Dare to Lead
Brené Brown · 2018
Leadership
Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
Brené Brown, whose TED talk on vulnerability has been viewed over 60 million times, applies twenty years of research on courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy to the world of leadership. Her conclusion: vulnerability is not weakness — it's the most accurate measure of courage, and it's what great leaders cultivate.
Context & Background
Brown's research challenged the prevailing notion that leaders must project invulnerability and certainty. Drawing on interviews with hundreds of C-suite executives, she found that the most effective leaders are those who lean into vulnerability, have difficult conversations, and create cultures where people feel safe enough to take risks.
Rumbling with vulnerability — facing uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure rather than armoring up. Living into your values — identifying two core values and operationalizing them. BRAVING trust — an acronym (Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Nonjudgment, Generosity) for building trust. Rising skills — the ability to recover from setbacks and failures.
The book debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and has been adopted by organizations including the US military, NASA, and numerous Fortune 500 companies. Brown's work fundamentally shifted the conversation about leadership from strength-as-armor to strength-as-vulnerability.
Quotes from Dare to Lead
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