Strong Ground

The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit

De: Brené Brown

Narrado por: Brené Brown

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown returns with an urgent call to reimagine the essentials of courageous leadership. In a time when uncertainty runs deep and bluster, hubris, and even cruelty are increasingly framed as acceptable leadership, Brown delivers practical, actionable insights that illuminate the mindsets and skill sets essential to reclaiming focus and driving growth through connection, discipline, and accountability.

Over the past six years, Brené Brown, along with a global community of coaches and facilitators, has taken more than 150,000 leaders in 45 countries through her Dare to Lead courage-building work. In Strong Ground, Brown shares the lessons from these experiences along with wisdom from other thinkers. This is a vital playbook for everyone from senior leaders developing and executing complex strategies to Gen Z-ers entering and navigating turbulent work environments. It is also an unflinching assessment of what happens when we continue to perpetuate the falsehood that performance and wholeheartedness are mutually exclusive.

With equal amounts of optimism and caution about AI, Brown writes, “I hear a lot of experts trying to soothe people’s anxiety about the pace of technological change by offering platitudes like, What makes us human will ensure our relevance. This is dangerous simply because, right now, we’re not especially good at what makes us human. We’re not hardwired for this level of uncertainty, and many of us feel as if the constant need to self-protect is driving the humanity right out of us. This is why organizational transformation today must foster deep connection, deep thinking, and deep collaboration. We need the courage to lead people in a way that honors and protects the wisdom of the human spirit.”

Brown offers a broad assessment of the skill sets and mindsets we need moving forward, including the capacity for respectful and difficult conversations, increased productive urgency and smart prioritization rather than reactivity, and strategic risk-taking, paradoxical thinking, and situational and anticipatory awareness skills. She identifies the toughest skill set as the discipline, humility, and confidence to unlearn and relearn.

Brown writes, “Individuals and organizations are building new muscles. Finding our strong ground—that athletic stance—is the only thing that can provide both unwavering stability in a maelstrom of uncertainty and a platform for the fast, explosive change that the world is demanding.”

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Random House Group (P)2025 Random House Audio

Brené’s side notes make this a great companion to hard copy.

I appreciated this book for bringing together much of Brené Brown’s work through the decades. Her repeating statements she wanted to emphasize or side notes she felt would help listeners grasp added power to the presentation. Tagged my hard copy while listening to the audible.

Being human requires humanity.

As always, Brené Brown’s insights, storytelling, and relatability elevate her overall message: we can all do better, through curiosity, courage, and practice.

This is a book for working doctor moms who transition from the tough and critical work of saving lives to being “mom”

I love Brené! Already on chapter 4 and can see already how strong ground will impact how I show up at work as an obgyn and at home as a mom of two kids. Can’t wait to finish the book!

An important book to read

Like all of Brené's audiobooks, it feels like having a deep conversation with an insightful friend. I appreciate how well she weaves data with storytelling, and the tools feel applicable. The concepts in this book feel important for navigating the world these days. It had me thinking a lot about my teenaged nephews—I want to help equip them with these tools so they can have the emotional resilience to keep figuring out who they each are as they become more aware of all the beauty and ugly in the world. It's always a good time to connect to strong ground, but the timing of when this book came out feels so serendipitous.

Thanks Brene

Love how you make us/me stretch our thinking. Certainly worth the time though after listening for a few hours knew I needed to read the book too (which I’m doing too - 1/4 days into the reading - also pretty spectacular)!!

Her best work

Love the analogies and stories backed up with years of research to break down and explain complex concepts.

I wish my employer embraced these values

This audio version feels so personal, because it’s read by Brene Brown and she departs from the text to speak directly to the listener. Regardless of my employer’s culture, I can carry out these values myself.

I am already listening a second time...

... and have ordered the hardback through my local bookstore. There is SO MUCH GOODNESS in here - much of it affirming, reinforcing, and combining ideas/practices, some of it challenging, as well as more than a few "AH HA! that pulls it all together" moments. The through-line doesn't feel quite as linear/strong (at least during ear-reading) as her previous books, but it is not a novel - it doesn't matter. It feels like I am sitting at her feet, learning from her as I would a wise-mentor-friend-auntie. She also recommends some authors/books that are now on my TBR outside the usual suspects - so I am excited for those as well. The world is experiencing a leadership shortage in every industry and sector. THIS is the information, and APPLICATION we need to truly create the world we want to live in. I am so grateful for all of Brené's work and how it has influenced my own thought-leadership with young women. THANK YOU Brené for continuing to be generous, humble, and forward thinking in the areas of leadership & life.

Tears in Ch. 4

A week ago, my daughter and I moved into a homeless shelter. I’ve been on a healing journey that has felt like climbing the Great Wall of China. If you’ve ever climbed the Great Wall, you know some of the steps are an inch high others are 4 foot tall.
Learning how to validate myself along the way has been the toughest for me. Thank you Brené; I’m sure you’ve heard it millions of times how your words gave people strength to keep going and break generational trauma cycles, and for me, YOU ACTUALLY SAVED MY LIFE.

Insights for Modern Leadership

The highlight of this book is Brene Brown's descriptions on how leaders can navigate complex, turbulent work environments. It is not by being "tough." Rather, it is about connection, discipline, and accountability. Like all Brene Brown's audio books, her narration is a highlight. She helps the understanding of complex topics, and she often goes off the script of the print edition to explain a concept further. This book also contains a good pdf of charts and other visuals. Fans of Brene Brown will definitely enjoy this latest work, despite a repackaging of some general concepts of hers that we've heard before.