Based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown, Dare to Lead™ is an empirically based courage-building program, designed to support leaders as they face increasingly complex, rapidly changing environments with an insatiable demand for innovation. Lizza Robb (Redshift Leadership) and Tanya Williams (Authentic Coaching and Consulting) are partnering to create a special LGBTQ+ cohort that will center the unique experiences of these identities. 

The call is for braver leaders and more courageous cultures.  Navigating leadership through a lens of diversity across the LGBTQ+ spectrum can offer unique challenges. This 6-week program will give people who identify within the LGBTQ+ community a chance to explore your leadership within a setting that will center gender identity, sexual orientation identity, and sexuality identity, as well as other intersecting identities.

Who is a leader? According to Brené Brown, a leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential. Leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It’s about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage.

The most significant finding from Brené’s latest research is that courage is composed of the following four skill sets that are teachable, measurable, and observable.

  • Rumbling with Vulnerability: We lean into vulnerability, stay curious and generous, and circle back when necessary
  • Living into Your Values: We do more than profess our values, we practice them. We walk our talk—we are clear about what we believe and hold important, and we take care that our intentions, words, thoughts, and behaviors align with those beliefs.
  • BRAVING Trust: We understand the elements of trust and can identify when we—and others—are out of alignment. We shift from unproductive power dynamics to authentic and inclusive connection.
  • Learning to Rise: We create space to fail—for ourselves and others. We own our stories and sift through the discomfort, risk, and emotional exposure of vulnerability in service to connection, creativity, and courage.

The world needs leaders who are willing to model transparency, vulnerability, and authenticity—foundational skills for cultivating conditions of equity, inclusion, and belonging. This Dare to Lead™ program is designed and facilitated through a lens of identity and power, centering social justice as a core value.

Participants in this program will:

  • Deepen their understanding of the dynamics of identity and power—individual, interpersonal, and systemic—that influence our relationship to vulnerability and courage.
  • Better understand why vulnerability (uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure) is the foundational skill of courage.
  • Better understand the critical role that self-awareness plays in daring leadership.
  • Better understand that it is armor—not fear—that is the greatest obstacle to daring leadership.
  • Identify the four skill sets that make up courage: rumbling with vulnerability, living into our values, BRAVING trust, and learning to rise.
  • Better understand that courage is a collection of four skill sets that are measurable, observable, and teachable.
  • Recognize that vulnerability is the birthplace of many of the behaviors that define daring leadership including creativity, accountability, and difficult conversations.
  • Understand that daring leadership requires showing up for hard conversations and rumbles, including giving and receiving feedback.

Program format:
Session One: Container Building – Friday, April 8, 2022 3:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • Community introductions and grounding
  • Identity and power
  • Intro to Dare to Lead

Session Two: Looking Inward – Friday, April 15, 2022 1:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • Daring Leadership Assessment
  • Core Values
  • Self-awareness, self-love, and self-compassion
  • Empathy
  • Grounded confidence and rumbling skills

Session Three: Armored Leadership vs. Daring Leadership – Friday, April 22, 2022 1:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • Armored vs. daring leadership
  • Personal call to courage

Session Four: The Myths of Vulnerability – Friday, April 29, 2022 1:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • Self-awareness and emotional literacy
  • Myths of vulnerability
  • Shame resilience

Session Five: BRAVING Trust – Friday, May 6, 2022 1:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • BRAVING Trust
  • Giving and receiving engaged Feedback

Session Six: Closing – Friday, May 13, 2022 3:00 – 5:00pm EST

  • Integration of learnings
  • Action plan
  • Closing

Participants who complete this 24-hour Dare to Lead™ curriculum will receive a certificate of completion and can add the “Dare to Lead™ Trained” badge on their LinkedIn account.  

Please complete this application by March 25th to express your interest.  As we want to create a group that is as diverse as possible – in many forms – we are inviting applications as a first step of participation. Applicants will receive a response by March 29th. 

We’re offering a sliding scale pricing structure for this journey. If you want to learn more about what sliding scale means check out this fabulous article. Essentially it’s a structure that moves closer to collective liberation and anything that we have internalized about money. This 6-week engagement, coaching, relationship building, and self exploration is priced at $1250.00 There are many complex ways to help you figure out what you might offer in a sliding scale structure but we want to keep it pretty simple. We do not want cost to be a barrier to any one and we realize that some might have access to funds through their organization that might support the possibility for others in the program to access scholarships that we will provide. We just want to get a sense of what applicants would be able to do or might need regarding cost. This will not have an impact on whether you are accepted to the program or not.

If you have any questions about the process, please reach out to Lizza at lizza@redshiftleadership.org and Tanya at tanya@authenticseeds.org.