Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.

Don’t miss the hour-long Netflix special Brené Brown: The Call to Courage!

Named one of the best books of the year by Bloomberg.

Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas and has the courage to develop that potential.

When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it's necessary to do good work.

But daring leadership in a culture that’s defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.

Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe. She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question:

How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?

In this new audiobook, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions have come to expect and love. Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.”

Whether you’ve read Daring Greatly and Rising Strong or you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, this audiobook is for anyone who wants to step up and into brave leadership.

Listening Length

8 hours and 10 minutes
Author

Brené Brown
Narrator

Brené Brown
Audible release date

October 9, 2018
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B07DJYFLX8
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	8 hours and 10 minutes
Author	Brené Brown
Narrator	Brené Brown
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	October 09, 2018
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07DJYFLX8
Best Sellers Rank	#130 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #6 in Leadership (Audible Books & Originals) #6 in Leadership & Motivation #9 in Personal Transformation Self-Help

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4.7 out of 5

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Wally Bock

A loosely coupled collection of good things

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 8, 2019

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Brene Brown has been saying helpful things about leadership for years. She has a legion of fans. So, it was amazing that I hadn't read a single one of her books. I had The Gifts of Imperfection, on my to-read list, but it kept slipping down in the face of other enthusiasms.

Then, I saw a quote from her most recent book, Dare to Lead. It said: "I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential."

That was enough for me, I picked up a copy of Dare to Lead. When I blogged that I was reading the book, a funny thing happened. Usually, I get one or two tweets and emails from people who had strong opinions about the book. This time, I received more tweets and emails than usual. Most said something like, "I'd like to hear what you think about this book."

I contacted a couple of the people who had reached out to me and asked them what their concern was. It turned out that they were puzzled by the book. They liked it a lot, but they weren't quite sure it was a good book or really all that helpful. I try to address those concerns in this review.

A book you think is great may not even be helpful to someone else. A book that was great for you when you were 25 might not be great for you later in life.

I told you that so I could tell you this. Dare to Lead was an excellent book for me. It brought together many things that I had been reading and thinking about over the last year. I found a lot of good stuff and, other than a nit to pick here and there, I didn't find any bad stuff. That’s my personal summary judgement. Now for some details to address the questions of the people who emailed me.

Most business books have a short statement somewhere near the front of the book where the author tells us what he or she wants the book to accomplish. I couldn't find one in Dare to Lead. Dare to Lead is more like a collection of things than a coherent book laying out a coherent system of thought. It’s two books in one.

About two thirds of the book is devoted to the basics. Brene Brown calls it Part One and titles it "Rumbling with Vulnerability."

"Rumbling?" Yep. I think “rumbling” is the author's term for a conversation where you thrash things out. I don’t know this for sure, because she never shares a succinct definition of “rumbling.” It’s in-group language. You read the book or take a class and learn the language. Then you use it to communicate with others who know the language. It’s like a secret handshake that only group members know. That can be good for branding. It’s not good for understanding, though, because there are no specific definitions to fall back on.

In any case, the "Rumbling with Vulnerability" part of the book has five sections.

* The Moment and The Myths
* The Call to Courage
* The Armory
* Shame and Empathy
* Curiosity and Grounded

There are three more parts to the book. Part Two is "Living Into Our Values." Part Three is "Braving Trust." "Braving" here is an acronym, not a form of the word "brave." Part Four is "Learning to Rise." “Rise” is more insider language. I couldn't find a place where she explicitly defines it. "She talks about it and gives you an example or two and figures you'll get it.

I found many good things in the book. I think you will, too. There are ideas you can use and tactics you can master, even if you uncouple them from Dr. Brown's insider language.

A big problem with the book is that it isn't a coherent system. It's a collection of things. Many of the things are good, but they're not connected in any logical way, they’re mixed together.

That may be good or bad for you. If you like teasing stuff out and learning from descriptions and examples, no problem. But if you prefer a tight system with clear definitions and chains of reason, you will be frustrated.

Another issue is the way Dr. Brown treats courage. For her, courage is a value. In fact, she says that on page 52. When she talks about values in the book, she lists courage as a value. Then, she goes on to talk about how you need courage for all these other things.

I agree that you need courage. Especially if you're someone responsible for the performance of a group, there are things you must do that require courage. You must talk to people about unacceptable performance or behavior. That takes courage. You need courage to take unpopular stands. You will have to do hard things for the good of the group, like firing someone you like but who isn't performing. You need courage to do many of the things that Brene Brown suggests you do in the book.

So, what's the problem? The problem is courage is not a value, it's a virtue. That's how the ancient philosophers like Socrates, Medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas, and more recent thinkers like David Brooks and Maya Angelou understand courage. Ms. Angelou sums it up best.

"I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while; you can be generous for a while; you can be just for a while, or merciful for a while, even loving for a while. But it is only with courage that you can be persistently and insistently kind and generous and fair."

Bottom Line

Dare To Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts by Brene Brown covers a lot of ground and it has a lot of good stuff in it. It was a great book for me because it brought a lot of things together without imposing a real system on them.

