ANDERSON BOOK CLUB: DARE TO LEAD BY BRENÉ BROWN

For our latest ANDERSON book club read, we chose Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. This book challenges us to think differently about leadership by embracing courage over comfort, leaning into vulnerability, and building trust through empathy. Brown’s takeaway is simple but powerful: leadership isn’t about titles or authority, it’s about showing up with authenticity, resilience, and heart.

We chose this book because it reflects our values of collaboration, growth, and leading with purpose. The lessons sparked meaningful conversations about what it really means to be brave in the face of challenges, both as individuals and as a team. Check out our team’s biggest takeaways and how we’re putting them into practice to strengthen our work, our culture, and ourselves

Sara

The reckoning, rumble, and revolution were a framework worth digging into. In short, name it, own it, live it. With reckoning, you’re pausing to name the story you’re telling yourself and calling out what you’re feeling. When you rumble, you’re leaning into hard conversations, asking tough questions, and staying curious about the messy middle. And when you reach the revolution, hopefully, you have turned lessons into culture. At ANDERSON, that’s rewarding courage, backing bold creative, and being an actionable example of things you’ve learned through the upfront part of the process.

Austin

One of the parts of Dare to Lead that stuck with me most was Brené Brown’s take on values. She challenges us to identify just two core values that define how we want to show up and then “operationalize” them. She jokes that she borrowed the name from Phineas and Ferb’s Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who always labeled his inventions with “-izer.” The idea is simple but powerful: values don’t mean much until they’re turned into actions. For an agency, this means making sure values like creativity or collaboration show up in how we brainstorm, how we give feedback, and how we deliver for clients. It also means using those values to guide how team members grow, work together, and support one another.

Lindsey

My biggest takeaway was how much trust and psychological safety matter for a team. The research showing that high-trust companies outperform by such a huge margin really stood out. It’s a good reminder that when people feel safe to take risks and be real with each other, that’s when the best work actually happens.

Chelsea

The theme of trust really stood out while reading Dare to Lead. Trust is the cornerstone of what holds a team together—whether it’s being vulnerable enough to ask for help, sharing worries or challenges, or showing empathy for your teammates because we’re all human at the end of the day. It also means embracing failure as a learning opportunity for yourself and others. None of these things feels safe or possible without trust.

Maddy

My biggest takeaway was learning that empathy is the cure for shame. When leaders lead with empathy instead of shame, research shows that it creates a happier and more productive workplace. I love how Brené names and normalizes all of these human emotions. As a Gen Z professional, I’ve grown up with a perception of corporate America as perfectionistic, sometimes unforgiving, and resistant to vulnerability out of fear of judgment. Brené’s ideology and practices open up the conversation that work doesn’t have to be that way. When we call out shame and fear, we can move through them instead of internalizing them, which, in my own experience, often leads to anxiety and self-doubt. Overall, this book opened my eyes to how I hope to lead one day.

Ansley

Something that stuck out to me in Dare to Lead was the strategy of Tactical Breathing. This is a simple but effective way that soldiers manage and recognize their emotions in the moment. By focusing on your breath, you allow yourself to remember what you’re feeling rather than letting it take over. This is a practical tool for when things get stressful and overwhelming, reminding me that leadership starts with our own self-awareness.

Brett

The marble jar metaphor stuck with me the most because it’s all about building trust, which is key to how we operate both as a team and with our clients. Each marble represents a moment of trust—adding one for a positive action, removing one for a negative one. It shows that trust isn’t created in a single event, but through consistent, small acts of kindness, reliability, integrity, and vulnerability that gradually fill the jar over time. This is a perfect representation of how we strive to build relationships and trust every day so we can grow and succeed together.

Carson

The takeaway that left the biggest impact on me throughout Dare to Lead was the focus on differentiating empathy and sympathy. The difference can be difficult to narrow down without proper context, but empathy is often the best course of action for helping teammates or family members through tough situations. Listening to others’ concerns and providing that support system is integral to how well a team functions. Even better, these lessons are equally practical in our personal lives.

Allie

The conversation about vulnerability and its importance in the workplace really stood out to me. The misconception that vulnerability is weakness can be a hindrance to our work relationships with coworkers and clients. By reframing vulnerability as a strength, we can use it to be more empathetic and build stronger connections. Ultimate trust comes from vulnerability, which is crucial in team and client relationships.

Jenny

My biggest takeaway was from the “Living into Our Values” section. Narrowing down to just two core values really stood out to me. It showed how much easier it is to make decisions and lead when you’re clear on what truly matters. In agency life, where we’re constantly juggling clients, deadlines, and ideas, having those core values as a guide helps cut through the noise and keep us grounded. It’s a good reminder that values aren’t just words; they need to be reflected in the way we collaborate, create, and serve our clients every day.

At ANDERSON, collaboration, problem-solving, and growth are at the heart of what we do, and Dare to Lead has given us a fresh perspective on how to embody these values every day. Brené Brown reminds us that authentic leadership isn’t about titles or perfection, but about showing up with courage, empathy, and authenticity. The conversations sparked by this book are already helping us strengthen our culture, support one another as a team, and tackle challenges with confidence both at work and beyond.