Observations of Lead with Courage workshop in Brisbane

A long held intention to attend a Dare to Lead training came to fruition, albeit for different reasons than originally intended. I initially came to learn of Brene Brown when I was working with TEDx coach, Soness Stevens. I watched Brene's original TED talk and was enamored with her chatty and relatable style at presenting serious emotional and uncool research. I couldn't wait to be a participant in any of her workshops, especially the Dare to Lead curricula when I heard about it before Covid. When it was offered in Brisbane, post Covid, by Kerry Rosser and Tammy Coggan from Lead with Courage, I booked immediately (out of my PhD budget). Best, it was only two days in Brisbane for me, with the other day made up of online work (pre and post).

Enter the PhD researcher lens and my intention changed from being a participant to pondering questions about participants:

• What made you come?
• Where did you first hear about Brene Brown?
• Which of her books have you read?
• What do you do and how will you use her work?
• What words are synonymous with her name or books?
• Who else do you read?
• Why do you read her?

Given my ethics application is not assessed yet, I was unable to interview participants or invite them to my book clubs. Instead I had conversations, listened with my eyes and jotted down notes. The intention was to post an observation so I can then cite it once my ethics application is passed.

Thirty two people attended. Two only appeared and identified as male (a policeman and a school principal). Although not surprised by that, I was disappointed that more men were not represented. As I sat through the two days, I made many mental notes that my husband, an accountant and executive manager would LOVE the concepts and deeper digging. At workshop end, I shared with him a values exercise, the concept of Paint it Done (Brown, 2018) and a feedback model (FIR - Fact, Impact, Redirect/Reward). Four days post workshop he has used all three.

As participants introduced themselves, their sectors and industries became apparent: Early Education workers, Police, School Principals, Teachers, Social Workers, NDIS, HR/Recruiters, Accountants, Counsellors, Team leaders for energy providers, Psychologists, Chemists, Retail managers, Agricultural leaders, State Government Team Leaders, and Federal Government Divisional Team Leaders. Both facilitators were ex Finance. One participant was retired and six had travelled by plane to attend.

In conversation with different participants, a theme of having first seen Brene's TED talk (2010) became evident. These people were looking for leadership information when they inadvertently found Brown. From there, people jettisoned into reading either Daring Greatly (Brown 2012) or The Gifts of Imperfection (Brown 2010). Some people had also read Atlas of the Heart (Brown, 2021). One person told me their Psychiatrist recommended they read Rising Strong (Brown 2015). The participant said they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (they initially described this as "mental health problems"). I spoke to three participants who self disclosed a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One participant spoke about her spiritual acceptance of Universal Laws rather than anything like "the 10 commandments."

Audible was a favourite way to listen while ironing/dog walking/exercising with only one person having said they will only read a physical book. This is important for two reasons: 1) the web based TED talk theme of a Brene Brown introduction to this cohort and 2) the facilitators stated they had reduced the face to face component of the training to two days face to face due to agencies unable to release participants for three days. This suggests the people I spoke to are busy working people and may watch/listen as they also do other things, that is, they collapse time.

My Industry Partner, Typeface Books, had mentioned in personal communications that she sells Brown's books to men if they are listed under Business but that it is only women who buy her if she is under Self Help or Family/Parenting. When at the airport book store, I scanned both sections for Brene Brown and Dare to Lead (2018) was in the Business section. Even though the cover page, and inside page blurb, makes mention of Daring Greatly (2012) and Rising Strong (2015), neither titles were in Business.

While the facilitators recommended a variety of books referenced by Brown, and indeed gave four books away, the only other books mentioned by participants to me were titles that could be considered written by Traditional Intellectuals because the authors are overtly Christian and make mention of it in their subject matter or on their websites: Personality Plus by Florence Littaeur and The Five Love Languages by  Gary Chapman.

This observation is not representative, but rather illustrative. It may be of no use to anybody's research or it may be the beginning of a trend that emerges once my ethics application is passed. One thing I noted that really fits nowhere with my content focus, was that many participants were dog lovers. I'm just recording it incase there is somehow, somewhere a link between empathy, dog lovers and readers of Brene Brown. Similarly, there was a discussion on the derisory against nuclear scientists and how the general public and some scientists not only disagree but vehemently attack online with personal and off topic comments. This reminded me of the online derisory against Brene Brown and how digital dissemination of research can be equally as damaging to the researcher as it can be helpful to author and public.

My recommendation to anyone involved in a leadership role is to undertake the Dare to Lead training for a different and practical approach to leading with courage, integrity and values at the core of who you are as a leader. Lead with Courage is currently touring Australia. Brisbane and Sydney were booked out so be sure to enroll now.

Disclaimer: This book review is written to fulfil partial requirements of my industry partner internship with Typeface Books. Brene Brown is one of my PhD theorists, specifically, her Shame Resilience Theory is used to explain resistance to the status quo.

👵🏼 Megan Bayliss. Social Worker

👩🏼‍🎓 PhD Candidate: Social and Cultural resistance to the Status Quo

References

Brown, B. (2010, June) The power of vulnerability TED Talks. https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_the_power_of_vulnerability?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare 

Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. New York, NY, Gotham Books.

Brown, B (2015). Rising Strong. Vermillion

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead. Vermilion.