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introduction BRAVE LEADERS AND COURAGE CULTURES

0 have one deceptively simple and somewhat selfish goal

for this book: I desperately want to share everything

I've learned with you. I want to take my two decades of

research and my experiences inside hundreds of organiza

tions to give you a practical, no-BS, actionable book about

what it takes to be a daring leader.

I say "deceptively simple" because the data informing what's

presented in this book are the culmination of:

• Interview data collected over the past twenty years

• New research including interviews with 150 global C-level

(and sea-level) leaders on the future of leadership

• Program evaluation research from our Brave Leaders Inc.

courage-building work • Data collected during a three-year instrument develop

ment study on daring leadership

Coding and making sense of 400,000 pieces of data is already

complex, and the more committed I am to translating the data

131

introduction BRAVE LEADERS AND COURAGE CULTURES

?lhave one deceptively simple and somewhat selfish goal

for this book: I desperately want to share everything

I've learned with you. I want to take my two decades of

research and my experiences inside hundreds of organiza

tions to give you a practical, no-BS, actionable book about

what it takes to be a daring leader.

I say "deceptively simple" because the data informing what's

presented in this book are the culmination of:

• Interview data collected over the past twenty years

• New research including interviews with 150 global C-level

(and sea-level) leaders on the future of leadership

• Program evaluation research from our Brave Leaders Inc.

courage-building work

• Data collected during a three-year instrument develop

ment study on daring leadership

Coding and making sense of 400,000 pieces of data is already

complex, and the more committed I am to translating the data

1 3 �

4 I Dare to Lead

. to actionable research-based practices the more painstak· 1n , ·1ngl •se 1 need to be with the data and the more testin I Y prec1 • g need

to do. The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b

etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I ve transitioned fro""'

lll re- search professor to research professor and founder and CEO. The first hard and humbling lesson? R~~ardless of the complexi!_t of tlle concepts, studying leadership is way easier than )eaetftg.

When I think about my personal experiences with leading over the past few years, the only endeavors that have required the same level of self-awareness and equally high-level "comms plans" are being married for twenty-four years and parenting. And that's saying something. I completely underestimated the pull on my emotional bandwidth, the sheer determination it takes to stay calm under pressure, and the weight of continuous problem solving and decision making. Oh, yeah-and the sleep less nights.

My other quasi-selfish goal is this: I want to live in a world with braver, bolder leaders, and I want to be able to pass that kind of world on to my children. I define a ~e~~er as anyon_e who takes responsibility for finding the potential i!!J}eaple

and processes, and who has the courage to develop !b,at po- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith

communities, we desperately need more leaders who are com mitted 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.

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve th8t 1

wanted to write a book that would change how the reader thi~ks about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

4 I Dare to Lead

. to actionable research-based practices the more painstak· 1n , ·1ngl •se 1 need to be with the data and the more testin I Y prec1 • g need

to do. The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b

etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I ve transitioned fro""'

and processes, and who has the courage to develop !b,at po- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve th8t 1

wanted to write a book that would change how the reader thi~ks about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

4 I Dare to Lead

. to actionable research-based practices the more painstak· 1n , ·1ngl •se 1 need to be with the data and the more testin I Y prec1 • g need

to do. The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b

etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I ve transitioned fro""'

and processes, and who has the courage to develop !b,at po- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve th8t 1

wanted to write a book that would change how the reader thi~ks about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

4 I Dare to Lead

. to actionable research-based practices the more painstak· 1n , ·1ngl •se 1 need to be with the data and the more testin I Y prec1 • g need

to do. The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b

etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I ve transitioned fro""'

and processes, and who has the courage to develop !b,at po- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve th8t 1

wanted to write a book that would change how the reader thi~ks about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

4 I Dare to Lead

. to actionable research-based practices the more painstak· 1n , ·1ngl •se 1 need to be with the data and the more testin I Y prec1 • g need

to do. The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b

etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I ve transitioned fro""'

and processes, and who has the courage to develop !b,at po- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve th8t 1

wanted to write a book that would change how the reader thi~ks about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

4 \ Dare to Lead

into actionable, research-based practices, the more painstakin g] ecise I need to be with the data and the more testing j " pre

1need to do.

