying vulnerability to leadership scenarios.
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Reflect on examples of good leadership and how vulnerability manifests in good leadership.
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Outline the key aspects of good team building and help your teams grow.
