RSA Short: Empathy
An animated primer on the difference between empathy and sympathy.
Getting Started With Brené
A collection of conversations, writings, and resources that get to the heart of my work.
During my 20 years as a researcher, I have found that the most difficult and most rewarding challenge of my work is how to be both a mapmaker and a traveler. My maps, or theories, on shame resilience, wholeheartedness, vulnerability, and leadership have not been drawn from the experiences of my own travels, but from the data I’ve collected over the past two decades—the experiences of thousands of men and women who are forging paths in the direction that I, and many others, want to take our lives. Read more about my story here.
Featured work
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My moment to “dare greatly,” as Theodore Roosevelt once urged citizens to do, came in June 2010 when I was invited to speak at TEDxHouston. The video of that talk has now been viewed more than 55 million times.
Video![TEDx Talk - The Power of Vulnerability]()
This 2010 TED Talk stemmed from my faith in my research and what emerged from the data—that vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center of meaningful human experiences.
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Sharing a talk that I did for Oprah’s Super Soul sessions where I uncovered the fundamentals of trust. What is trust? The data says there are seven parts of trust, and we organize these into the acronym BRAVING.
Video![SuperSoul Sessions - The Anatomy of Trust]()
SuperSoul Sessions: The Anatomy of Trust
Breaking down the anatomy of trust into specific behaviors allows us to more clearly identify and address breaches of trust. I love the BRAVING checklist because it reminds me that trusting myself or other people is a vulnerable and courageous process.
Conversations
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Unlocking Us Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
FFTs
with Brené Brown -
Dare to Lead Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
Armored Versus Daring Leadership, Part 1 of 2
with Brené Brown -
Dare to Lead Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
The Heart of Daring Leadership
with Brené Brown -
Dare to Lead Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
Armored Versus Daring Leadership, Part 2 of 2
with Brené Brown -
Unlocking Us Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
Strong Backs, Soft Fronts, and Wild Hearts
with Brené Brown -
Unlocking Us Podcast
![Brené Solo Podcast Stamp Lockup]()
Words, Actions, Dehumanization, and Accountability
with Brené Brown
More
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![RSA Short - Empathy]()
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ArticleLeading From Hurt Versus Leading From Heart
It’s fair to say that we’re all working our stuff out on people all day long. But when you add the leadership power differential, it gets dangerous.
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![Brené's Books]()
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![Illustration of a woman in warm autumn clothing and scarf, falling onto fall leaves.]()
ArticleThe Midlife Unraveling
People may call what happens at midlife “a crisis,” but it’s not. It’s an unraveling—a time when you feel a desperate pull to live the life you want to live, not the one you’re “supposed” to live. Here’s the story of my unraveling.
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VideoBrené Brown: Atlas of the Heart
Now streaming on HBO Max, a five-part series where we’ll map the emotions and experiences that make us human.
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![Row of blue school lockers]()
ArticleTeachers: Our Most Daring Leaders
As the guardians of spaces that allow students to breathe and be curious and explore the world and be who they are without suffocation, teachers are some of our most important leaders.
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![Brene as a child in a backyard in an old photo print out]()
ArticlePressing On With Purpose
I’m not here to make people comfortable or to be liked. My purpose is to know and experience love. This means excavating the unsaid. In the world and in me.
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![Riding a bike over an urban bridge between buildings]()
ArticleOwn Our History. Change the Story.
Our collective stories of race in the U.S. are not easy to own. But I believe that if each of us holds space for honest conversation where we listen more than we defend or offer false comfort, we can do this—we can write a brave new ending to one of the most painful stories in our history.