The selfish part of my goal stems from wanting to be a b etter leader myself. Over the past five years, I've transitioned fro m re- search professor to research professor and founder and CEO. Tha first hard and humbling lesson? Regardless of the complexity of the concepts, studying leadership is way easier than leading.

My other quasi-selfish goal is this: I want to live in a world with braver, bolder leaders, and I want to be able to pass that kind of world on to my children. I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people

and processes, and who has the courage to developthatpo- tential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector orga- -�

nizations to governments, activist groups, schools, and faith communities, we desperately need more leaders who are com mitted 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.

We've got a lot of ground to cover, and I told Steve that I h inks wanted to write a book that would change how the reader t hin

about leading, would result in at least one meaningful behavior

Introduction I 5

change, and could be read cover to cover on one flight. He laughed

and asked, "Houston to Singapore?"

He knows that's the longest flight I've ever endured (Moscow

was just halfway). I smiled and said, "No. New York to L.A. With

a short delay."

Brave Leaders and Courage Cultures

I've always been told, "Write what you need to read." What I need

as a leader, and what every leader I've worked with over the past

several years has asked for, is a practical playbook for putting the

lessons from Daring Greatly and Rising Strong into action.

There are even a few learnings from Braving the Wilderness that

can help us ~reate a culture of belonging at work. If you've read these books, expect some familiar lessons with new context, sto ries, tools, and examples related to our work lives. If you haven't read these books-no problem. I'll cover everything you need to

know. The language, tools, and skills described in these chapters re

quire courage and serious practice. Yet they are straightforward and, I believe, accessible and actionable to everyone holding this book. The barriers and obstacles to daring leadership are real and

sometimes fierce. But what I've learned from both the research and my own life is that as long as we name them, stay curious, and keep showing up, they don't have the power to stop us from being

brave. We've built a Dare to Lead hub on brenebrown.com where

you can find resources including a free downloadable workbook for anyone who wants to put this book further into action as you read. I highly recommend it. As we learned from the re search we did for Rising Strong: We know that the way to

Introduction I 5

change, and could be read cover to cover on one flight. He laughed

and asked, "Houston to Singapore?"

He knows that's the longest flight I've ever endured (Moscow

was just halfway). I smiled and said, "No. New York to L.A. With

a short delay."

Brave Leaders and Courage Cultures

I've always been told, "Write what you need to read." What I need

as a leader, and what every leader I've worked with over the past

several years has asked for, is a practical playbook for putting the

lessons from Daring Greatly and Rising Strong into action.

There are even a few learnings from Braving the Wilderness that

can help us create a culture of belonging at work. If you've read

these books, expect some familiar lessons with new context, sto

ries, tools, and examples related to our work lives. If you haven't

read these books-no problem. I'll cover everything you need to

know.

The language, tools, and skills described in these chapters re

quire courage and serious practice. Yet they are straightforward

and, I believe, accessible and actionable to everyone holding this

book. The barriers and obstacles to daring leadership are real and

sometimes fierce. But what I've learned from both the research

and my own life is that as long as we name them, stay curious, and

keep showing up, they don't have the power to stop us from being

brave.

We've built a Dare to Lead hub on brenebrown.com where

you can find resources including a free downloadable workbook

for anyone who wants to put this book further into action as

you read. I highly recommend it. As we learned from the re

search we did for Rising Strong: We know that the way to

https://brenebrown.com

6 I Dare to Lead

ntove information from your head to your heart is through )OUr hands.

There are also leadership book recommendations and role- play videos that you can watch as part of building your own cour age skills. The videos won't take the place of putting this work into practice, but they will give you some idea of what it can look like, of where it gets hard, and of how to circle back when you inevita

bly make a mistake. Additionally, you'll find a downloadable glossary of the lan

guage, tools, and skills that I'm discussing in the book. (Terms included in the glossary are bolded throughout the book.)

WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY BECOMES THE WAY

We started our interviews with senior leaders with one question: What, if anything, about the way people are leading today needs to change in order for leaders to be successful in a complex, rap idly changing environment where we're faced with seemingly intractable challenges and an insatiable demand for innovation?

There was one answer across the interviews: We need braver leaders and more courageous cultures.

When we followed up to understand the specific "why" behind the call for braver leadership, the research took a critical turn. There wasn't just one answer. There were close to fifty answers, and many of them weren't intuitively connected to courage. Lead ers talked about everything from critical thinking and the ability to synthesize and analyze information to building trust, rethink ing educational systems, inspiring innovation, finding common political ground amid growing polarization, making tough deci sions, and the importance of empathy and relationship-building in the context of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

6 � Dare to Lead

move information from your head to your heart is through your ha nds.

There are also leadership book recommendations and role- play videos that you can watch as part of building your Own cour age skills. The videos won't take the place of putting this work into practice, but they will give you some idea of what it can look like, of where it gets hard, and of how to circle back when you inevita bly make a mistake.

Additionally, you'll find a downloadable glossary of the lan

guage, tools, and skills that I'm discussing in the book. (Terms

included in the glossary are bolded throughout the book.)

WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY BECOMES THE WAY

We started our interviews with senior leaders with one question:

What, if anything, about the way people are leading today needs

to change in order for leaders to be successful in a complex, rap

idly changing environment where we're faced with seemingly

intractable challenges and an insatiable demandfor innovation?

There was one answer across the interviews: We need braver leaders and more courageous cultures.

When we followed up to understand the specific "why" behind

the call for braver leadership, the research took a critical turn.

There wasn't just one answer. There were close to fifty answers,

and many of them weren't intuitively connected to courage. Lead

ers talked about everything from critical thinking and the ability

to synthesize and analyze information to building trust, rethink

ing educational systems, inspiring innovation, finding common

political ground amid growing polarization, making tough deci

sions, and the importance of empathy and relationship-building

in the context of machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Introduction I 7

We kept peeling the metaphorical onion by asking: Can you

break down the specific skills that you believe underpin brave leadership?

I was surprised by how much the research participants strug

gled to answer this question. Just under half of the leaders we in

terviewed initially talked about courage as a personality trait, not

a skill. They typically approached the question about specific

skills with a "Well, you either have it or you don't" answer. We

stayed curious and kept pushing for observable behaviors: What does it look like if you have it?

Just over 80 percent of the leaders, including those who be

lieved that courage is behavioral, couldn't identify the specific

skills; however, they could immediately and passionately talk about problematic behaviors and cultural norms that corrode

trust and courage. Luckily, the idea of "starting where people are" is a tenet of both grounded theory research and social work, and

it's exactly what I do. As much time as I spend trying to under stand the way, I spend ten times as much researching what gets

in the way. For example, I didn't set out to study shame; I wanted to un

derstand connection and empathy. But if you don't understand how shame can unravel connection in a split second, you don't

really get connection. I didn't set out to study vulnerability; it just

happens to be the big barrier to almost everything we want from

our lives, especially courage. As Marcus Aurelius taught us, "What

stands in the way becomes the way." Here are the ten behaviors and cultural issues that leaders

identified as getting in our way in organizations across the world:

1. We avoid tough conversations, including giving honest, productive feedback. Some leaders attributed this to a

Introduction I 7

We kept peeling the metaphorical onion by asking: Can you

break down the specific skills that you believe underpin brave

leadership?

I was surprised by how much the research participants strug

gled to answer this question. Just under half of the leaders we in

terviewed initially talked about courage as a personality trait, not

a skill. They typically approached the question about specific

skills with a "Well, you either have it or you don't" answer. We

stayed curious and kept pushing for observable behaviors: What

does it look like if you have it?

