Most leaders know what needs to be said. The harder part is saying it, and staying in the conversation once it gets uncomfortable.
Dare to Lead™ is a courage-building methodology grounded in the research of Dr. Brené Brown. Her work found that courage is not a personality trait. It is a set of skills that can be taught, observed and measured.
That methodology is woven through everything we do. It shapes our workshops, underpins our cohort curricula, and informs how our coaches work one-on-one with leaders.
There is the feedback that keeps getting softened until it no longer says anything. The meeting where everyone agrees, and the real discussion happens afterward in smaller rooms. The decision everyone can see is right, delayed because it will be unpopular.
Under pressure, most of us armor up. We protect ourselves by staying quiet, staying busy or staying in control. It feels safer in the moment, but over time trust thins out, people protect themselves instead of the work, and talented leaders spend more energy managing around problems than solving them.
Dare to Lead helps leaders move from armored leadership to daring leadership. It gives them practical tools for the moments that ask the most of them, and a shared language that makes those moments easier for the whole team.
Holding back feedback because the conversation feels too risky
A team that nods in the meeting and disagrees in the hallway
Values on the wall that don't show up in everyday decisions
Trust that wears away quietly after a hard change
Setbacks that turn into blame instead of learning
Leaders who want to step up without armoring up
Wherever your team is starting from, this work meets you there.
The methodology is built on four skill sets that can be practiced and strengthened over time.
Staying in difficult conversations with curiosity rather than armor.
Naming the values that guide you and turning them into behaviors people can see.
Building trust on purpose, through clear expectations and consistent follow-through.
Getting back up after a setback and learning from what happened.
Together they build the conditions teams need to do their best work: psychological safety, honest feedback, and trust that holds when things get hard.
Dare to Lead is the foundation our workshops, cohorts and coaching are built on. Wherever you start, the language and skills carry from one experience into the next.
Building courage into leadership culture takes more than a single session. Our cohort curricula bring groups of leaders through the four skill sets over several months, alongside assessments such as the Leadership Circle Profile®, peer learning, and practical application back at work. Senior leaders often go first, so the language is modeled from the top.
Explore organizational developmentWorkshops give a leadership team or intact team a shared language and a place to practice together. Sessions can focus on values, trust, feedback, or the shift from armored to daring leadership, depending on what the team is working through right now.
Talk to us about a team workshopIn one-on-one coaching, leaders apply the skills to their own real situations: the conversation they have been avoiding, the value they want to live more fully, the setback they are learning from. The methodology shapes the coaching without turning it into a curriculum.
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When leaders build courage as a skill, the changes show up in ordinary moments.
Feedback becomes clearer and kinder. Hard conversations happen sooner, with less damage. People can name the values that guide them and act on them under pressure. Trust is built on purpose rather than left to chance. And when things go wrong, teams get back up and learn from it.
For organizations, that adds up to stronger engagement and retention, a shared language for difficult conversations, and leaders who model accountability and make room for others to do the same.
“The homework and required reading was very manageable. Loved the short videos from Brene. … The biggest thing I carry out of this… ‘Clear is KIND, Unclear is UNKIND.’”
Michelle Poole is a certified executive coach, a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, and a certified BetterUp coach.
She spent more than fifteen years in global human resources before moving into leadership coaching in 2012. Her work focuses on the clarity, courage, compassion and connection that help people and organizations reach their potential.
Whether you are thinking about a workshop for your leadership team, a cohort for a group of leaders, or coaching for yourself, we would love to talk through what you need.
