NEW Book Blog: Strong Ground (BRENÉ BROWN)

BOOK BLOG: STRONG GROUND (BRENÉ BROWN)

 Diana Singer, PhD, RN, CCRN, CNE, C-TAGME | Member – AIAMC Board of Directors

A few years ago, our leadership team gathered for a book club on Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead and it quickly became one of the most transformative professional development experiences we have shared. Our team’s conversations were honest, reflective, and at times uncomfortable in the best possible way. We talked about vulnerability, courage, and what it truly means to lead with authenticity. Because of that experience, we were thrilled to come together again to explore Brown’s latest work, Strong Ground.

5 Simple But Powerful Daily Reminders

The book covers a wide range of leadership ideas, and we were intentional (or perhaps more accurately, my team was voluntold) to identify key takeaways each week. On the final day of book club, I challenged my team to whittle our list down to five simple but powerful daily reminders that capture the heart of Brown’s message. After much deliberation, we landed on: line check, pocket presence, you only have one flashlight, locking in and locking through, and the belief that you are either a leader everywhere or nowhere. These seemingly abstract ideas capture the essence of the book and offer practical reminders of how we show up as our best selves each day.

1.        Line check: boat and pyramid challenges us to regularly pause and assess alignment, and to never be afraid to call a timeout in times of intensity. In our discussions, this becomes a metaphor for making sure our direction, priorities, and people are all moving together. Leadership can easily become reactive when demands pile up, but Brown emphasizes the importance of recognizing how we respond to fear and making sure our behaviors are “above the line.”  We also connected this concept to the well-being analogy to the Plimsoll line, or what we jokingly call the #boatline (one’s maximum capacity for stress, work, or pressure before we “sink”). This is a concept we learned from our AIAMC colleagues at Kern. The simple act of asking “where’s your line at?” reminds leaders to stay grounded in purpose and to rescue those teammates that may be metaphorically drowning.

2.        Pocket presence quickly became one of our team’s favorite phrases. Brown frames preparation as a sign of respect, and our takeaway became “prep equals respect.” Pocket presence means showing up ready, aware, and attentive. It requires leaders to read the entire field before acting rather than reacting only to what is directly in front of them. In practice, this reminder reinforces that effective leadership is not just about knowledge or authority. It is about awareness, emotional regulation, and thoughtful engagement with the people and environment around us.

3.        You only have one flashlight, so use it wisely per Brown. She uses the flashlight metaphor to describe attention and focus: wherever we direct our attention becomes brighter and more prominent. In an environment filled with distractions and competing priorities, this reminder challenges us to eliminate “partial tasking.” The psychologist in our group introduced us to this term and reminded us that the human brain cannot truly multitask. When we try to do several things at once, each one only receives a fraction of our attention. The flashlight reminder pushes us to be intentional about where we place our focus and to recognize that leadership requires disciplined attention.

4.         Lock in and lock through emphasizes commitment and boundaries. Brown describes the importance of transitioning fully into the task or moment at hand rather than carrying unfinished mental clutter from one activity to another. For our team, this translates into the simple advice to “close the tabs [in your brain].” Whether it means setting boundaries around time, focusing on a single project, or protecting space for meaningful work,” locking” in allows leaders to remain present and effective even in high pressure environments.

5.        You are either a leader everywhere or no where which captures the essence of Brown’s philosophy. Leadership is not situational or confined to formal authority. It is reflected in everyday behaviors, interactions, and decisions. This idea sparked some of our most thoughtful conversations during our book club. It continues to challenge us to reflect on how consistently we live our leadership values, whether in formal meetings, casual conversations, or moments when no one else is watching. The message is simple but powerful: leadership is a practice, not a position.

Outcome of Our Team’s Book Club

Perhaps the most meaningful outcome of reading Strong Ground together is how quickly this language became part of our team culture. These five core reminders now sit framed on each of our desks, and phrases like “line check,” “pocket presence,” and “I’m locked in” appear regularly in conversations and meetings. What began as a book club discussion evolved into a shared vocabulary and a set of guiding principles we return to often. In that sense, Brown’s work accomplishes exactly what the best leadership books should do: it moves beyond theory and becomes part of how we live and lead every day.

Diana Singer, PhD, RN, CCRN, CNE, C-TAGME is the Executive Director, Academic Affairs for JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas. & Director, Center for Collaborative Practice - Health Innovation Institute at Texas Christian University (TCU). She began her career as an ICU nurse, and that clinical foundation remains at the core of how she leads today - working at the intersection of academic medicine, nursing, workforce development, and strategy, designing and overseeing programs that strengthen clinicians, learners, and systems. And on behalf of her team, Dr. Singer et al will receive the 2026 AIAMC Innovation Award for JPS’s “SHINE” Program (The Students in Healthcare for Individual Empowerment).