Editor’s note: The AM and PM Dailies often include an item pointing readers to articles, videos or other information the Business Record newsroom has found interesting and insightful. We welcome hearing from you on what you enjoy (send to suzannebehnke@bpcdm.com). Today, Fred Darbonne, principal at  Strategy by Design, shares a review from one of his reading choices lately, “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown. He writes: 

In “Dare to Lead,” Brene Brown builds on her acclaimed work with vulnerability and resiliency, now giving us a playbook for our own daring leadership, arguing that we need braver leaders and more courageous cultures. A leader, for Brown, is “anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who dares to develop that potential.” She identifies a need in all sectors for leaders who “are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather than unevolved leaders who lead from hurt and fear.” A central question she hears leaders asking, from startups to family-owned businesses, nonprofits and civic organizations, and even Fortune 50 companies, is “How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?”

Brown is a four-time No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, whose previous works include “Braving the Wilderness,” “Rising Strong,” “Daring Greatly,” and “The Gifts of Imperfection.” Her TED talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” is one of the five most-viewed TED Talks in the world, with over 35 million views. She is a research professor at the University of Houston and has spent the past two decades studying vulnerability, shame and empathy.

Brown sees the underlying obstacle to developing brave leadership as our response to our fear.  The barrier is our tendency to develop protective “armor,” which is the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors we resort to when we are unable to “rumble” with, or effectively face and engage, our vulnerability. To build courage in teams and organizations, Brown argues that we need to cultivate organizational cultures in which brave work, tough conversations and whole hearts are the norm, and where protective armor is neither necessary nor supported.

Fortunately for those who want to develop daring leadership, she shares that the research finds that courage entails four skill sets, and these can be taught, observed and measured: (1) rumbling with vulnerability, (2) living into our values, (3) braving trust, and (4) learning to rise, which involves developing our resiliency. Key tools offered include learning to critically examine the stories we tell ourselves and developing the self-awareness to recognize when emotion hooks us.

Brown’s extensive work in what many might view as the “soft” skills of leadership is resonating deeply with leaders and organizations across sectors and at all levels, as evidenced by the great demand for her writings and presentations. Brown’s work calls upon leaders to invest in developing themselves, which Brown argues is necessary for the daring leadership that cares for and connects with the people they lead.