Brene Brown and “dare to lead”

Best known for her work on vulnerability and shame, Brene Brown has written a new book called “dare to lead.” Although this work is aimed at how to be an effective leader at work, it was filled with little gems that are good reminders to all of us:

• -Speaking about our tendency when, feeling good about something, we ask ourselves “Okay, when’s the other shoe going to drop?,” Brene writes: “Joy is the most vulnerable emotion we feel. When we feel joy, it is a place of incredible vulnerability – it’s beauty and fragility and deep gratitude and impermanence all wrapped up in one experience. When we can’t handle that level of vulnerability, joy actually becomes foreboding, and we immediately move to self-protection. ” 
• -“What is the one thing that people who can fully lean into joy have in common? Gratitude. They practice gratitude.”
• -In speaking about empathy Brene says: “Empathy is first: I take the perspective of another person, meaning I become the listener and the student, not the knower. Second: I stay out of judgement. And third and fourth: I try to understand what emotion they’re articulating and communicate my understanding of that emotion.”
• -“Easy learning doesn’t build strong skills.”

Brene Brown is one person we can turn to when looking to increase our knowledge about vulnerability, shame, empathy and growth. “dare to lead” is a worthy read.

Photo credit: Me!

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