Select language, opens an overlay

Comment

Dare to Lead

Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts /
Sep 07, 2020gingerbbm rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
The main thing I learned from Dare to Lead was that "#1 New York Times Bestseller" and "Wall Street Journal Bestseller" are no indication of the quality of writing or content. The style of writing is bizarre: Brené Brown is a decorated academic researcher but writes as if she's speaking, littering the pages with North American colloquialisms ("I call BS!"), awkward epithets ("embrace the suck", "braving trust") and countless anecdotes told through reported speech miraculously remembered in precise detail and always perfect for the point being illustrated. Her biggest crime is arguably the attempt to co-opt the word "rumble", ascribing it a new meaning - a vain attempt to leave a legacy, perhaps. It's a struggle to get to the content of the book, and what's there is comprised of interminable lists of closely-related items that Brown fails to distinguish between clearly. There are definitely a few interesting insights but they're suffocated by reams of filler. But my biggest disappointment was the lack of any real actionable, practical advice. The point of the book - that leaders should embrace vulnerability - seems designed for a bygone era, when machismo permeated the attitude and behaviour of the higher-ups. Certainly in my experience in the corporate world in 2020 (admittedly in tech) leaders understand the need for open communication and empathy. It all helps to make Dare to Lead miss the mark.