Research

Leader
vulnerability.

Doctoral research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam into leader vulnerability, and what it means for psychological safety at work.
Sonja Wekema giving a guest lecture at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Guest lecture on leader vulnerability, Master Leadership and Change, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 2023
Current research

Sonja Wekema is a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on leader vulnerability: what happens when leaders allow themselves to be seen as uncertain, fallible or still learning.

Psychological safety is a central context for this work: the question of how leader vulnerability relates to whether people feel able to speak up, raise concerns and admit mistakes.

Why this matters

Leaders and teams increasingly have to act without having all the answers. Whether people in that situation discuss mistakes, share doubts and dare to raise concerns makes a difference to how a team learns and decides. This research looks at the role leader vulnerability plays in that.

Institution
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Focus
Leader vulnerability
Psychological safety
Conference papers
  • Leader Vulnerability for Psychological Safety
    2026 · Conference Psychological Safety Across Cultures and Contexts, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Professional publications
Theses
  • The Polarity Paradox
    2020 · MSc thesis Executive Coaching, Ashridge
Teaching
  • Guest lecture: Leader Vulnerability, Master Leadership and Change, VU Amsterdam (2023)
  • Visiting Faculty, VU Leadership Academy