If you’re already a fan of Brene Brown and read her books, you will probably like this one. She repeats parts of earlier books sometimes with changes that grow out of her research. That may be okay with you, or it may not.

If you've already read something Brene Brown wrote and you didn't like it, you won't like this book either.

Give this book a pass if you're looking for a tightly reasoned system. Dare to Lead is a loosely coupled collection of ideas and suggestions.

Pass on Dare to Lead if in-group language makes you crazy.

70 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not just for work! Wish I had this book years ago, it would have

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 9, 2018

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saved me grief and kept me from causing others grief. Dare to Lead is for everyone, not just professional leaders, because everything in this book applies to families and other groups. As Brené states, “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.” In fact, Dare to Lead would be a wonderful resource or curriculum for a required high school class. There is SO much incredible insight, wisdom, and advice that my brain is tired, and it’s been havoc on my tear ducts multiple times.

We all belong to groups, whether it’s at work, in social and community groups or clubs, etc., as members or leaders. And while this book is primarily aimed at leaders in the workplace, any group member would benefit from this knowledge and advice. Over the years, my groups have included my family of origin, my family from marriage, educational groups, event groups, competitive groups, etc. I have always been a good worker, boss, teacher, and leader of different groups. But “good” leaves a lot of leeway for the fact that a few times I have really screwed up in the very ways that Brené discusses. I look back and there were times that my perfectionism, my black-and-white rule-following, and my tendency to sometimes rush to judgement really hurt people. Not to mention, my shame affected my leadership.

As I read Dare to Lead, I kept flashing to situations in my past and a couple of people I would really like to go back apologize to, one lady in particular. (Well, really, I want to travel back in time and not screw up to begin with, but sadly that’s just a fantasy.) A bit of background: I was raised in a very abusive family, physically and emotionally. My family of origin’s modus operandi was to judge, criticize, and belittle each member constantly. Mistakes and weaknesses were never forgiven, but held up, mocked, and laughed about over and over, on top of physical and emotional abuse.

Armed with self-help books (yes, my family mocks my reliance on self-help books) and therapy, I determined to leave all that behind and become a “normal” person very different from my parents. But sometimes that background messes with my current life. (As Brené says: “What’s perhaps most insidious in power over dynamics is that those who are powerless typically repeat the same behavior when the tables are turned and they are promoted into power.” I would add, sometimes against our best intentions.)

There was a time that my insecurity in running a large group led me to take a friend’s reported actions as betrayal. The resulting emotional backlash caused me to handle the situation so badly that I ended up being judgmental and majorly unkind to my friend to such a degree that the title “friend” no longer applies. I should have known better; I should have acted better. It wasn’t just that I hurt my reputation, interfered with how well the group was functioning, looked unprofessional to a hosting facility… The absolutely worst part was that I hurt another person - an innocent person. I broke every tenet I had set for my life because I didn’t take the time to step back and to be a good leader; I just reacted. I went right into shame and blame because I had such an inner fear of being disrespected and betrayed. As a consequence, I disrespected and betrayed my friend by treating her unkindly.

In addition, I almost shut down a service that was helping over 1,000 families over the incident. I let fear rule my actions (“I don’t do vulnerability”) and cut my helpers loose (“I can go it alone”). I curtailed offerings and cancelled events. I had listened to and internalized comments from critics as they touched upon the worthlessness instilled by my parents and siblings. (Many people are eager to criticize, and it takes wisdom and practice to let go of unhelpful criticism and use the helpful input for growth.) My actions influenced some members to take sides in a group that shouldn’t have had “sides.” (“Increased polarization, rampant dehumanization of people who are different from us, and our growing inability to ditch the echo chambers for real critical thinking.”) After working alone for another year or so, I handed off the group to a team of ladies that I knew would do a better job than I was doing.

I believe if I had read Dare to Lead first, I would have had the tools in place to respond appropriately in a way that would have fostered group cohesion, eliminated problems, and just generally been a better leader for my group. In addition, I ponder Brené’s adage that the “courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.” I’ve considered going back and apologizing to my ex-friend many times, but I’ve always been afraid that it would simply set off more negativity. But it was my lack of judgement and responding with emotions from my past that caused the rift, and I’d like her to know that I take full responsibility for that. Is it too late to go back and tell this person how badly I feel about being a leader who truly mishandled the situation? Would it make a difference to her?

I plan to reread this life-changing book with my husband and daughter, both IT professionals, so they can learn from it while I benefit from the review. Dare to Lead contains wisdom to guide leaders who want to nurture safe and effective work groups. It can also benefit leaders and members of any other groups or teams, whether for a sport, church, political group, competitive team, etc. Dare to Lead would also be a great resource for members to use to kindly hold leaders accountable. There is no downside to taking this entire book in as heart knowledge and incorporating it into our lives. And the upside is that we will not only improve the quality of our own lives, but the lives of those we interact with.

Highly recommended for the universe at large. This is the first book I’ve read by Brené Brown; I’ll definitely be reading more!

Edited for clarity.

