Strong Ground: Lessons from Brené Brown’s Latest Work
Introduction
In Strong Ground (2025), Brené Brown challenges readers to reconsider what it means to live, work, and lead with courage. She introduces the concept of “finding strong ground”a metaphor that draws on her personal experience with physical injury and extends into a philosophy for leadership, organizational culture, and human flourishing. In a time marked by disconnection, fear-based leadership, and the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, Brown argues that cultivating stability through values, embodiment, and connection is essential.
This article explores the lessons of Strong Ground, presenting them in ten thematic sections, each grounded in Brown’s narrative and expanded through the lens of contemporary scholarship. The purpose is to highlight how her work is not only personally inspiring but academically and professionally relevant.
1. The Body as a Metaphor for Life
Brown begins with a vivid account of a pickleball injury that left her immobilized. Through recovery, she realized that dysfunction at the core weak muscles compensating for stronger ones inevitably leads to collapse (Brown, 2025). This bodily metaphor extends to life and organizations: when we build on dysfunction, we increase the risk of failure. Scholars of systems theory emphasize a similar point: structures with weak foundations cannot sustain complexity (Senge, 2006). Brown’s injury becomes more than an anecdote; it is a parable about the importance of addressing root causes rather than treating surface symptoms.
2. We Cannot Build on Dysfunction
One of the most striking lessons from her trainer Tony was: “We will not build on dysfunction” (Brown, 2025, p. 43). This principle resists the temptation to push for performance without first correcting fundamental weaknesses. In organizational contexts, this mirrors research on culture transformation: without addressing toxic patterns of behavior, any attempt at growth collapses (Kotter, 2012). Leaders who chase results while ignoring dysfunction replicate the same injuries whether in bodies or businesses. Brown’s insistence on foundational strength underscores the necessity of patience, humility, and honesty in transformation.
3. Finding the Ground
The phrase “Find the ground, Brown” evolves into a mantra. For the first time, she connects her intellectual mind with her physical body by rooting herself into the earth for stability and strength. This practice of embodiment parallels the mindfulness tradition described by Kabat-Zinn (2013), where awareness of the present moment becomes the foundation for resilience. Brown transforms the simple act of grounding into a universal metaphor: leaders and individuals can summon courage and stability by intentionally reconnecting with their values, bodies, and sense of purpose. “Strong ground” thus becomes both a practical cue and a philosophical stance.
4. From Personal Discipline to Organizational Transformation
Brown draws a parallel between her rehabilitation and organizational change: both require disciplined, incremental work rather than quick fixes (Brown, 2025). She critiques the corporate tendency to seek tools or technologies as substitutes for difficult personal and cultural shifts. There is, she insists, “no app for transformation” (p. 89). This echoes research on organizational learning, which stresses that sustainable change arises not from external tools but from shifts in mindset and behavior (Argyris & Schön, 1996). By linking her training to her consulting work with global organizations, Brown illustrates that transformation is as much about patience and perseverance as it is about innovation.
5. The Crisis of Disconnection
Brown offers a sobering diagnosis: “We are not very good at being human right now” (Brown, 2025, p. 112). The prevalence of disconnection, emotional dysregulation, and distrust undermines not only individual well-being but also organizational performance. Neuroscience supports her claim: humans are neurobiologically wired for connection, and isolation leads to heightened stress and diminished resilience (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). In the workplace, disengagement manifests in burnout, turnover, and cynicism. Brown argues that building strong ground requires addressing this crisis directly by fostering empathy, trust, and genuine human connection.
6. Embracing Paradox as Wisdom
Brown insists that leaders must develop the capacity to hold paradoxes. Drawing from Jung, she describes paradox as one of the richest spiritual and psychological resources: “Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life” (Jung, 1970, p. 18). Similarly, Jim Collins (2001) speaks of the “Stockdale Paradox,” where leaders balance unwavering faith with brutal realism. Brown situates her own work within this lineage, urging readers to embrace tensions such as freedom and commitment, creativity and discipline, faith and facts. Rather than rushing to resolve contradictions, she argues that wisdom arises from holding the tension long enough for new insights to emerge.