Just over 80 percent of the leaders, including those who be

lieved that courage is behavioral, couldn't identify the specific

skills; however, they could immediately and passionately talk

about problematic behaviors and cultural norms that corrode

trust and courage. Luckily, the idea of "starting where people are"

is a tenet of both grounded theory research and social work, and

it's exactly what I do. As much time as I spend trying to under

stand the way, I spend ten times as much researching what gets

in the way.

For example, I didn't set out to study shame; I wanted to un

derstand connection and empathy. But if you don't understand

how shame can unravel connection in a split second, you don't

really get connection. I didn't set out to study vulnerability; it just

happens to be the big barrier to almost everything we want from

our lives, especially courage. As Marcus Aurelius taught us, "What

stands in the way becomes the way."

Here are the ten behaviors and cultural issues that leaders

identified as getting in our way in organizations across the world:

1. We avoid tough conversations, including giving honest,

productive feedback. Some leaders attributed this to a

8 I Dare to Lead lack of courage, others to a lack of skills, and, shockingly,

th half talked about a cultural norm of "nice more an and polite" that's leveraged as an excuse to avoid tough conversations. Whatever the reason, there was saturation across the data that the consequence is a lack of clar- ity, diminishing trust and engagement, and an increase in problematic behavior, including passive-aggressive behavior, talking behind people's backs, pervasive back channel communication (or "the meeting after the meet ing"), gossip, and the "dirty yes" (when I say yes to your face and then no behind your back).

2. Rather than spending a reasonable amount of time pro actively acknowledging and addressing the fears and feel ings that show up during change and upheaval, we spend an unreasonable amount of time managing problematic behaviors.

3. Diminishing trust caused by a lack of connection and empathy.

4. Not enough people are taking smart risks or creating and sharing bold ideas to meet changing demands and the insatiable need for innovation. When people are afraid of being put down or ridiculed for trying some thing and failing, or even for putting forward a radi cal new idea, the best you can expect is status quo and groupthink.

5. We get stuck and defined by setbacks, disappointments, and failures, so instead of spending resources on clean up to ensure that consumers, stakeholders, or internal processes are made whole, we are spending too much time and energy reassuring team members who are ques tioning their contribution and value.

8 � Dare to Lead

lack of courage, others to a lack of skills, and, shockingly,

th half talked about a cultural norm of "nice more an

and polite" that's leveraged as an excuse to avoid tough

conversations. Whatever the reason, there was saturation

across the data that the consequence is a lack of clar-

ity, diminishing trust and engagement, and an increase

in problematic behavior, including passive-aggressive

behavior, talking behind people's backs, pervasive back

channel communication (or "the meeting after the meet ing"), gossip, and the "dirty yes" (when I say yes to your

face and then no behind your back). 2. Rather than spending a reasonable amount of time pro

actively acknowledging and addressing the fears and feel

ings that show up during change and upheaval, we spend

an unreasonable amount of time managing problematic

behaviors.

3. Diminishing trust caused by a lack of connection and

empathy. 4. Not enough people are taking smart risks or creating

and sharing bold ideas to meet changing demands and

the insatiable need for innovation. When people are

afraid of being put down or ridiculed for trying some

thing and failing, or even for putting forward a radi cal new idea, the best you can expect is status quo and

groupthink. 5. We get stuck and defined by setbacks, disappointments,

and failures, so instead of spending resources on clean

up to ensure that consumers, stakeholders, or int ernal

processes are made whole, we are spending too much

time and energy reassuring team members who are ques

tioning their contribution and value.

�

Introduction I 9

6. Too 111uch shame and blame, not enough accountability

and learning.

7. People are opting out of vital conversations about di

versity and inclusivity because they fear looking wrong,

saying something wrong, or being wrong. Choosing our

own comfort over hard conversations is the epitome of

privilege, and it corrodes trust and moves us away from

meaningful and lasting change.

8. When something goes wrong, individuals and teams

are rushing into ineffective or unsustainable solutions

rather than staying with problem identification and

solving. When we fix the wrong thing for the wrong rea

son, the same problems continue to surface. It's costly

and demoralizing.

