Our leadership team is highly competent but lacks the vulnerability to admit when they make mistakes or need help, which is slowing down our execution. How do we build the deep trust required to make our meetings truly productive and accelerate our growth?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

High-performing teams often struggle with vulnerability because leaders hate to look weak or incompetent. However, without vulnerability, you cannot have genuine trust. When trust is absent, your team will resort to artificial harmony in meetings, hiding their mistakes and protecting their departments instead of solving company-wide issues.

To break this dynamic, you must lead by example. As the owner or Integrator, you must be the first to admit a mistake, share a personal frustration, or ask for help during your meetings. When the team sees that vulnerability is met with support rather than punishment, they will begin to let their guard down.

Additionally, focus on building healthy relationships within the team to reduce effort and accelerate results. Use tools like the trust matrix and personal histories exercises during your offsites to help them understand each other on a deeper level.

Make vulnerability a requirement of your Level 10 Meeting™ sessions. When reviewing Rocks or KPIs, praise leaders who raise their hands and admit they are off track. Frame these moments as opportunities for the team to use the IDS® process and help them solve the problem together, rather than as a failure. When vulnerability becomes normal, your execution speed will skyrocket.