Brené Brown has written a seminal book on leadership, Dare to Lead. Brown defines a leader as “anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and who has the courage to develop that potential”. Brown understands that being a leader requires great courage as it involves being vulnerable and throwing away the armor that prevents us from telling the truth about ourselves, the situation and others. She writes that organizations “reward armor like perfectionism, emotional stoicism, the false compartmentalizing of our lives and our work, keeping things easy and comfortable instead of embracing the necessary tough and awkward conversations, and they value all-knowing over always learning and staying curious. She continues, “Protecting our ego and fitting in is why we reach for armor in situations where we think being liked or respected is at risk because we may be wrong, or not have all the answers, or might get in over our heads and not look smart enough”.
Brown includes in her book sixteen factors that distinguish ‘armored leadership’ from ‘daring leadership’. These are reproduced in the table below.
|
Armored Leadership |
Daring Leadership |
| 1. Driving perfectionism and fostering fear of failure | Modeling and encouraging healthy striving, empathy and self-compassion |
| 2. Working from scarcity and squandering opportunities for joy and recognition | Practicing gratitude and celebrating milestones and victories |
| 3. Numbing (taking the edge off through food, work, social media, shopping, etc.) | Setting boundaries and finding real comfort (“it’s not what you do; it’s why you do it”) |
| 4. Propagating the false dichotomy of victim or Viking, crush or be crushed (control, dominate, exert power, shut down emotion) | Practicing integration – strong back, soft front, wild heart (grounded confidence, boundaries, staying vulnerable and curious) |
| 5. Being a knower and being right | Being a learner and getting it right |
| 6. Hiding behind cynicism | Modeling clarity, kindness and hope |
| 7. Using criticism as self-protection | Making contributions and taking risks |
| 8. Using power over | Using power with, power to, and power within |
| 9. Hustling for our worth | Knowing our value |
| 10. Leading for compliance and control | Cultivating commitment and shared purpose |
| 11. Weaponizing fear and uncertainty | Acknowledging, naming and normalizing collective fear and uncertainty |
| 12. Rewarding exhaustion as a status symbol and attaching productivity to self-worth | Modeling and supporting rest, play and recovery |
| 13. Tolerating discrimination, echo chambers and a “fitting in” culture | Cultivating a culture of belonging, inclusivity and diverse perspectives |
| 14. Collecting gold stars | Giving gold stars |
| 15. Zigzagging and avoiding | Straight talking and taking action |
| 16. Leading from hurt | Leading from heart |
Brené Brown is one of the world’s gifted thinkers on the subject of leadership and her book is highly recommended reading.