The Power of Vulnerability — How Much Vulnerability Can/Should/May We Allow in a Business Context?

This is one of the central questions of contemporary leadership. My position: more than has traditionally been the norm, but with clear calibration and situational differentiation.

When leaders can say "I don't know" or "I made a mistake here," they create space for risk-taking and a constructive error culture. Particularly during phases of strategic volatility, when entering new business areas, or in transformation processes, vulnerability becomes a driver of performance and innovation through psychological safety.

Authenticity about one's own dilemmas — for instance in the face of complex strategic decisions — builds trust and calibrates expectations realistically. This form of "courage over comfort" has a transformative effect.

I draw the line where vulnerability becomes destabilising through excessive uncertainty and turns into a burden for the team. Vulnerability does not mean unfiltered self-disclosure, but rather calculated courage in moments of ambiguity. As a CEO, I bear responsibility for the organisation's sense of security. Personal crises requiring therapeutic support do not belong in management meetings.

For me, contemporary leadership means: keeping human authenticity and professional reliability in balance — consciously embracing vulnerability rather than avoiding it.

What Should One Pay Attention to, Especially as a Public Figure? — Are There Dos and Don'ts?

As a public figure, vulnerability operates under different parameters and achieves exponentially greater reach. What generates trust within a protected leadership circle can be misinterpreted, taken out of context, or instrumentalised in public.

DOES: Deliberately control which information you share with which stakeholder group — not every weakness requires public disclosure. Ask yourself: who has a legitimate interest in this information? Vulnerability requires a conscious choice of context and clear boundaries.Vulnerability must align strategically with your topic, your personal brand, and your core message. Failed projects can be addressed if you stand for a culture of innovation — this creates credibility. Define the learnings yourself before others take over the narrative. Distinguish between vulnerability and oversharing: vulnerability is strategic and purposeful, oversharing is unfiltered and serves primarily to relieve one's own emotional burden.

DON'TS: Do not position yourself as a helpless victim — this erodes your professionalism. Instead, communicate your transformation out of the crisis.

Maintain strict boundaries around private details and protect the privacy of third parties. The rule is: once public, permanently available. Avoid real-time communication during acute crises. Unfiltered emotional reactions or visible overwhelm will durably damage your credibility. The critical factor is timing: tell the story once you have already extracted the learnings — not in the middle of the process.

Why Do We Find It So Hard to Allow This, When Everyone Talks About Authenticity? Isn't It Part of It?

Yes, vulnerability is an integral part of authenticity — a permanent façade of perfection rules out authenticity entirely. At the executive board and supervisory board level, I observe three central reasons for this discrepancy:

1. Contradictory role expectations and misinterpretations We expect leaders to provide security and orientation. Many interpret this as "show no weakness" and mistakenly equate vulnerability with weakness, even though it actually requires strength and courage.

2. Hierarchy and power asymmetry In positions of power, vulnerability can feel exposing. The fear: that uncertainty or mistakes could erode authority. This often unconscious anxiety is reinforced by the structural asymmetries between leadership and team.

3. Cultural conditioning and a lack of role models In the DACH business environment, traditional organisations are dominated by a culture of strength and perfection. "Authenticity" degenerates into a buzzword without lived practice. As long as superiors and peers do not demonstrate vulnerability, no safe space emerges. Someone has to take the first step — which is particularly challenging at the executive board level. We address this dynamic systematically in our High Performance Team Workshops.

Where Are the Limits of Vulnerability and Kindness? — In Business, We Sometimes Have to Make Tough Decisions. Is There Always Room for This? Or Is It All Just Wishful Thinking for a Supposedly Better Future?

My honest answer: No, it is not always possible and not always wise.

Vulnerability does not mean softness in decision-making. You can let employees go, close unprofitable businesses, or speak uncomfortable truths — and still be vulnerable. Vulnerability means saying "This decision is hard, and I take responsibility for it" rather than hiding behind empty phrases.

I see genuine limits where: 

• Individuals instrumentalise and manipulate vulnerability as a point of attack

• Toxic corporate cultures dominated by mistrust and power games prevail

• Information asymmetries exist — such as in negotiations, where it would be strategically unwise to lay all your cards on the table

  
  

In many organisations, power games, political calculation, and people who exploit weakness are the dominant forces. The assumption of universal authenticity is naive.

Further insights can also be found in this external article, in which Daniela Haze discusses vulnerability as a performance factor.