Vulnerability

Collectively, we are realising that our 'human' part plays an ever so increasingly crucial role in business as well as in our personal lives.

Slowly – and where we can – we tend to prefer to ditch many of the automated systems that have been put in place in institutions or corporations aimed to 'make our lives easier' or to 'save costs'.

Who doesn't get at least slightly annoyed when, say, calling the help number regarding a particular service or product, only to come across a recorded message without the possibility to explain to someone their specific need? Or how about at certain corporations having to enter into a system one's performance objectives for the year using only graphs and figures on which employees would be evaluated and compensated - usually with little or no consideration for the context?

In such cases, people become a number devoid of any humanity. If people are treated like machines, how can there be talk of respect towards the client or the employee? Does discouraging clients or demotivating employees really 'make lives easier' and 'save costs'?

Such automated systems in our society generally encourage us to numb our emotions and our state of being human.

Yet, we all have our unique story to tell. Others relate to our story and may be inspired by it. One of the most effective ways to connect to someone is through our authentic stories - by exposing ourselves with all our so-called imperfections.

Exposing ourselves wholeheartedly means having the courage and the strength to be vulnerable, to simply be who we are, as opposed to who we are expected to be. That is how we truly connect with others on personal but also professional levels. That is what distinguishes us from robots or machines.

As Dr. Brené Brown, research professor at the University of Houston, explains in her truly insightful TED Talk called "The Power of Vulnerability", "We can't selectively numb emotion… If we numb hard feelings, we numb also joy."

"We can't selectively numb emotion… If we numb hard feelings, we numb also joy."

- Dr. Brené Brown

By blocking negative emotions - for instance grief or the pain of the feeling of abandonment - we deprive ourselves of all emotions, including the beautiful ones like love.

By ignoring or suppressing our courage to be vulnerable, we relinquish quality connections with others, which obviously negatively impacts our business productivity and personal relationships.

The strength to be vulnerable, to authentically share our unique stories and wholeheartedly express our emotions is what makes us human.