9. Organizational values are gauzy and assessed in terms

of aspirations rather than actual behaviors that can be

taught, measured, and evaluated.

10. Perfectionism and fear are keeping people from learning

and growing.

I think most of us can look at this list and quickly recognize

not only the challenges in our organizations, but our own internal

struggles to show up and lead through discomfort. These may be

work behaviors and organizational culture concerns, but what

underlies all of them are deeply human issues.

After finding the roadblocks, our job was to identify the specific

courage-building skill sets that people need to address these prob

lems. We conducted more interviews, developed instruments, and

tested them with MBA and EMBA students enrolled at the Jones

Graduate School of Business at Rice University, the Kellogg School

of Management at Northwestern University, and the Wharton

Introduction � 9

6. Too much shame and blame, not enough accountability

and learning.

7. People are opting out of vital conversations about di-

versity and inclusivity because they fear looking wrong,

saying something wrong, or being wrong. Choosing our

own comfort over hard conversations is the epitome of

privilege, and it corrodes trust and moves us away from

meaningful and lasting change.

8. When something goes wrong, individuals and teams

are rushing into ineffective or unsustainable solutions

rather than staying with problem identification and

solving. When we fix the wrong thing for the wrong rea-

son, the same problems continue to surface. It's costly

and demoralizing.

9. Organizational values are gauzy and assessed in terms

of aspirations rather than actual behaviors that can be

taught, measured, and evaluated.

10. Perfectionism and fear are keeping people from learning

and growing.

I think most of us can look at this list and quickly recognize

not only the challenges in our organizations, but our own internal

struggles to show up and lead through discomfort. These may be

work behaviors and organizational culture concerns, but what

underlies all of them are deeply human issues.

After finding the roadblocks, our job was to identify the specific

courage-building skill sets that people need to address these prob

lems. We conducted more interviews, developed instruments, and

tested them with MBA and EMBA students enrolled at the Jones

Graduate School of Business at Rice University, the Kellogg School

of Management at Northwestern University, and the Wharton

------ l I I

10 I Dare to Lead

School at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked unt .1 I Wefo the answers. Then we tested it, improved it, and tested . Und

It ag • Let's unpack what we learned. ain.

The Heart of Daring Leadership

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulner~ ability. Embrace the suck.

At the heart of daring leadership is a deeply human truth that is rarely acknowledged, especially at work: Courage and fear are not mutually exclusive. Most of us feel brave and afraid at the exact same time. We feel vulnerable. Sometimes all day long. During those "in the arena" moments that Roosevelt described, when we're pulled between our fear and our call to courage, we need shared language, skills, tools, and daily practices that can support us through the rumble.

The word rumble has become more than just a weird West

Side Story way to say, "Let's have a real conversation, even if it's tough." It's become a serious intention and a behavioral cue or re

minder. A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting de

fined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay cu

rious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to take a break and circle back when necessary, to be fearless in owning our parts,

and, as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with

the same passion with which we want to be heard. More than anything else, when someone says, "Let's rumble," it cues me to show up with an open heart and mind so we can serve the work

and each other, not our egos. d. . cour

Our research led to a very clear, very hopeful fin mg.

------ l I I

10 I Dare to Lead

School at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked unt .1 I Wefo the answers. Then we tested it, improved it, and tested . Und

It ag • Let's unpack what we learned. ain.

The Heart of Daring Leadership

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulner~ ability. Embrace the suck.

The word rumble has become more than just a weird West

Side Story way to say, "Let's have a real conversation, even if it's tough." It's become a serious intention and a behavioral cue or re

minder. A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting de

fined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay cu

rious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to take a break and circle back when necessary, to be fearless in owning our parts,

and, as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with

the same passion with which we want to be heard. More than anything else, when someone says, "Let's rumble," it cues me to show up with an open heart and mind so we can serve the work

and each other, not our egos. d. . cour

Our research led to a very clear, very hopeful fin mg.