7. Vulnerability as the Code for Courage
A central argument of Brown’s research is reaffirmed in Strong Ground: vulnerability is not weakness but the code for courage (Brown, 2012, 2018, 2025). She dismantles the myth that toughness and control generate high performance, showing instead that leaders who model openness create cultures of trust and innovation. Empirical studies confirm this: psychological safety defined as the ability to take risks without fear of punishment is a key predictor of team success (Edmondson, 1999). Brown reframes vulnerability as the essential ingredient of leadership in uncertain times, because courage without vulnerability is impossible.
8. Lessons from Sports and Collective Action
Sports metaphors permeate the book. The “tush push” play of the Philadelphia Eagles demonstrates how collective grounding amplifies individual effort. As physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains, the play succeeds because players push against the ground with unified force (Brown, 2025). For Brown, this illustrates teamwork: individual stability becomes the basis for collective momentum. Similarly, organizations thrive when individuals align their strengths toward a shared purpose. Sports, she argues, provide visible lessons in resilience, coordination, and recovery that are harder to observe in office settings.
9. Plumbing and Poetry in Leadership
Brown adopts James March’s metaphor of “plumbing and poetry” (March & Weil, 2005). Effective leadership requires both: the “plumbing” of efficiency, systems, and competence, and the “poetry” of vision, inspiration, and meaning. Leaders who focus solely on plumbing risk reducing organizations to mechanical systems; those who focus solely on poetry risk becoming disconnected from execution. The genius of leadership lies in balancing both, and Brown links this duality to her concept of grounded confidence. Stability and imagination, technical skill and human connection, must coexist for organizations to flourish.
10. Toward Cultures of Connection and Courage
The book concludes with a vision for cultivating cultures that honor humanity. Despite political divisiveness, technological disruption, and global uncertainty, Brown sees hope in leaders and individuals who choose courage, empathy, and connection. She warns against fear-based systems, which may deliver short-term results but ultimately destroy trust and sustainability. Instead, she calls for deep collaboration, paradoxical thinking, and grounded confidence (Brown, 2025). Strong ground, she argues, is both stability in uncertainty and a launchpad for transformation.
About the Author
Brené Brown, PhD, MSW, is a research professor at the University of Houston, where she has spent more than two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, including Daring Greatly (2012), Rising Strong (2015), Braving the Wilderness (2017), Dare to Lead (2018), and Atlas of the Heart (2021). Her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability, is one of the most viewed in history, with over 60 million views. Beyond academia, she has worked with global corporations, nonprofits, and governmental organizations to foster courageous and connected cultures.
Conclusion
Strong Ground is not merely a memoir of injury and recovery, nor is it solely a leadership manual. It is a hybrid work that interweaves personal vulnerability, organizational insight, and philosophical reflection. Brown demonstrates that the pursuit of courage begins with grounding rooting ourselves in values, practices, and connections that sustain us. The book’s lessons resonate with individuals seeking resilience, leaders navigating complexity, and organizations striving for meaningful transformation. By embracing paradox, cultivating vulnerability, and reconnecting with our humanity, we can find the “strong ground” necessary to thrive in uncertain times.
Why You Should Read This Book
- It bridges personal growth and organizational leadership. Brown’s ability to translate her personal experiences into organizational insights makes the book accessible across contexts.
- It is grounded in research yet told through story. Readers benefit from both academic rigor and relatable narratives.
- It offers practical strategies. From mindfulness practices to cultural interventions, the book provides actionable tools.
- It provides hope. In an era of disconnection, Brown insists that courage and connection are not only possible but essential.
Glossary of Terms
- Strong Ground: The metaphor for stability and resilience derived from aligning values, presence, and connection.
- Core Stability: Foundational strength that prevents dysfunction and supports growth, both physically and metaphorically.
- Vulnerability: The willingness to face uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure; the precondition for courage.
- Paradox: The coexistence of seemingly opposite truths that, when held, produce deeper understanding.
- Plumbing and Poetry: James March’s metaphor for balancing technical efficiency with inspirational vision in leadership.
- Emotional Dysregulation: Difficulty in managing intense emotions, leading to disconnection and reactivity.
- Mindfulness: Awareness of the present moment through intentional, nonjudgmental attention.
- Stockdale Paradox: The ability to balance faith in ultimate success with the discipline to confront brutal facts.