387 people found this helpful

Helpful

PollyAnna Joy

Should be required reading

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 18, 2023

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Dare to Lead by Brené Brown is a MUST read. It should be required reading for EVERYONE in a leadership role, including but not exclusive to teachers at every level. I wish I could go through a f2f Dare to Lead training. It would help me absorb the incredibly dense amazing material throughout Dare to Lead. Btw: I seriously went through two whole highlighters while reading D2L. This is a book I will definitely come back to as often as possible.

One person found this helpful

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James Williams

Great Work

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 7, 2023

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This book was very inspiring, and the concepts make much sense. I have been in a leadership position and led my group with so many of the same ideas in this book, which had great outcomes.

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Jackie

Very good read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 11, 2023

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Brené Brown hit the nail right on the head with this one!a great read for new or seasoned leaders. I will be buying more of her books!

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Amber

Thoughtful

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 11, 2023

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Brene does a great job of making you think about yourself and those around you. I will be re-reading to look further into my behaviors and leadership style.

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2sassy4u

Favorite B. Brown book so far.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 6, 2023

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For every adult. She’s such a great story teller backed by scientific research.

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Antony Simpson

Essential Reading for Any Leader (Review from: AntonySimpson.com)

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 9, 2019

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I first discovered Brené Brown when I saw her TED talk titled The Power of Vulnerability. Which Brown followed up with a TED Talk, Listening to Shame.

So when I started on a leadership course at work, I decided to buy Dare To Lead by Brené Brown.
Dare To Lead is about leadership that is vulnerable, values-based, trusting and resilient. The book is split into four parts.

The first and biggest part is Rumbling with Vulnerability. In this section Brown discusses what vulnerability is, why it is important, myths about vulnerability, using courage to drop our armor as leaders, dealing with shame and empathy and curiosity grounded in confidence.

The second part is Living Into Our Values. Values are very important to me, so unsurprisingly this was my favorite part of the book. This section covers what our own values are, what organisational values can be and how to turn values into measurable behaviours. The List of Values activity I completed with some of my colleagues at work and I found it an incredibly useful in terms of learning more about them and what they value. Since I have also contributed to a consultation at work around our organisational values.

The third part of the book is Braving Trust. This section of the book is all about building trust as a leader and recognising how trust is built up gradually over time and can be easily lost.

The fourth part of the book is Learning to Rise which is all about resilience. This part of the book is about recognising emotion within ourselves and others as a leader, being curious about emotions and being self-aware enough to recognise what is going on emotionally for ourselves and others.

Throughout Dare To Lead are many helpful strategies that if implemented would make you a better leader. Including strategies around: having difficult conversations, increasing self-awareness, being aware of the values of ourselves and of the people we lead, being aware of the stories we tell ourselves (that may or may not be true), how to build trust and courage in the people that you lead.

Dare To Lead is written in a way that feels like you’re having a conversation with Brown. She gives examples from her own experience and also asks open questions styled in a coaching method to encourage the reader to think about how these experiences relate to their own life.

About Brené Brown
Brené Brown is a Research Professor at the University of Huston, is a Social Worker and delivers talks and training on leadership around innovation, creativity and change. Brown has worked with Pixar (Disney) and Facebook around leadership.

Dare To Lead by Brené Brown is available to buy on Amazon.

Review soon,

Antony

48 people found this helpful

Elizabeth D.

There is a world outside the USA

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 29, 2019

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It is a good book and it improves as you go through it. However, the author, who is a professor, ought to realise that the use of gutter language, which might be acceptable in the USA, does not enhance her book and limits the book's saleability in other markets. For someone of her level, it is disappointing in that respect.

34 people found this helpful

Mrs Y J Murray

Daring, Courageous Leadership book that every leader should carefully consider

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 28, 2018

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I found this book the most powerful of all the Brene Brown books I have read. It highlighted the amazing opportunity we all have to create joy and fairness in our workspaces and our relationships. Brené’s words in the last chapter. ‘The Revolution - I am not afraid of the word revolution. I am afraid of a world that’s becoming less courageous and authentic.’ ‘Own the story and you get to write the ending. Deny the story and it owns you.’ I am certainly going to try as hard as I can to own mine. It’s our one shot. Thanks Brené for having the courage to share and lead the way.

21 people found this helpful

Great ideas, but unclear goals

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 26, 2021

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This book felt more like a summary of her work with a few mentions of leadership, than a book on leadership.

I enjoy her ideas and her way of breaking down emotions in a way that can be easily understood, I already bought the rest of her books to spend time developing my own skills and would recommend everyone to do so. This book, however fails to establish a clear identity, spending a lot more time on personal growth than leadership skills. We can argue that personal growth leads to better leadership, but I would have expected to see more leadership tools in a book about leadership

5 people found this helpful

Mike D

Showing up when you can't control the outcome

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 10, 2019

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Brene's research has led her to some very helpful insights about leadership, courage and vulnerability. There are some gems in this book although there is a bit too much recipe type solutions for my liking (hence 4 rather 5 stars). Many of her readers want simple to follow actions to implement the ideas; my view is that courage in leadership is a mindset rather than a list of actions/ behaviours.

14 people found this helpful

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