Virtual Book Club: “Strong Ground,” by Brené Brown

(4 minute read.)

Firstly, thank you to everyone who participated in insium’s Virtual Book Club: “Strong Ground,” by Brené Brown on November 12^th, 2025. Everyone was willing to dig into the book and to share their learning and perspectives. I am grateful to all who showed up and dug in.

I placed everyone in Breakout rooms and had serious FOMO by not being in one myself. However, the sharing of those discussions by the participants has certainly got me thinking more deeply and fully.

From the Breakout Room discussions:

At the end of Book Club, I asked everyone “What are 1-2 things that have resonated with you, that you will take away from Book Club?” With their permission, following are their responses which are verbatim and expressed on-the-fly:

Steve Asimoudis: Unlearn and relearn aspects that challenged current knowledge and thinking.
Sabrina Barbic: Negative capabilities and getting comfortable with discomfort.
Anthony Blaney: This applies to navigating your personal and professional lives.
Nikki Burrows: Be more intentional as a Daring Leader, leaning into courage, understanding the research Brene shared about the ongoing challenges for leaders and organisations. Interested in the above and below the line diagrams shared, as brought up by Anthony in our group.
Tim Carrucan: Finding your foundations to prepare for the chaos of life.
Marilia Cazassa: strength comes from clarity, not control; grounding requires consistent self-check-ins; emotional capacity is a skill, not a personality trait
Jasmine Garbino: Own your feelings good and bad; mutual support and recognition.
Sian Jamison: Cheering from the benches can be everyone’s job; Applying above/below the line for self and understanding others.
Chloe Le Grand: Learning to rumble to shift from an armored leader to a daring leader.
Emma Link: Cheer from the sidelines/benches; the power from sport examples to assist with feelings in leadership.
Nav Muniratna: Staying longer in a state of uncertainty; negative capabilities.
Negin Rahmani: As a mum of two while running a business, I felt the book deeply. Building strong ground means late nights, switching hats, and feeling pulled both ways. But creating routines, boundaries and support systems helps everything run smoother and keeps me steady when life gets chaotic and overwhelming at times.
Jack Walden: Standing firm in beliefs while being open to new ideas. Keen to explore the paradox aspect further – such a key part of leadership. Lots of lessons for change management.
Charlotte Webb: The articulation of the skills needed for leaders – anticipatory awareness, leading when you can’t see the field, systems thinking, etc. really struck a chord. Am considering how I take that to teams that are struggling to find their feet.; Also loved Locking Through and instantly adopted it with my partner!
Dina Pozzo: Accountability and care go hand in glove; I translate this as “I want you to be as successful you want to be, and I will hold you to account and support you.”

2. Next Steps:

If you weren’t able to participate in Book Club and would like to know more, and/or if you’d like Book Club for your workplace, please be in touch.

3. New Programs:

Inspired by this book, “Strong Ground” and the work we have done in facilitating many courage-building programs, including Dare To Lead^TM, I have been exploring 4 key skills to build leadership, team and workplace success. These skills are:

Accountability
Empathy
Humility
S ( ) R [between stimulus and response, there is a space]

Exploring and connecting the work of many researchers, scholars and practitioners, including our own work, we are developing new programs to build each of these skills. The aim of each of these programs is to build knowledge, skills and mindsets in order to continue to build courageous workplaces, homes and communities in which people stand in their strong ground.

Finally …

“Gratitude is an emotion that reflects our deep appreciation for what we value, what brings meaning to our lives, and what makes us feel connected to ourselves and others.” ~Brené Brown

Again, I am grateful to everyone who participated in Book Club. I am also grateful to all who have supported, mentored and encouraged me to pursue what brings me energy and joy over many years.* And what brings me energy and joy? Opening doors for people.

Thank you,

Dina

(@CourageChick)