Trust, Vulnerability, and Product Leadership: It Starts With You
Setting the Stage
Here's something that might ruffle some feathers: If your product team isn't performing well, look in the mirror first. As a product leader, you set the tone for trust and vulnerability within your team, and if those elements are missing, that's on you.
Let me explain.
Product teams operate in a uniquely challenging environment. They're highly visible within the organization, their decisions can significantly impact the business (for better or worse), and they rely heavily on others to bring their vision to life. Success requires deep collaboration with engineering, design, marketing, sales, and executives – all while managing competing priorities and conflicting opinions.
The Trust-Vulnerability Connection
But here's the thing: effective collaboration doesn't happen without trust, and trust doesn't exist without vulnerability. These aren't technical skills – they're human skills. And they're just as critical as your product strategy expertise. Your engineers need to feel safe admitting when they're struggling with technical challenges. Your product managers need to be comfortable saying "I don't know" in stakeholder meetings. Your designers need to be able to share early concepts without fear of harsh criticism.
And it all starts with you, the product leader.
Why? Because in the team dynamic, you have the least to lose by being vulnerable. You have the positional authority, the experience, and (usually) the strongest relationships across the organization. Yet I often see product leaders who maintain a façade of unwavering certainty and infallibility. They think it projects strength and inspires confidence. In reality, it creates an environment where team members feel they need to do the same – pretend they have all the answers, hide their uncertainties, and avoid admitting mistakes.
Learning the Hard Way
I learned this lesson the hard way at ProQuest. When I joined as VP of Product Management, I thought I needed to project unwavering confidence as a leader. I felt I had to have all the answers, show absolute certainty in every decision, and never display any doubt. The result? My team was constantly on guard, conversations felt stilted, and the environment became tense rather than collaborative.
Everything changed when I started working with a leadership coach – in my case, our HR Business Partner. Through our coaching sessions, I had an epiphany: vulnerability and trust are inextricably linked. You can't have one without the other. When I began openly acknowledging my uncertainties and showing my human side, the team dynamics shifted dramatically. The walls came down, communication opened up, and we started functioning as a true team.
The Path Forward
The path to building trust through vulnerability isn't complicated, but it requires courage and a willingness to develop these essential human skills:
Admit when you don't have all the answers
Share your concerns and uncertainties
Take responsibility for mistakes
Ask for help when you need it
Show appreciation for others' vulnerability
Remember, your team is watching you. If you want them to trust each other and be vulnerable, you need to go first. And if you're struggling with this transition? Get a coach. Sometimes we all need someone in our corner helping us see around corners and grow as leaders.
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