In volatile times, the instinct is to act decisively and quickly. Brené Brown argues the more effective approach is to pause, assess the situation holistically (like a soccer player controlling the ball), and then make a strategic move. This prevents reactive, scarcity-driven decisions that often backfire.
Under pressure, organizations tend to shut down external feedback loops for self-protection. This creates a "self-referencing" system that can't adapt. Effective leadership maintains permeable boundaries, allowing feedback to flow in and out for recalibration, which enables smarter, systems-aware decisions.
True corporate values are steadfast principles that guide a company regardless of the political or social climate. Values that are easily discarded when they become controversial are not core values but rather branding exercises. This inauthenticity risks significant consumer backlash when exposed.
"Executive presence" is often a biased and ill-defined concept. Brené Brown proposes a better model from football: "pocket presence," a quarterback's ability to think and act under pressure. This is a teachable competency for leaders, comprising anticipatory thinking, temporal awareness, and situational awareness.
Contrary to common belief, feeling fear is not what prevents leaders from being courageous. The real barrier is the defensive "armor"—behaviors like micromanagement or feigned intensity—that leaders adopt when afraid. The path to courage involves identifying and shedding this armor, not eliminating fear.
Intuition is not a mystical gut feeling but rapid pattern recognition based on experience. Since leaders cannot "watch game tape," they must build this mental library by systematically discussing failures and setbacks. This process of embedding learnings sharpens their ability to recognize patterns in future situations.