better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Being Vulnerable

22 April 2018

GDPR is bending the heads of many a business, both large and small. Setting up procedures and cleansing databases with a double opt-in is hard work and hopefully will make life more ordered for us all. (Yeah right, I’m sure they’re all over it at Email Spam Inc).

You may have already seen the email inviting you to resubmit to this blog (newsletter) and I would be grateful if you can find the time to do so.

My weekly blog is a labour of love and sharing stories and insights culled from my experience as a business coach helps me to grow and develop too.

When discussing GDPR (general data protection regulations) with my colleague I realised that she had all the expertise here and I had none.

She made it all sound so simple and easy, but when I looked at the requirements it looked harder, so I said so.

In fact I basically delegated the whole shooting match to her. Much easier than pretending I could sort it and then spending a day or two scratching my head.

This is a classic example of being vulnerable. It’s a term from Transactional Analysis and I realise that ‘vulnerable’ may mean different things to different people.

In this context I’m using it to mean ‘able to share my own limitations and concerns without fear of being persecuted or rescued.’

I don’t need to be talked down to, patted on the head like a good boy, or be told off for appearing ignorant. My colleague did none of these and we had a proper grown up conversation about the ‘joy’ of GDPR and what she could do to support me.

There is strength in being vulnerable, in a grown up way. We give ourselves permission to be happily ignorant and to ask for genuine help and support.

In business people can easily feel shame when confronted by an expert and made to feel small for not knowing something ‘obvious’.

This might be how to organise a marketing campaign, or how to account for cash flow, or how to read a balance sheet.

There’s no need for anyone to feel shame!

We can all be cheerily unskilled and can have grounded conversations with people who can fill our knowledge bank in friendly and compassionate ways.

If you’re a bit stuck with GDPR then you’re welcome to own your own vulnerability and find an expert to sort it for you.

And you can ignore the patronising people and make freinds with genuinely supportive types. Life is hard enough already!

Happy database cleansing!

Next week: ILM L5 Coaching