Few things are as terrifying as vulnerability. Yet, when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, we allow ourselves to be free. Free from shame, free from fear and free from the untrue stories we tell ourselves. That is why I am excited for this episode.
Our guest, Dr. Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and her latest book, Dare to Lead.
I found it a really hard time in my life, when I needed to be reminded that I was in the arena, and that I was trying to be brave with my life and my work, and it’s not the critic who counts. And so, it’s not hyperbole to say my life changed when I read [a quote from Teddy Roosevelt], ‘cause I was flooded with this belief that, “You know what? One, I’m going to be in the arena. Two, vulnerability is not a weakness, it’s showing up when you can’t control the outcome, including the trolls on Twitter. And I’m gonna stop taking feedback from people who are not also being brave.”
Brené is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. She is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.
Brené hosts the Unlocking Us Podcast and the Dare to Lead Podcast. Her TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks with over 50 million views. She is also the first researcher to have a filmed lecture on Netflix; The Call to Courage debuted in April 2019.
In this episode Brené shares what first inspired her to dig into research on vulnerability and how that decision changed her life. We discuss the stories we tell ourselves and how to deal with the negative effects of working in the public sphere. Brené shares her views on scaling up versus keeping things slower and closer, and we discover a new way to lead when someone leaves our organization.
Listen to the episode in the player above or download and enjoy it on Apple Podcasts. If you are so inclined, please leave us a review!
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- Brené Brown – Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
- The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
- Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
- Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
- TEDxHouston – The Power of Vulnerability
- Netflix Special – Brené Brown: The Call to Courage
- “Two and a Half Times More Competent: Why Our Daughters and Sons Need to Know about Systemic Bias” by Whitney Johnson
- On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman
- Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve by Whitney Johnson
- Download a free chapter from Build an A-Team