<ul><li>Admitting weaknesses or mistakes first signals courage and humanizes leaders. Share experiences honestly to comfort others in doing the same. </li><li>Disclose trials overcome through resilience. Authenticity fosters empathy and passionate participation. Demonstrate commitment through actions not just policies. </li><li>Follow through on promises. Talk straight but with compassion. Vulnerability is a daring path to wholehearted leadership.</li></ul>

Vulnerability Builds Trust and Engagement

You either walk inside your story and own it, or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.

<ul><li>Seek diversity of thoughts and backgrounds, not just skills. Inclusion sparks originality. Provide psychological safety for all voices. </li><li>Address biases head on, however uncomfortable. Listen first, speak later. Avoid dominating; make space for introverts too.</li><li> Clarify misunderstandings with curiosity over defensiveness. </li></ul>

Cultivate Diverse Collaborative Teams

Moving from fear to courage requires discomfort. Lead change boldly despite uncertainty, ambiguity and risk of criticism. Flinching from discomfort maintains status quo. Challenge assumptions and rituals. Make improvements before forced to. Risk failure for growth. Difficult conversations produce clarity. Stepping outside comfort zones creates progress. Model your convictions. With purpose as the driver, lean into discomfort. Daring leadership is uncomfortable but transformative.

Embrace Discomfort to Dare Greatly



<ul><li>Espoused values that are incongruent with behaviors breed cynicism. Walk the talk. Make values explicit then live them visibly at all levels, especially under pressure. </li><li>Challenge misalignment respectfully. Be willing to ruffle feathers. Evaluate policies and processes against values. </li><li>Review incentives and behaviors periodically. Adopt practices consciously, not from habit. </li></ul>

Align Values with Behaviour

Self-reflection strengthens emotional intelligence to manage reactions productively. Know your tendencies under stress. Get insights from assessment tools. Act self-aware, with consciousness not impulse. Cultivate mindfulness to witness thoughts non-judgmentally. Own strengths and frailties honestly. Identify triggers and hot buttons. Thank critics; feedback is a gift. Develop humility and avoid defensiveness.

Increase Self-Awareness

Addressing issues openly, however difficult, clears obstacles and builds trust. Avoid leaving elephants unnamed. Frame problems insightfully. Discuss tensions professionally, not personally. Listen generously before responding. Find common purpose. Rumors and whispers waste energy; address problems directly. Tolerate ambiguity until clarity emerges. Reset relationships with humility and openness.

Rumble with Tough Conversations

<ul><li>Shame corrodes culture and inhibits experimentation. Normalize stumbles by discussing openly, not hiding. Ask for help vulnerably. </li><li>View failures situational, not identity defining. Separate person from performance. </li><li>Model healthy boundaries; don't take on undue blame. Restore and reintegrate those demoralized. Focus on learning not perfection. Examine shame triggers and power dynamics. </li><li>Lead with empathy, self-awareness transforms shame into fuel for growth.</li></ul>

Develop Shame Resilience

Dare to Lead by Brené Brown provides research-based advice on developing courageous leadership and having transformational conversations in organizations. It focuses on vulnerability, daring greatly, rumbling with tough issues, and living into our values. The book equips readers to foster trust, connect with others authentically, support diversity and overcome shame. Dare to Lead offers actionable strategies to lead bravely, strengthen teams and create thriving workplace cultures.

#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 five-part HBO Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart! 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.

career

Career

books

Books

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. Brené is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and her latest book, Dare to Lead.Brené hosts the Unlocking Us Podcast and the Dare to Lead Podcast. Her TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with over 50 million views.

BRENÉ BROWN

Similar ideas

The comfort zone is a terrible guide

1. Watch Outside your Window or Take a Walk

CARL JUNG