Dare to Lead

Our Main Take-Away:

Daring leadership and creating a culture of courage are beautifully explained in this book by Brené Brown. The concept that vulnerability and failure are essential components to innovation and breakthrough results is explored throughout this genuine digest. Brown turns her findings from multiple studies and thousands of data points into an easy-to-read, inspiring book with practical and down-to-earth tips for the reader. Her passion for this subject truly comes through the pages.

Reasons to Read:

Our world is constantly on the search for bold, daring leaders, but what does it take to be such a leader? It takes the courage to take risks, which inevitably leads us to stub our toes from time to time. It takes celebrating the opportunity to evaluate outcomes as they are – as we hoped, better than we hoped, or not what we hoped. It takes courage to be vulnerable. It takes strength to ask for and accept help.

Long gone are the days when a leader had to be perceived as perfect, bulletproof, all-knowing. Time after time, we see that true leaders – those able to take people to places they otherwise wouldn’t go – are absolutely imperfect. But they factor that into the equation, collaborating with special talents and knowledge banks, making calculated risks, setting up guard rails that prevent catastrophic failure, and learning from what doesn’t work.

Dare to Lead is about “daring greatly and rising strong at work”, and while it is intended for leadership development, it’s important to note that leaders are not just the CEO. Leaders are everywhere, acting in every capacity. In order for organizations to be truly empowered to be at their very best, they need to be a safe place to tell the truth and to make errors. It is when we employ candor that we find true empowerment, and it is when we are forced to dust ourselves off and get back in the game that we find true strength. This is the “Culture of Courage” Ms. Brown refers to.

A workplace culture is a reflection of values and our commitment to them. It must be constantly and consistently nurtured, and vigilantly protected. It’s easy to sit back and talk about corporate values and wanting all to contribute. It’s mindful, brave and daring leadership that brings to life the difficult conversations about such things and make them real.

Readers of this book will learn how vulnerability and courage are inextricably linked, and when applied and combined together can carry a leader through to innovation, inspiration and breakthrough results. This is one of the important principles we work on with our clients, and those who build teams committed to courage and vulnerability have dynamic, evolving and environments resulting in unparalleled outcomes.

Amazon Summary:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.

Don’t miss the hourlong Netflix special Brené Brown: The Call to Courage!

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG

Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential.

When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work.

But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.

Four-time #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe. She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question:

How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture? 

In this new book, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions of readers have come to expect and love.

Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.”

Whether you’ve read Daring Greatly and Rising Strong or you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, this book is for anyone who wants to step up and into brave leadership.