📚 Respondr Book Review - Dare to Lead by Brené Brown

🧭 Why We Chose This Book

First responders often lead without the title. Whether mentoring a junior crew member, supporting a patient’s family, or making split-second calls under pressure, leadership is woven into the role. But when it comes to leading ourselves, especially through career transitions, personal growth, or identity shifts, many of us hesitate.

Dare to Lead challenges the myth that leadership is about control or knowing all the answers. Instead, Brené Brown teaches us that true leadership starts with courage, clarity, and connection, especially when things feel uncertain.

This book is essential for paramedics exploring how to make bold, aligned career decisions without losing themselves in the process.

💡 3 Big Ideas for First Responders

1. Clear is Kind

Ambiguity leads to anxiety. Clarity builds trust.

In career planning, we often avoid difficult conversations, about burnout, ambition, family needs, or even wanting a change. But Brown reminds us: clarity is a kindness to yourself and others. Whether it’s asking for support, setting boundaries, or saying “I’m ready for something different,” naming your truth is powerful.

Takeaway: Practice saying what you need clearly, even if it feels uncomfortable.

2. Live Into Your Values

Values aren't words on a wall ... they're the choices you make when things get hard.

Brené asks us to identify our top two core values, then use them as filters for decision-making. For first responders at a crossroads, this can help separate what’s urgent from what’s important. Your values can guide you even when the path isn’t fully visible.

Takeaway: Choose two values (e.g., growth, service, integrity). Before making a career move, ask: Does this honour my values, even just a little more than where I am now?

3. Vulnerability is a Strength, Not a Weakness

Courage isn’t the absence of fear ... it’s action despite it.

Daring leadership means showing up, even when you don’t have all the answers. That applies to difficult shifts, returning to work, or changing directions. Vulnerability might look like admitting you need a break or that you want to grow in a different direction.

Takeaway: Start small. Share one honest truth about your career with someone you trust.

🛠️ Practical Tools From the Book

• The Values Clarification Worksheet (included in the book & online): Identify your top two values. Keep them visible.

• The “Rumble” Framework: A tool for having open, respectful, hard conversations, useful in both team and career discussions.

• Armour vs. Authenticity Checklist: Spot when you’re hiding behind perfectionism, comparison, or control and shift toward being real.

💬 A Quote That Resonates

“You can choose courage, or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both.”

This is especially true in career planning. Choosing courage doesn’t mean having the whole plan ... it means taking the next honest step.

🔚 Final Thought

Dare to Lead helps you see that leadership is less about commanding and more about connecting, with your team, your values, and yourself.

For first responders wondering how to grow with purpose, this book is a reminder that:

You don’t need to be fearless.
You just need to be clear about what matters ... and brave enough to act on it.

You can access Dare to Lead by Brené Brown via print, digital or audio format. For more content hit the link to her website below.