Dare to Lead

Dare to Lead: Brave work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

By Brené Brown (Random House, 2018)

Review by Dr. Anestine Theophile-LaFond (19^th LDI cohort)

You cannot give what you do not have. What we give to any communication encounter and experience is “what we bring”.  Thus, Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. was a timely winter break read for Leadership Development alumni at Montgomery College. The book poses bold and innovate approaches to leadership, not unlike ones proposed and encouraged at LDI to keep the leadership flame burning within its participants.

Brown takes readers through a river of consciousness rooted in self-examination. The author focuses her attention on helping leaders understand what it means to lead from the front.  Brown emphasizes that to lead is to be courageous, to be all in and to embrace vulnerability sufficient to engage in tough conversations. Yet, to be full of compassion, open, and aware.  For her the difference between daring and armored leadership is clear.  One will lead to sustainable problem solving and a deepening of relationships while the other will erect barriers, such as shaming, resistance, and aggressiveness.

Dare to Lead is useful for leaders and aspiring leaders who wish to focus on self-improvement for effective leadership. Chapter after chapter, the reader is called into self-reflections and the exercises are so strategically placed that one dares not gloss over any. The book ultimately offers the reader an opportunity to practice a new type of discomfort that builds courage, integrity, and honesty.

I dare you, read Dare to Lead!