Why Do We Say “Embrace the Suck”?

For anyone that knows or follows me, you all know that I preach “Embracing the Suck.”

For those who are unaware of the term, let’s talk about it.

It’s intended to make light of something that myself and other Dare to Lead™ facilitators like me are teaching leaders and organizations today.

As a Dare to Lead™ facilitator, I teach organizations the skills of courage. And the number one skill of courage, believe it or not, is rumbling with vulnerability, essentially understanding how we behave when we’re up against uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure, which is the definition of vulnerability.

And frankly, many of us were taught and shown that vulnerability is weakness, and “just don’t do it in front of other people.” So here we are, teaching leaders and organizations that vulnerability is our greatest measurement of courage. How ironic.

The truth is: when we talk about vulnerability, it is uncomfortable, and this has been referred to as “Embracing the Suck”, respectfully stolen from our armed forces. No one wants to talk about vulnerability, no one wants to do vulnerability; but the truth is we need it in our workplaces and we need it to be able to scale courage in our workplaces - it often sucks.

So, I'm here to say, in order to lead a courageous life, “Embrace the Suck” of vulnerability, embrace the “Wednesday suck” of vulnerability, and maybe, embrace the “daily suck” of vulnerability.


And If you enjoyed this content, please join our mailing list at the bottom of our website so you won’t miss out on future content!