Gone are the days of a fearless leader showing a brave front in challenging times. Today’s remote workforce faces very real challenges and great leaders don’t hide from them. The best leaders share their own vulnerability and aren’t afraid to lean into tough questions and healthy conflict.

PRC’s CEO Tara Powers, certified facilitator of Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead culture-changing program, explains why healthy conflict and honesty are the keys to developing a productive, connected company culture. 

What we know for sure is that courage is teachable, observable and measurable. Here are our top three ideas for helping leaders model the way.

• Be Real. Being vulnerable is being human, and our increased capacity to be authentic increases our capacity to be good leaders. With over 60 percent of today’s workforce estimated to continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future, the days of having your five-year-old storm onto your Zoom call aren’t going away. The opportunity to embrace the connection between work and home life creates an opportunity to be more human and real. It’s okay to expose your personal side and create real connections and empathy within your team. An unwillingness to show up in a real way leads to employees’ disengagement and a persistence of the status quo. 
• Conflict is Good. If you’re not uncomfortable you aren’t learning or growing. Great leaders aren’t afraid to ask tough questions and encourage others to do the same. The past’s tendency to avoid directness and honesty leads to an absence of bravery and appropriate risk. 
• Courage is Contagious. Fear is not a bad thing; it’s what we do when faced with fear that matters. By demonstrating that it’s okay to be uncertain or scared, and move forward anyway, we are exposing our tendency to self-protect and move through the fear. We end up building trust and promoting an authentic culture. Now is the time to shake things up, re-shape our culture with courage and storm into a brave new world.

For more info on how to successfully “rumble with vulnerability,” PRC invites you to inquire about Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead program for your team or organization. Other popular PRC programs that build authenticity on teams include: 

• Yes! You Can Have Productive Conflict
• The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team 
• Improving Workplace Relationships Using DISC