Daring Greatly

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt

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Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly is an excellent book. It is a book about her research on vulnerability and how in order to be courageous and connect with people you have to be vulnerable. She says "To feel is to be vulnerable. To believe that vulnerability is weakness is to believe that feeling is weakness." She explains that all emotions are connected to vulnerability. If you want to connect with other people on an emotional level you will have to be vulnerable.

One of the other things that Brené talks about that I really appreciate is how vulnerability connects to being a parent. As a parent I am constantly trying to improve and get better. I'm also continually surprised by how leadership and parenthood are connected. One of the principles that I thought about while reading this book is that the way you act is always going to be a more powerful teacher than anything you say. Which is true both as a parent and as a leader. 

I am a huge fan of Brené Brown and I encourage everyone to read her work on vulnerability. I think the world would be a better place if everyone read this book. I also think that her positivity is so infectious that it is easy to forget that there is a lot more out there. Read her work, listen to her talks, learn from her, and keep learning. 

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Leadership Lesson

Be vulnerable and make sure that your actions teach the principles that you want to proliferate throughout your organization. You can't raise anyone to a level that is higher than where you are so the easiest way to raise the level of your business is to raise your own level. Actions speak louder than words.