If you have not seen a Brene’ Brown TEDtalk or read one of her books on vulnerability, courage, shame, or empathy, I am very surprised. A professor of social work, Brown’s research on emotions, relationships, and self-concept has provided creative ways to conceptualize, discuss, and embody these topics in a variety of settings.
Even if you are familiar with her work, you may be surprised that her newest emphasis is organizational development. In her new book, Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts, Brown focuses her research, passion, and irreverent comments on how to revolutionize the workplace. Drawing from her research and her six previous books, she explains the impact of one’s values, emotions, and interpersonal relationships on leadership effectiveness.
Brown uses this quote from Theodore Roosevelt to frame the book:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”
Starting from this point, Brown simply asks, “Do you dare to lead?”
If you are a leader or aspire to be one, this book will speak to you on a very emotional level, particularly her chapter on “Armored Leadership.” As I read the sixteen examples of armored leadership and the contrasting daring leadership actions, I found myself evaluating my own experiences as a leader. There were points where I could say, “Yes, I nailed that one!” but too many times where my response was, “Yeah, I failed to realize what I was doing and fell right into the trap.”
Her chapter on “Living into Your Values,” validates my conviction that values are at the very center of what we do as leaders. If we do not identify and act on our values, we will fail. Brown writes, “Daring leaders who live into their values are never silent about the hard things.” Living into our values means more than articulating our values; it means that we practice them. She explains that individuals do not have two sets of values--one personal and one professional. We have only one set of values that we are called to practice in all areas of our lives.
This is a great book. Whatever your position is, whatever your responsibilities, please read this book and put its lessons into practice.
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