Vulnerability is not a strategy – Leadership in times of transition

Carsten Diederich
Oct 2
2 min read

This week, after 25 years in the corporate world, I took a decisive step: I said goodbye to Alpiq.It’s a moment full of emotions – sadness, curiosity, excitement, and yes, even fear.A true transition.

Moments like this raise a fundamental leadership question:

How much do I share? Where does openness become strength – and where might it overwhelm myself or others?

Vulnerability ≠ Strategy

Over the years I have learned: vulnerability does not mean revealing everything.

I have seen – and sometimes experienced myself – that oversharing can feel like offloading. Leadership vulnerability is not a performance, and it’s not a tool to gain sympathy.

It is the conscious act of sharing, in service of the people in front of you.

Real vulnerability connects when it is guided by discernment:

What helps others grow?
What builds trust without shifting the burden?
What invites honesty while still holding direction?

Leadership in Transition

Transitions are true leadership stress tests.

You stand between two worlds – leaving something meaningful behind and stepping into what’s next.Colleagues, teams, and communities watch closely: what will he do now?

This is where leadership discernment is needed most – knowing when to open up courageously, and when to provide stability. Too much of either creates imbalance. The art lies in holding both.

For me, this is also a reminder that leaders need support, too. In this very moment I use coaching and mentoring myself – to reflect, to stay grounded, and to gain clarity on my next steps.

The Universal Pattern

Every leader goes through transitions:

a new role,
an organizational shift,
a crisis,
or a personal low point.

The pattern is always the same: people need authenticity AND orientation.

Openness without orientation creates insecurity.

Orientation without openness feels cold.

Only both together build lasting trust.

And personally: I have not experienced a shift of this magnitude since my lowest point back in 2018. Not in a dramatic way, but as a sober acknowledgment of how defining such moments can be.