------ l I I

10 I Dare to Lead

School at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked unt .1 I Wefo the answers. Then we tested it, improved it, and tested . Und

It ag • Let's unpack what we learned. ain.

The Heart of Daring Leadership

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulner~ ability. Embrace the suck.

The word rumble has become more than just a weird West

Side Story way to say, "Let's have a real conversation, even if it's tough." It's become a serious intention and a behavioral cue or re

minder. A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting de

fined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay cu

rious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to take a break and circle back when necessary, to be fearless in owning our parts,

and, as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with

the same passion with which we want to be heard. More than anything else, when someone says, "Let's rumble," it cues me to show up with an open heart and mind so we can serve the work

and each other, not our egos. d. . cour

Our research led to a very clear, very hopeful fin mg.

------ l I I

10 I Dare to Lead

School at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked unt .1 I Wefo the answers. Then we tested it, improved it, and tested . Und

It ag • Let's unpack what we learned. ain.

The Heart of Daring Leadership

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulner~ ability. Embrace the suck.

The word rumble has become more than just a weird West

Side Story way to say, "Let's have a real conversation, even if it's tough." It's become a serious intention and a behavioral cue or re

minder. A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting de

fined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay cu

rious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to take a break and circle back when necessary, to be fearless in owning our parts,

and, as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with

the same passion with which we want to be heard. More than anything else, when someone says, "Let's rumble," it cues me to show up with an open heart and mind so we can serve the work

and each other, not our egos. d. . cour

Our research led to a very clear, very hopeful fin mg.

J Iii

10 � Dare to Lead

School at the University of Pennsylvania. We worked until 11 we fo the answers. Then we tested it, improved it, and tested , ®and

1t agai Let's unpack what we learned. gam.

The Heart of Daring Leadership

1. You can't get to courage without rumbling with vulner ability. Embrace the suck.

The word rumble has become more than just a weird West

Side Story way to say, "Let's have a real conversation, even if it's tough." It's become a serious intention and a behavioral cue or re minder.

A rumble is a discussion, conversation, or meeting de fined by a commitment to lean into vulnerability, to stay cu rious and generous, to stick with the messy middle of problem identification and solving, to take a break and circle back when necessary, to be fearless in owning our parts, and, as psychologist Harriet Lerner teaches, to listen with

the same passion with which we want to be heard. More than anything else, when someone says, "Let's rumble," it cues me to

show up with an open heart and mind so we can serve the work

and each other, not our egos. d . . cour-Our research led to a very clear, very hopeful fin ding:

Inh·oduction I 11

age is a collection of four skill sets that can be taught, observed,

and n1easured. The four skill sets are:

Rumbling with Vulnerability

Living into Our Values Braving Trust

Learning to Rise

The foundational skill of courage-building is the willingness

and ability to rumble with vulnerability. Without this core skill,

the other three skill sets are impossible to put into practice. Con

sider this carefully: Our ability to be daring leaders will never be

greater than our capacity for vulnerability. Once we start to build

vulnerability skills, we can start to develop the other skill sets.

The goal of this book is to give you language and specifics on the

tools, practices, and behaviors that are critical for building the

muscle memory for living these concepts.

We've now tested this approach in more than fifty organiza

tions and with approximately ten thousand individuals who are

learning these skills on their own or in teams. From the Gates

Foundation to Shell, from small family-owned businesses to For

tune SO companies, to multiple branches of the U.S. military, we

have found this process to have significant positive impact, not

just on the way leaders show up with their teams, but also on how

their teams perform.

2. Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how

we lead. So often we think of courage as an inherent trait; however, it is

less about who people are, and more about how they behave and

show up in difficult situations. Fear is the emotion at the center of

that list of problematic behaviors and culture issues-it's precisely

Introduction I 11

age is a collection of four skill sets that can be taught, observed,

and measured. The four skill sets are:

Rumbling with Vulnerability

Living into Our Values

Braving Trust