Leading with vulnerability

Once a wayward twentysomething who eschewed university for fun on the ski fields, Leanne Harwood is now managing director, Australasia and Japan, at InterContinental Hotels Group. She wrangled her successful career out of ample work ethic, intelligence, people skills, resilience and resentment at what she calls the sexism endemic in the sector when she started out.

“Standing behind a bar working with patrons helped me understand what the industry is really about and it shaped my passion for it,” says Harwood.

“Good leaders are true to who they are and bring their whole self into what they do. They are the ones who can inspire others to do better.”

Harwood describes her approach as that of a vulnerable leader – “somebody who’s prepared to show we don’t always get it right and when things do go wrong we’ll take a step back and share what happened and what we learnt from it”.

Having no formal training, Harwood acknowledges her chronic “imposter syndrome”. “I wouldn’t be a vulnerable and authentic leader if I didn’t admit to that,” she says, but adds that “it’s important to be comfortable having a group of people around that are smarter than you.”

For her, vulnerability is not the same as frailty. “Vulnerable leaders take their teams on a journey, building bonds that lead to more effective results and performance.” She says that it’s “a lot harder than it sounds… Being prepared to tap into intelligence and trust in the people around you requires a sense of self-actualisation and being comfortable in your own skin.”