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Leadership & “Strong Ground”

strong ground
04 Jun

“Strong Ground” by Brene Brown (2025) is an expansion of her original work, moving from personal development to organizational development and transformation. I saw her on a recent interview on Diary of a CEO and it reminded me to check in on her latest authorship. This latest book was published in September 2025 and was available for free for Spotify Premium users, so I was able to enjoy her self-narrated audio version over the course of 11 hours while driving around the DC Metro area.

Overview: Brown’s book has 22 chapters that introduce her own leadership frameworks, as well as others in the field. She uses several personal and client examples and establishes what strong ground is, what is involved in transformation, and what sustainable leadership looks like.

Key Message: It’s hard to pinpoint her key message because there are several. From the personal perspective, I would say her key message is to stand strong in the face of uncertainty in order to develop grounded confidence. From an organizational standpoint, I would say her key message is to lead with clarity, connection and accountability, especially in the age of AI.

Areas of Strengths: I loved the audiobook version, because it showcased Brene’s direct and no BS style. As she read it herself, she went off script a bit for her listeners too. The book itself made me think of her work differently as she moved into the organizational realm. Her differentiator is that she is a researcher, so analyzing data is approximately 30% of her job. This level of effort affords her the ability to make very interesting connections between someone’s emotional core, and an organizations’ ability to navigate change. She does a great job of partnering with other thought leaders in her chapters, which sometimes aligns with and at other times refutes her assumptions. In this work, I think she does a good job of modeling the vulnerability she teaches.

Supplemental Information:

Where it Falls Short:  This book seemed to have been scoped too large with seemingly disparate ideas, between paradoxical thinking,  poems, the concept of lock in and lock through, pocket presence, etc. I know that she is using them to illustrate different group dynamics, but it will make it hard for me to describe the common thread to others. While talking to a member of my advisory board who lives near her, she mentioned Brene’s origin story and ultimate goal was to make shame a national conversation. I wonder if Brene is still in her quest to enlightenment.

Overall Assessment & Why: I rate it a 8 out of 10 in terms of an organizational leadership development book. It is so wonderfully filled with relevant examples for today and I can easily see an organization using some of the language to increase leadership effectiveness. I wish that it was a little more narrow in its focus, and I can’t wait to see where her brain takes us next!