Episode 169: How Balancing Vulnerability with Ability is the Secret to Great Leadership with Author, Jacob Morgan

Product Thinking

In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri is joined by Jacob Morgan, author of “Leading with Vulnerability.” Join them as they explore what it means to be a leader today. They discuss Jacob’s personal journey to vulnerability, balancing vulnerability and competency, the importance of being self aware and many actionables to be a better overall leader.

Jacob is a five-time best selling author, keynote speaker, professionally trained futurist and all-round expert in leadership and the employee experience. Starting his career in marketing strategy and SEO, he has gone onto roles such as the CMO of HiRank and the Principal for of the Chess Media Group.

He’s previously co-hosted the podcast “Be Your Own Boss” with his partner and is the founder of the Future If Company & The Future of Work University. He is also a member of multiple advisory boards, such as Nasch, a platform that analyzes employee sentiments, identifies people challenges and encourages proactive solutions via smart nudges, and Pyn, an employee communications and experience platform.

You’ll hear them talk about:

• 05:44 - Leading with vulnerability can be confusing for leaders and CEOs that are used to leading with a strong image of themselves. Especially as they also try to balance being vulnerable and approachable but also competent and high performing. Jacob shares that to effectively lead with vulnerability, you need to combine the two in what he calls the vulnerable leader equation: competence plus connection equals leading with vulnerability.

• 17:06 - Context matters when being vulnerable in a professional setting. Jacob uses his framework the “Vulnerability Wheel” which helps leaders be intentional with their vulnerability. Good leaders always have an intention to why they’re sharing their vulnerability such as theyI wanted to create more trust amongst the team or use it as a way to open up dialogue and drive innovation. Jacob notes that without an intention or missing the context of the situation, sharing can become a form of talk therapy that is not for the workplace.
  
• 26:48 - Jacob attempts to guide leaders through the many contemporary nuisances executive face every day with actionables and tips to best utilize vulnerability in a leadership role. The Vulnerability Wheel begins with intention, but then it’s also important to consider who you want to be vulnerable with and when? Plus, the tone of voice can change an interaction and there is a need for professionalism. A quality of self awareness helps in this role as having good judgment is key to effectively leading with vulnerability.
  

Episode Resources:

• Jacob Morgan
• The Future Organization

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Previous guests include:
Tanya Johnson Chief Product Officer at Auror, Tom Eisenmann, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, Stephanie Leue, Chief Product Officer at Doodle, Jason Fried, Co-founder and CEO of 37signals, Hubert Palan, Founder and CEO of Productboard, Blake Samic, Former Global Head of Product Operations at Stripe and Uber, Colin Anawaty, Chief Product Officer of First Dollar, Quincy Hunte, Global Transformation Product Leader at Amazon Web Services, Ellen Chisa, Partner at boldstart ventures, and Leon Barnard, Education Team Lead at Balsamiq
Check out our Top 3 episodes:

• Tackling Product Research with C. Todd Lombardo
• Episode 128: Scaling Product Operations with Blake Samic, Former Global Head of Product Operations at Stripe and Uber
• Episode 153: Decoding the DNA of Successful Product Management with Quincy Hunte, Global Transformation Product Leader at Amazon Web Services