At the outset, Brown’s line reframes leadership as a moral practice: the job is not control but courage. In Dare to Lead (2018), she differentiates belonging from “fitting in”; the former invites wholeness, the latter demands masks. Daring leaders therefore design environments where identities, ideas, and emotions can show up without penalty. Rather than polishing a corporate veneer, they cultivate norms that allow people to speak, err, and learn. This shift matters because creativity and commitment flourish when people are accepted as they are, not as they think they should be. By starting with belonging, leaders change the question from “How do I get compliance?” to “How do we create conditions where authenticity becomes performance fuel?” [...]
