Dr Brené Brown

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation – Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. Brené is also a visiting professor in management at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.

She is a motivational speaker, emotional intelligence expert and author of six New York Times best-selling books. She has spent more than two decades studying shame, empathy, courage, and vulnerability.

Brené’s TED talk – The Power of Vulnerability – is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world, with over 50 million views combined between TED and YouTube. She is also the first researcher to have a filmed talk on Netflix, The Call to Courage special.

Because vulnerability is at the centre of many thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, Brené’s research topics cover a broad range of emotions and experiences, including shame, courage, and authenticity. Her ideas can be applied equally to personal life, work, and leadership.

Brené poses the questions:
How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness?

How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognise that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?

Brené has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. In 2008, she was named Behavioural Health Scholar-in-Residence at the Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston. Brené’s work has been featured on PBS, NPR, and the Oprah and Friends Radio Network, and her articles have appeared in Self magazine, Elle magazine, and many national newspapers.

She is also a frequent guest on radio shows across the US and she has given two TEDx talks on her vulnerability research.

Client List includes Google, US Air Force, Slack, Pixar, MD Anderson Cancer Network, Salesforce, Microsoft, Nutanix, Shell Oil, IBM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, LinkedIn, Stella + Dot, Ford

Brené lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two children.

Brené Brown’s reputation as a motivational speaker is built on her ability to explore difficult topics with tremendous honesty, warmth, and humour. She is a thought-leader, researcher and storyteller with the rare ability to both inspire audiences and leave them with actionable change strategies.

Below is a list of her most requested keynote speech topics.

Dare to Lead
Leaders in organisations ranging from small entrepreneurial start-ups and family-owned businesses to non-profits, civic organisations, and Fortune 50 companies, are asking the same question:

How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?

Based on twenty years of research, including the past seven studying leadership, Brené found the answer: Daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart.

In this keynote, Brené uses research, stories, and examples to explore:
1. The ten cultural barriers to courageous leadership
2. The four skill sets that underpin courage: Rumbling with Vulnerability; Living into Our Values; Braving Trust; Learning to Rise.
3. The difference between armoured leadership and daring leadership
4. Why curiosity and grounded confidence are at the heart of brave work and tough conversations

Inspirational Leadership
From developing talent and connecting with consumers, to building brands and fostering innovative cultures, inspiration is critical. Inspirational leadership is not about job titles and roles – it's a style of leadership available to anyone who is willing to practice courage in the midst of fear, to choose authenticity over self-protection, and to foster calm in times of high reactivity.

In this keynote workshop, Dr. Brené Brown will explore the three primary components of inspirational leadership; the behaviours, emotions, and thoughts that sabotage inspiration; and actionable strategies for practising inspirational leadership.

The Power of Vulnerability
In our culture, vulnerability has become synonymous with weakness. We associate vulnerability with emotions like fear, shame, and scarcity; emotions that we don't want to discuss, even when they profoundly affect the way we live, work, and even lead.

To reduce our feelings of vulnerability, we wake up every morning, put on our game face, and rarely take it off – especially at the office. We use invulnerability as a shield to protect us from uncomfortable emotions and struggles with anxiety and self-doubt. But invulnerability has a price.

Vulnerability is indeed at the core of difficult emotions, but it is also the birthplace of: Creativity and innovation, authenticity, adaptability to change and accountability – the key elements that every business needs to survive and thrive.

Brené Brown explores the critical role vulnerability plays in our personal and professional success; the five most common strategies we use to avoid and minimise vulnerability and how they move us away from our goals; and five actionable strategies for leaning into our discomfort and embracing vulnerability as a source of strength and inspiration.

Great Expectations: What Leaders and Managers Need to Understand About Goals
Setting, tracking, and celebrating goals are primary tasks in business; however, very few managers and leaders understand the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural anatomy of the goal process. Understanding the loaded dynamics of expectations, disappointments, and accomplishments gives us more tools for cultivating success with our own goals and becoming more effective mentors for our employees.

In this keynote workshop, Dr. Brené Brown explores the relationship between buy-in and the deeply human need for purpose and meaning; how fear, blame, and scarcity sabotage the goal process; why hope, vulnerability, and self-compassion are prerequisites for success; and actionable strategies for increasing goal achievement.

Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Dr Brené Brown. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.