Vulnerability Is the New Strength in Leadership

A note to young leaders.

Vulnerability doesn’t undermine leadership, it humanises it.

Showing vulnerability makes you more relatable, more likeable and gives you the opportunity to help others by going first.

For weeks, reporters noticed that President Reagan was sometimes straining to hear questions during press conferences.

Rather than mask the problem, Reagan addressed it head-on. In 1983, he casually mentioned his new hearing aid at a press briefing, treating it as no big deal.

This single act broke a cultural taboo. In an era when visible signs of aging were seen as political liabilities, he showed that acknowledging a limitation – and using technology to address it – is a sign of confidence, not weakness.

Newsweek and Time ran feature articles; TV coverage followed. Within weeks, hearing aid sales surged by 75% as Americans followed his example, shedding the stigma that had long kept them from using such devices.

By neither hiding nor dramatising his condition, Reagan reframed the national conversation around hearing loss. And he did it all with his trademark optimism:

“Since I came to the White House, I got two hearing aids, a colon operation, skin cancer, a prostate operation, and I was shot. The damn thing is … I’ve never felt better in my life.”

There’s no need to maintain a perfect self-image. Share your vulnerability and lead with authenticity.