What if the strongest leaders are the very ones who dare to admit they don’t always have the answers?
That question has been driving me for years in my work with leaders. Leadership fascinates me. What makes a true leader? It’s something I keep searching for.
We’ve grown so accustomed to the classic image of leadership: someone who never doubts, who always has the answers, who hides behind a façade of certainty. But are those really the leaders who inspire us today? As Brené Brown puts it so powerfully:
“Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”
And yet, I often hear boards and CEOs say they want someone who is “tough, someone who shows no weakness.” It sounds logical. In uncertain times, we long for direction and stability. But time and again I see the same pattern: leaders who cling to that façade eventually stumble. Their teams see through it. They sense there’s no room for doubt, that mistakes get swept under the rug. And nothing erodes trust faster than that.
The leaders I see succeed are never the ones who play the perfect picture. They are the ones who dare to say: “I don’t know this yet, but I will find out.” They share where things went wrong and what they learned from it. They show themselves as they truly are, without a filter. And because of that, they earn trust. That’s vulnerability: not a sign of weakness, but an invitation to connect. And vulnerability only works when it is paired with authenticity—acting in line with your values, saying what you mean, and doing what you say.
I think back to a search for a CEO in a family-owned company. We met candidates with impressive titles, international experience, spotless résumés. Everything looked perfect on paper. And yet, none of them felt like the right fit. Too polished, too rehearsed. Until one candidate sat down and openly shared a failure. Not a rehearsed anecdote, but a real story: how he had once led a team the wrong way, the lessons he took from it, and how it made him a better leader today. In every conversation after that, he remained consistent in his values, without a façade. That was the choice. Not because he was perfect, but because he was real.
In an SME context, that authenticity matters even more than in a corporate environment. You can’t hide behind structures or layers of management. Everyone sees and feels how a leader shows up. And the wrong choice doesn’t just cost money—it costs trust, energy, and months of progress.
That’s why in my search work, I never stop at résumés or titles. At best, they tell me what someone has done, not who they are. I look at behavior, at energy, at consistency. How does someone respond when I dig deeper? Does their story hold up across different conversations? Do they have the courage to be vulnerable, and the strength to act authentically? Leadership isn’t something you read in a list of achievements. You recognize it in how someone shows up—and how people around them feel.
The leaders who stay with me are never the perfect profiles. They are the ones willing to show their imperfections. The ones who say: this is where I failed, this is what I learned, and this is how I do things differently today. That is their strength. Not playing a role, but having the courage to be seen as they really are.
Because leadership that inspires doesn’t come from façades or from pretending to be flawless. It comes from a strong backbone, loyalty to your values, and the willingness to be human with both your strength and your vulnerability. That is the kind of leadership that builds trust, grows teams, and drives companies forward.
And that is what I look for in every search: not the perfect candidate, but the leader with the courage to show their imperfection—and who is stronger for it.
