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Keywords

Vulnerability, Humility, Teachability, Awareness, Organizations, Cohesion, Productivity

Abstract

In some professions, such as medicine, law enforcement, athletics, and education, maintaining high performance standards while being emotionally stoic often leads to work fatigue and burnout. This state of being can be detrimental to the health of both the professionals and the organization that employs them, bringing into question the necessity of a culture driven by competition and ego. As such, this paper explores the concept of vulnerability as a means to explain cognitive and emotional processes that positively affect relational behavior and organizational culture. Judicious vulnerability sits at the intersection of humility, teachability, and awareness and has the capacity to greatly enhance the interrelation of groups and teams in professional settings. It appears that the presence of these attributes in group- and team-members enhances communication, strengthens cohesion between teammates, and increases overall team productivity, suggesting that vulnerability is not a weakness or susceptibility, but rather an emotional and cognitive strength.

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