Why Vulnerability Isn't the Flex You Think It Is!

Episode Description: How Embracing "Vulnerability" Could Be Sabotaging Your Success (And What to Do Instead) | Revenue Now S1:E2

 What's up, Flow Culture Fam!

In this power-packed episode of Flow Culture, we're diving into a topic that's got everyone talking: Vulnerability in Leadership. Is it really the powerhouse for success we've been led to believe, or is it an overhyped buzzword that's doing more harm than good? 
Our guest, the Outspoken Leadership Critic, doesn't pull any punches as they dismantle the myth and share why vulnerability might be the Achilles heel of your business strategy.

🔥 Key Takeaways:

• Why the term "vulnerability" is causing spikes in anxiety, cortisol, and even loneliness among leaders.
• The physiological and psychological reasons you should NEVER adopt vulnerability as a core value.
• How to replace harmful buzzwords with empowering terms like "authenticity" to unlock your true leadership potential.
• Exclusive actionable steps, including a game-changing exercise to help you identify the language that aligns with your true intentions.
• A special invite to a transformative Masterclass event where you can dive deeper and get personalized insights.

🎙️ Guest:
The Outspoken Leadership Critic drops truth bombs like you've never heard before. With a no-nonsense approach, they challenge the status quo and provide alternative strategies for leaders who want to thrive genuinely and sustainably.

🚀 Why You Should Listen:
Because redefining your leadership language could be the difference between success and stagnation. If you're done with the hustle and ready for a mindset shift that aligns your conscious and unconscious goals, this episode is your blueprint for transformation.

Ready to revolutionize the way you lead? Tap in now because your journey to authentic, fearless leadership starts here.
---
Smash that subscribe button and share this pod with every forward-thinking leader you know. Let’s break free from the hustle culture and build businesses that thrive without burnout. 🌟

Tune in now, Flow Culture Fam. Your best leadership self awaits!

#FlowCulture #LeadershipFlow #Entrepreneurship #MindsetTransformation #SustainableSuccess #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveManagement

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Flow Culture podcast, your essential guide to sustainable business growth without the hustle. Hosted by Pamela Bowen, founder of the Mend Method, this podcast is designed to give entrepreneurs and leaders the tools they need to scale with intention. Each episode uncovers the powerful connection between mindset, leadership, and growth strategies, helping you create a balanced, thriving business that doesn't sacrifice well being for success. Ready to transform the way you lead? Let's dive in. So, oh, boy. I want to talk to you today about identity and values and beliefs, because I'm getting this from a number of my CEO clients and especially my female CEO clients, and this is really important, so let's talk about it. One of the words that keeps coming up repeatedly for people, I guess, in this new leadership 2.0 paradigm that I, many people attribute it to Brene Brown. And I'll just say, there's much I appreciate about Brene, but this word is not something that I'm going to agree with. And that word is vulnerability. I hear a lot of CEO's talking about how they have to be vulnerable as a leader. They have to have vulnerability as one of their core values. And I am going to say today that this is unequivocal bullshit, because what's happening with people that adopt this word is they're not understanding what it's doing to their physiology. So I realize that there's a lot that has to go into defining causation. And correlation is not necessarily definitive about causation. But I'm just gonna tell you this. As people start to use the word vulnerable to describe one of their core values, it's interesting to watch the levels of loneliness, of anxiety, of cortisol, spikes of adrenaline, of hypervigilance, of fear, start to spike in certain populations. And if you think leaders aren't fearful, you're crazy. Leaders have learned to be fearful and do it in spite of the fear. That's what makes them a leader. But this word vulnerable is causing so much trouble that I want to talk to you about it today, because the word vulnerable literally means a state of being, a state of energetic being, a state of how you are living your life, a state of being open to the possibility of attack or harm, either emotionally or physically. Now, who in their right mind is going to want to be vulnerable on a day to day basis? Nobody. In cybersecurity, when we talk about vulnerability, that's a problem. It's a real problem. It's a weakness. Vulnerable. That state of being in the energetic reality of open to the possibility of attacker, harm goes directly against the prime directive of your unconscious mind, which is to protect you. So here you are with your conscious mind telling yourself, I have to be vulnerable to be a good leader in this leadership 2.0 paradigm. And your unconscious mind is on the other side going, dude, kick rocks. We are not going to be weak. It's my job to protect you. So I'm going to make you more anxious. I'm going to make your cortisol spike. I'm going to give you hypervigilance. You're going to want to isolate. And all that's doing is creating conflict, internal conflict. That conflict then creates inertia, which then contributes to failure. And you don't even realize the amount of times that you are conveying unconsciously in the words that you choose, in the phraseology that you choose, in your languaging, in your body posture, in your gestures, you are conveying that weakness, that vulnerability that you claim is going to lead you to the success you're seeking. This is wrong. It's wrong. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Whoever taught you this word, I'm sorry. My dad had a 6th grade education. He was one of the smartest people I ever met. And one of the things he would say to me often was, say what you mean and mean what you say. Say what you mean. What do you mean? Not only with the words that you're speaking out of your mouth that your conscious mind is communicating, but what do you mean in your body and the energy that you're embodying? What do you mean with that? Mean that. Say what you mean and mean what you say. So, instead of vulnerable, can I give you a suggestion of the word that you actually mean? And I'm going to give you an exercise at the end to do to get to your word. But right now, could we maybe take a look at the word authentic? Because authentic means genuine. It means an undisputed origin. It means real, personal. Authenticity means that you are genuine and sincere without pretension. Now, that isn't weakness. That's kindness. But kindness isn't weakness. Weakness is weakness. Vulnerable is weakness. So can we take the conflict, the internal conflict away and say what we mean and mean what we say? Walking in that path? In my lineage, Hawaiians use the word pono. Pono. Pono means to walk in rightness. It means to walk in a sense of grounded inauthenticity in the present moment, free from fear, authentic to who you are. So could we try that? Because you will never reach. You'll never reach the goals you set for yourself if you continue to create the conflicts, the internal conflicts in yourself, between your unconscious and your conscious mind and in your identity and your values and beliefs. It's impossible. And look, I'm no Tony Robbins, but even that dude would tell you this is the truth. So let's try, if we can, in 2025, to get rid of vulnerability as the description so that we stop triggering our unconscious mind to overreact with hypervigilance and anxiety and cortisol spikes and adrenaline rushes. Right? Let's try that. Let's just try. If you can't think of a word that you mean and and say you can use authentic, but let's get rid of vulnerable and vulnerability in our vocabulary, and let's use authenticity, because that's what you really mean. Nobody in their right mind wants to walk around in the energetic being of open to being attacked, either emotionally or physically. Now look, if authentic doesn't do it for you, here's what I want you to do. I want you to write vulnerability at the top of a piece of paper, and I want you to scratch it out. And I want you to write down the sentence. What I truly mean is. And then I want you to free form write until you are written out and you get to one word that describes truly what you mean. When you say that word, vulnerability. What is it you really and truly meant to say with that? Use that word instead, because I'll guarantee you that you are not in any way in your right mind open to the possibility of attack or harm in any circumstance, especially as a female leader. Shit, we talk about choosing the bear all the time because we don't want to be in the position of being open to attack or harm, stop using it as your core value. Okay? And if you think there might be even more, and you want to explore that a little bit more, go over to masterclass dot revenuenow dot live and register to attend. What's going to happen is we're going to go through this together. It's a live event. And trust me, I'm doing this two times. Once on September 25 and once on October

23, both at 12: 8:20

00 p.m. pacific. I am not doing this to create an evergreen webinar. Why? Because you aren't going to get the value without me being present for you. This is a live event. Yes, the people who are in attendance can purchase a copy of the recording for themselves if they want to, but you have to buy the seat to get the recording. This is not an evergreen webinar. September 25 October minutes each. You can attend both if you want, choose one we'll explore together. If not, do the exercise that I just asked you to do. And for the love of everything holy, stop using the word vulnerability to describe a core value because you'll never get to success with it. And as my great grandma used to say when she would end things, Amama Uanoa the prayer has flown. May this reach whoever it's intended to reach. Mahala Nui thanks for joining us on this episode of the Flow Culture podcast with Pamela Bowen. If you're ready to take the next step in leading with clarity and purpose, be sure to subscribe so you'll never miss an episode. Share this podcast with your network of forward thinking leaders, and together, let's break free from the hustle culture mentality. To learn more about the mend method and how it can help you build a business that thrives without burnout, visit revenuenow dot in fo see you next time.