Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, I’ve transitioned from research professor to research professor and founder and CEO. The first hard and humbling lesson? Regardless of the complexity of the concepts, studying leadership is way easier than leading.
When I think about my personal experiences with leading over the past few years, the only endeavours that have required the same level of self-awareness and equally high-level ‘comms plans’ are being married for 24 years and parenting. And that’s saying something. I completely underestimated the pull on my emotional bandwidth, the sheer determination it takes to stay calm under pressure, and the weight of continuous problem solving and decision making. Oh, yeah — and the sleepless nights.
My quasi-selfish goal in writing my most recent book — Dare to Lead — is this: 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, non-profits and public sector organizations to governments, activist 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.
What Stands in the Way Becomes the Way
We started our interviews with senior leaders with one question: What, if anything, about the way people are leading today needs to change in order for leaders to be successful in a complex, rapidly changing environment where we’re faced with seemingly intractable challenges and an insatiable demand for innovation? There was one answer across the board: We need braver leaders and more courageous cultures.
When we followed up to and to and We kept peeling the metaphorical onion by asking: ?
