Dare to Lead
"Daring leaders who live into their values are never silent about hard things."
— Brené Brown, Dare to Lead (2018)
Introduction
| Dare to Lead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. |
| Author | Brené Brown |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Leadership; Courage; Vulnerability; Organizational culture |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Self-help; Business/Leadership |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 9 October 2018 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 298 |
| ISBN | 978-0-399-59252-2 |
| Goodreads rating | 4.2/5 (as of 10 November 2025) |
| Website | brenebrown.com |
Introduction
Dare to Lead is a 2018 leadership book by Brené Brown, published by Random House.[1] Grounded in a seven-year study, it presents four teachable skill sets—rumbling with vulnerability, living into our values, BRAVING trust, and learning to rise.[2] Brown writes in a research-driven, story-rich register that pairs qualitative grounded-theory findings with practical tools such as the BRAVING Inventory.[3][4] It defines leadership beyond titles as the work of recognizing and developing potential, and organizes its chapters around those four skill sets.[1][2] Commercially, Random House lists it as a #1 New York Times bestseller; in the week of 22 October 2018 it ranked first overall in U.S. BookScan with 63,823 units; and Bloomberg included it among the Best Books of 2018.[1][5][6]
Chapter summary
This outline follows the Random House hardcover edition (9 October 2018, ISBN 978-0-399-59252-2, 298 pp.).[1][7]
I – Rumbling with Vulnerability
🎭 1 – The Moment and the Myths. This opening chapter sets the ground for “rumbling with vulnerability” by defining vulnerability as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure that shows up in high‑stakes conversations, feedback, and decision‑making. It dismantles six myths—“vulnerability is weakness,” “I don’t do vulnerability,” “I can go it alone,” “you can engineer the uncertainty and discomfort out of vulnerability,” “trust comes before vulnerability,” and “vulnerability is disclosure”—to show why courage and connection require exposure to risk. To anchor the practice, it introduces the Square Squad exercise, focusing attention on the handful of people whose opinions truly matter so approval‑seeking and defensiveness lose their grip. We need to trust to be vulnerable, and we need to be vulnerable in order to build trust.
🦁 2 – The Call to Courage. This section maps the predictable pattern of “armoring up” when fear is in the driver’s seat—starting with “I’m not enough,” moving to secrecy and blame, and ending in superiority—and invites leaders to replace armor with grounded presence. It issues a practical call to action: name “the cave you fear to enter,” pick one arena to be braver in this week, and balance gritty faith with gritty facts so reality and hope can coexist. Finally, it reframes care and connection as non‑negotiable leadership work by making room to name emotions and by using clear, kind language that enables real accountability. Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings, or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior.
🛡️ 3 – The Armory.
💞 4 – Shame and Empathy.
🔍 5 – Curiosity and Grounded Confidence.
II – Living into Our Values
🧭 6 – Living into Our Values.
III – Braving Trust
🤝 7 – Braving Trust.
IV – Learning to Rise
🌅 8 – Learning to Rise.
Background & reception
🖋️ Author & writing. Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston (Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair) and also serves as a Professor of Practice in Management at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, with two decades of work on courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy.[8][9] She builds the book on grounded-theory methods and qualitative data, translating them into a four-part, skills-based playbook.[10][2] Reporting in The Washington Post, Mary Beth Albright calls it a “practical playbook” informed by research with 150 global C-suite executives.[11] Time likewise describes it as a leadership manual that systematizes courage into four skills.[3] Across the text and companion resources, Brown operationalizes trust via the BRAVING checklist and other downloadable tools for teams.[4][12]
📈 Commercial reception. Publishers Weekly reported that for the week of 22 October 2018, *Dare to Lead* was the No. 1 book in the United States, with 63,823 BookScan units.[5] Random House lists the title as a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, and the Wall Street Journal included it among “Five Books Executives Should Read to Prepare for 2019.”[1][13] Bloomberg also named it one of its Best Books of 2018.[6]
👍 Praise. The Washington Post praised it as “an absorbingly actionable handbook on creating a space for better work and more fulfilled people.”[11] Library Journal called it “an intriguing new approach to leadership development that combines courage, connection, and meaning,” recommending it to readers of servant-leadership classics.[14] Time highlighted Brown’s blend of grounded-theory rigor and warmth, noting that she “moves people rather than merely training them.”[3]
👎 Criticism. Some commentary has cautioned that the book steps into the airport-lounge style of business management and adopts pithy guru-style phrasing.[3] Earlier profile coverage in The Guardian reflected a strand of skepticism toward Brown’s popular reach, dubbing her a “celebrity self-help queen,” a label she rejects.[15] More recently, a Kirkus Reviews assessment of a follow-on leadership volume argued that the franchise risked reading like a sales pitch and rehash of earlier books, notably *Dare to Lead*.[16]
🌍 Impact & adoption. The University of Texas at Austin announced on 4 February 2020 that it would implement institution-wide courage-building training based on *Dare to Lead*, becoming the first university to adopt the program.[17] In the public sector, the U.S. Air Force documented Dare to Lead training with the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base on 13 December 2021.[18] The brand has also extended into media and enterprise platforms: in 2024 the Dare to Lead podcast returned under Vox Media’s network,[19] and BetterUp launched the Center for Daring Leadership with Brown as Executive Chair to scale the curriculum across organizations.[20]
Related content & more
YouTube videos
CapSach articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Dare to Lead by Brené Brown". Penguin Random House. Random House. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Daring Leadership Assessment". Brené Brown. Brené Brown Education and Research Group. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Luscombe, Belinda (1 November 2018). "America's Reigning Expert on Feelings, Brené Brown Now Takes on Leadership". Time. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The BRAVING Inventory" (PDF). Brené Brown. Brené Brown Education and Research Group. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Juris, Carolyn (19 October 2018). "This Week's Bestsellers: October 22, 2018". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Best Books 2018: Top Picks from Business and Finance". Bloomberg. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Dare to lead : brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Huffington Foundation Endows Chair for Brené Brown". University of Houston News. University of Houston. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "About Brené". Brené Brown. Brené Brown Education and Research Group. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "The Research". Brené Brown. Brené Brown Education and Research Group. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Albright, Mary Beth (16 October 2018). "Brené Brown knows what makes a great leader — and most politicians wouldn't make the cut". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Guides & Resources (Dare to Lead)". Brené Brown. Brené Brown Education and Research Group. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Five Books Executives Should Read to Prepare for 2019". The Wall Street Journal. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Dare To Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts". Library Journal. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ Cadwalladr, Carole (22 November 2015). "Brené Brown: 'People will find a million reasons to tear your work down'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "STRONG GROUND (review)". Kirkus Reviews. October 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Brené Brown Brings 'Dare to Lead' Program to UT as New Visiting Professor of Management". UT Austin News. The University of Texas at Austin. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Building courageous leaders through deliberate development". U.S. Air Force. 18th Air Force. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Brené Brown joins Vox Media's podcast network". Axios. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "BetterUp and Brené Brown Partner to Bring the Center for Daring Leadership to Human Transformation Platform". BetterUp. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2025.