This wasn’t the first Brene Brown book I’ve read. Like the other books, I found this one to be an easy read. I find Brene’s style is very conversational, and you can almost hear her saying the words as you’re reading it. From time to time, she mentions other books she’s written and takes some of that content and includes a snippet of it here and there in this book.
I have put several tabs throughout the book, for parts that I thought, “yes, that’s so right” and might want to come back to you. I’ve got heaps of these tabs dotted throughout the book and can just flip open a page with a tab to read something encouraging or challenging.
Early on in the book, on page 4, Brene makes this comment, of which she described as a goal … “I want to live in a world with braver, bolder leaders, and I want to be able to pass that kind of world on to my children. I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential. From corporations, nonprofits, and public sector organisations to governments, activity groups, schools and faith communities, we desperately need more leaders who are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather than unevolved leaders who lead from hurt and fear.1”
Brene is big on vulnerability, self-awareness, achieving a good culture, and having courageous conversations. She talks about making space for diverse points of view and about shame. She talks about empathy and how important it is to be able to understand another person’s feelings and to be able to communicate your understanding of their feelings. When Brene’s talking about self-awareness she heads up the chapter by saying, who we are is how we lead … self-awareness and self-love matter.
This book acknowledges the struggles and Bene shares about some of her own, but always with the encouragement that when we “get over ourselves” (my words not hers) we have to shake ourselves off, push away any thoughts of shame and go forward, stronger, and no doubt wiser, not necessarily because we’ve got the answers, but just because we’ve got up and gone again.
This book is worth a read, and I’d highly recommend it to you!
Review by Major Raewyn Gardner