Welcome to the first post of my Summer Read-Along: Dare To Lead by Brené Brown.
I chose this book because I think the skill of leadership is so important to educators in general, and to music educators in particular. As Dr. Brown says in the introduction,
“As I often tell teachers–some of our most important leaders–we can’t always ask our students to take off the armor at home […]but what we can do, and what we are ethically called to do, is create a space in our schools and classrooms where all students can walk in and, for that day or hour, take off the crushing weight of their armor, hang it on a rack, and open their heart to truly being seen.” (13)
I think the core of Dr. Brown’s daring leadership comes in creating the safe space for our students, and I believe her when she says that the courage to lead is a skill, not a gift. She says, “Every [listed skill of leaders] is teachable, observable, and measurable,” (14) and that “the goal of this book is to give you language and specifics on the tools, practices, and behaviors that are critical for building the muscle memory for living these concepts.” (11)
Muscle memory is why I want to read this book out loud and reflect at length about its ideas. Because I think too often, we can get highlights from a TED Talk or an hour session at a conference, leave inspired, and then not build the change into our behavior. It’s my hope that these reflections will help me grow as a leader.
Dr. Brown lists “ten behaviors and cultural issues that leaders identified as getting in our way.” I know she wasn’t thinking about choral ensembles, but I think that virtually all of them apply. (I think #4 is not as important in choral music.) And she lists the four aspects as the “Heart of Daring Leadership”:
- You can’t get to courage without rumbling with vulnerability. Embrace the suck.
- Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead.
- Courage is contagious. To scale daring leadership and build courage […] we have to cultivate a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation.
- Daring leaders must care for and be connected to the people they lead.
These are four truths that choral leaders all need to build into muscle memory.
Finally, and as a nod to Brené Brown’s research asserting the importance of vulnerability, I am sharing the results of my test on October 14 in the Daring Leadership Assessment.
Rumbling With Vulnerability: 4.6 / 10 “Rumbling with vulnerability is a growth area for you. Vulnerability is the foundation for the other skill areas, so we suggest focusing your growth efforts here first.”
Living Into Your Values: 7.5 / 10 “Living into your values is an area where you have both strengths and opportunities for growth. Getting clear on your two primary values and the behaviors that support those values might be a big next step in your practice.”
Braving Trust: 7.5 / 10 “Braving trust is an area where you have both strengths and opportunities for growth. It’s important that you dig into the seven elements of trust (BRAVING) and identify the gaps and behaviors that are getting in your way.”
Learning to Rise: 6.8 / 10 “Learning to rise is an area where you have both strengths and opportunities for growth. Learning how to reset after disappointments, failures, and setbacks is a critical skill set in rapidly changing environments. Dig into the rising process to figure out how to build this skill.”
Daring Leadership Assessment, 10/14/2018
I retook the test tonight, and received higher scores in all areas – the thinking I’ve done about Dr. Brown’s research has already begun to pay off! But I anticipate even more success with this intentional reading and building of muscle memory.
That’s it for the introduction! I hope you join me in reading this outstanding book this summer…I promise we’re reading it nice and slow. Each Monday I’ll post a long reflection on a chapter, focusing on the specific guidance Dr. Brown offers, and considering how it might specifically apply to the choral educator.
A few links and housekeeping:
- I have created a Facebook group to facilitate further conversation among those reading the book; I’ll drop the link to my post here each Monday – that will be a place to discuss, disagree, argue, etc. I’m sure we can get more out of the book the more we share.
- Take the Daring Leadership Assessment yourself to see where you stand now.
- This Workbook will be invaluable throughout the process – a way to personally engage with the book.
- The Dare To Lead Hub has even more resources to help you organize your thoughts and get more out of the book.
- You can get the book from your local library, or anywhere books are sold.
Thanks for reading along with me! It’s going to be fun!
Post Schedule
- June 10: Introduction
- June 17: Part 1, Section 1: The Moment and the Myths
- June 24: Part 1, Section 2: The Call To Courage
- July 1: Part 1, Section 3: The Armory
- July 8: Part 1, Section 4: Shame and Empathy
- July 15: Part 1, Section 5: Curiosity and Grounded Confidence
- July 22: Part 2: Living Into Our Values
- July 29: Part 3: Braving Trust
- August 5: Part 4: Learning To Rise
- August 12: Final Reflections