# data[].attributes.body
Brene' Brown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brené Brown | Daring Classrooms | SXSWedu 2017

# data[].attributes.headline
Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count

# data[].attributes.subject
Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count

# data[].attributes.body
Brene' Brown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brené Brown: Why Your Critics Aren't The Ones Who Count

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
About this presentation There is nothing more frightening than the moment we expose our ideas to the world. Author and vulnerability researcher Brené Brown shows us how to deal with the critics and our own self-doubt by refusing to "armor up" and shut ourselves off.

# data[].attributes.body
In this section, you will discover and define your top 2 values.  On page 188 is a list of values.  Brene' challenges us here to pick between 15 and 20 that we feel are important to us.  After you do that, circle the top 2 that you feel truly define you and speak to you the most.  These are what you "live into".  Keeping these top 2 values in mind, we go through a step-by-step process of truly defining these and what it means to be true to your values:
Step 1:  We can't live into values we can't name (this is what you just did on page 188).
Step 2:  Take your values from BS to Behavior
Step 3:  Empathy and Self Compassion - the two most important seats in the Arena.
The quote that had the greatest impact on me in the chapter is on Page 195:  "A brave leader is someone who says 'I see you.  I hear you.  I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to keep listening and asking questions.'"
The last part of this chapter talks about "Living into our Values and Feedback". Really concentrate on the 10 "I know" statements in this section and apply them to your thinking. Where are you when it comes to receiving feedback? It's important to create space for "all the feelings" that come with giving and receiving feedback. I love Brene's short but powerful piece of advice - "Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." Let's discuss below how you feel after reading this section.

# data[].attributes.body
Brene' Brown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Brené Brown on Joy: It's Terrifying | SuperSoul Sunday | Oprah Winfrey Network

# data[].attributes.body
Brene' Brown

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Power of Vulnerability | Brené Brown | TED

# data[].attributes.headline
Section 5 (Week 5) - Curiosity and Grounded Confidence

# data[].attributes.subject
Section 5 (Week 5) - Curiosity and Grounded Confidence

# data[].attributes.body
"Grounded confidence is the messy process of learning and unlearning, practicing and failing, and surviving a few misses". . . .
I LOVE this quote and can relate to the whole "practicing and failing" aspect.  In this section, Brene' challenges us to shift our thinking.  On pages 172 & 173 she lists some alternative conversation starters for situation where two people might be at an impasse.  These are powerful "rumble starters" and can help an interaction get past some of the old mindsets and into a new realm of understanding a situation. On page 180 Brene says "I knew there was a critical and urgent need to move past the "This is the way we have always done it" attitude held by many people on our campus. To make this happen, I would have to lead these potentially emotionally charged discussions and I would need support. If not me, they who? If not now, then when?" Can you think of a time when you did something just because it was the way we have always done it? How might you take some of the new thinking introduced in this section and apply it to that situation the next time?

# data[].attributes.body
Shame:  "Shame is the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love, belonging, and connection. (page 126)
Empathy:  "Empathy is not connecting to an experience, it's connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience."  (page 140)
What a POWERFUL section this is. I feel like the entire book centers on these two topics. The section is packed full of tidbits of truths, what to watch out for, how to overcome, and how shame and empathy play important roles in the Leadership Arena. What stuck out to you as the most impactful take-away, or spoke to you personally?

# data[].attributes.body
On Pages 76 & 77 this week, Brene' challenges us to compare Armored Leadership to Daring Leadership. She invites us to "Put down the armor and bring forth all the scraggly, misshapen pieces of our history and fold in all of the different roles that when falsely separated, keep us feeling exhausted and torn, to make a complex, messy, awesome, whole person." Which one(s) of the "Armored Leadership" characteristics do you struggle with the most and why? How does Brene' suggest you overcome this style of leadership with one that is "daring"? Discuss below! :-)

# data[].attributes.headline
Section 2 (Week 2) - The Call to Courage

# data[].attributes.subject
Section 2 (Week 2) - The Call to Courage

# data[].attributes.body
My favorite quote of this section is:  "Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings, or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior."
Do we lead with fear and intimidation?  Do our teams have that impenetrable armour?  I love how Brene' talks about "Permission Slips" in this section.  What Permission Slips could we write for our teams that might crack that armour and allow for honest and open dialogue?  Remember:  "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek". . . . .  Let's discuss this week what we could do to strengthen our teams that we are on with courageous conversations;  maybe with topics that are the "elephant in the room", or something that you know your team has been avoiding, but needs to address! How might you be vulnerable and lead that conversation?

# data[].attributes.headline
Section 1 (Week 1 for us!) - The 6 Myths of Vulnerability

# data[].attributes.subject
Section 1 (Week 1 for us!) - The 6 Myths of Vulnerability

# data[].attributes.body
#1  Vulnerability is weakness
#2  I don't do vulnerability
#3  I can go it alone
#4  You can engineer the uncertainty and discomfort out of vulnerability
#5  Trust comes before vulnerability
#6  Vulnerability is disclosure
Which one (or maybe more than one??) speaks loudest to you and why?  Post your thoughts below!

# data[].attributes.body
This is a POWERFUL activity to start off with.  Who is in your "square squad" - those people that you trust; whose opinions of you matter.  Take a 1" by 1" square of paper (YES it is small!) and write down those names.  Reach out to those people and share your gratitude for them. (pages. 22 & 23)
Share with us what (if any) reactions you might have had from your square squad:

# data[].attributes.body
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."

# data[].attributes.body
For all of you aspiring leaders out there - this book is a FANTASTIC read! Grab a copy, read the first chapter, and let's discuss!