Video: It’s Okay to Be Vulnerable
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Leadership Sep 6, 2016

Video: It’s Okay to Be Vulnerable

From negotiations to PR crises, transparency may make you feel uncomfortable. But it can earn trust.

Businessman balances multiple tasks over shark tank.

monique28 via iStock

Based on insights from

Jeanne M. Brett

Jennifer Thompson

Bruce Carruthers

Getting what you want is often a matter of staying in control: shaping the message, managing the flow of information, and keeping your cards close to the vest.

But transparency, as scary as it can be, has the potential to build long-term trust between partners. This lets everyone win.

Jeanne Brett, a professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School, relates a story of two sisters who only find out that their competing interests may not be mutually exclusive once they make themselves a bit vulnerable.

Jennifer Thompson, an independent consultant, shares the trust-building steps one company took in its difficult path through bankruptcy.

Bruce Carruthers, a professor of sociology at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, describes how peer-to-peer lending builds relationships and brings transparency back into modern economies.

The Trust Project is a unique body of knowledge, connecting scholars and executives from diverse backgrounds to share ideas, research, and actionable insights in a series of videos for research and management. Learn more about the project and its development in conjunction with the Kellogg Markets and Customers Initiative.

Featured Faculty
Jeanne M. Brett

Professor Emeritus of Management & Organizations

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