Keeping up (your leadership skills) with the Kardashians

We’re always looking for fresh ways to spread the word about great management. So, when we were sent a copy of Bodies, Emotions, Success by Brigitte Biehl – a new book promising leadership lessons from the Kardashians – it piqued our interest. 

The most famous family in reality TV may not be everyone’s first port of call for management advice, but the book raises some valuable points – especially around women in leadership. 

The following four lessons (which are abridged extracts from the book) leapt out in particular.

1. There’s value in modelling new leadership styles

When we think of a leader, we may still think of masculine characteristics and appearance. Many women have been discouraged from pursuing their leadership ambitions, as they do not see themselves reflected in those roles. 

Yet while the Kardashians are successful entrepreneurs and leaders, they handle their emotions in ways that are different from the more detached and controlled corporate tradition.

Throughout their TV series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, they constantly showcase their business success and entrepreneurial leadership, but they also opt for some feminine emotionality. They carry themselves with a sense of self-assurance, exuding comfort at being in the public eye. And they express their views on things in a clear and structured manner that tells of having benefited from professional support – for example, in the therapy they sometimes openly mention.

2. There’s strength in letting people in

The Kardashians are successful women who are not afraid to share their vulnerability. And they largely get positive reactions from audiences when they do so, receiving lots of empathy and sympathy, particularly on social media. 

Vulnerability has long been perceived almost exclusively negatively. It’s often equated with weakness, dependency, powerlessness, deficiency and passivity. However, in Brené Brown’s famous TED Talk and book, The Power of Vulnerability, she equates vulnerability with honesty, humility and courage.

When people embrace vulnerability, they are seen as more relatable. Leaders who put up facades of being the all-knowing power figure are often seen as distanced and not trustworthy. 

Brown advises us to “lean in” to vulnerability. This includes asking for and accepting advice or help, admitting and acting when uncertain, accepting other people’s errors and being accountable for personal mistakes.

Leaders who open up to their followers may create psychological safety and, in turn, increase employee motivation and effectiveness, by allowing them to identify on an emotional level.