My daughter Jody loves Brene Brown. At her encouragement, I’ve read several of her books and well, I guess I wasn’t prepared personally to grasp her approach to shame and empathy–but this book on “leadership” is different. Too many of the authors I respect have included Dare to Lead as one of their top books for 2018. So last week, I began to read it and I’m starting to get her and to see “vulnerability” as key to my own leadership journey.
Here’s her main points:
Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive. Most of us feel brave and afraid at the exact same time. Courage is a collection of four skills setts that can be taught, observed, and measured. The four skill sets are:
- Rumbling with Vulnerability – Uncertainity, Risk, and Emotional Exposure
- Living into Our Values
- Braving Trust
- Learning to Rise – Resilience
I’m just starting to wrestle with these—I’m sure lessons I’m learning will appear in future months. The following comparison between “daring leadership and armored leadership” has been especially insightful.
The true underlying obstacle to brave leadership is “how we respond” to fear. The real barrier to daring leadership is our armor–the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that we use to protect ourselves when we aren’t willing and able to rumble with vulnerability. . . Courage is contagious — the willingness to show up and be seen. To scale daring leadership and build courage in teams and organizations, we have to cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation, and armor is not necessary or rewarded.
To whet your thirst for some of the truths behind “Dare to Lead”, watch these videos:
Vulnerability is the only Path to Courage
TED talk: The Power of Vulnerability
And get the book!