- Grounded Confidence: Confidence rooted not in bravado but in clarity of values and grounded practices.
- Neurobiological Connection: The principle that humans are wired for connection, and its absence produces suffering.
Strong Ground: Lessons from Brené Brown’s Latest Work
Introduction
In Strong Ground (2025), Brené Brown challenges readers to reconsider what it means to live, work, and lead with courage. She introduces the concept of “finding strong ground”a metaphor that draws on her personal experience with physical injury and extends into a philosophy for leadership, organizational culture, and human flourishing. In a time marked by disconnection, fear-based leadership, and the rapid integration of artificial intelligence, Brown argues that cultivating stability through values, embodiment, and connection is essential.
This article explores the lessons of Strong Ground, presenting them in ten thematic sections, each grounded in Brown’s narrative and expanded through the lens of contemporary scholarship. The purpose is to highlight how her work is not only personally inspiring but academically and professionally relevant.
1. The Body as a Metaphor for Life
Brown begins with a vivid account of a pickleball injury that left her immobilized. Through recovery, she realized that dysfunction at the core weak muscles compensating for stronger ones inevitably leads to collapse (Brown, 2025). This bodily metaphor extends to life and organizations: when we build on dysfunction, we increase the risk of failure. Scholars of systems theory emphasize a similar point: structures with weak foundations cannot sustain complexity (Senge, 2006). Brown’s injury becomes more than an anecdote; it is a parable about the importance of addressing root causes rather than treating surface symptoms.
2. We Cannot Build on Dysfunction
One of the most striking lessons from her trainer Tony was: “We will not build on dysfunction” (Brown, 2025, p. 43). This principle resists the temptation to push for performance without first correcting fundamental weaknesses. In organizational contexts, this mirrors research on culture transformation: without addressing toxic patterns of behavior, any attempt at growth collapses (Kotter, 2012). Leaders who chase results while ignoring dysfunction replicate the same injuries whether in bodies or businesses. Brown’s insistence on foundational strength underscores the necessity of patience, humility, and honesty in transformation.
3. Finding the Ground
The phrase “Find the ground, Brown” evolves into a mantra. For the first time, she connects her intellectual mind with her physical body by rooting herself into the earth for stability and strength. This practice of embodiment parallels the mindfulness tradition described by Kabat-Zinn (2013), where awareness of the present moment becomes the foundation for resilience. Brown transforms the simple act of grounding into a universal metaphor: leaders and individuals can summon courage and stability by intentionally reconnecting with their values, bodies, and sense of purpose. “Strong ground” thus becomes both a practical cue and a philosophical stance.
4. From Personal Discipline to Organizational Transformation
Brown draws a parallel between her rehabilitation and organizational change: both require disciplined, incremental work rather than quick fixes (Brown, 2025). She critiques the corporate tendency to seek tools or technologies as substitutes for difficult personal and cultural shifts. There is, she insists, “no app for transformation” (p. 89). This echoes research on organizational learning, which stresses that sustainable change arises not from external tools but from shifts in mindset and behavior (Argyris & Schön, 1996). By linking her training to her consulting work with global organizations, Brown illustrates that transformation is as much about patience and perseverance as it is about innovation.
5. The Crisis of Disconnection
Brown offers a sobering diagnosis: “We are not very good at being human right now” (Brown, 2025, p. 112). The prevalence of disconnection, emotional dysregulation, and distrust undermines not only individual well-being but also organizational performance. Neuroscience supports her claim: humans are neurobiologically wired for connection, and isolation leads to heightened stress and diminished resilience (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). In the workplace, disengagement manifests in burnout, turnover, and cynicism. Brown argues that building strong ground requires addressing this crisis directly by fostering empathy, trust, and genuine human connection.
6. Embracing Paradox as Wisdom
Brown insists that leaders must develop the capacity to hold paradoxes. Drawing from Jung, she describes paradox as one of the richest spiritual and psychological resources: “Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life” (Jung, 1970, p. 18). Similarly, Jim Collins (2001) speaks of the “Stockdale Paradox,” where leaders balance unwavering faith with brutal realism. Brown situates her own work within this lineage, urging readers to embrace tensions such as freedom and commitment, creativity and discipline, faith and facts. Rather than rushing to resolve contradictions, she argues that wisdom arises from holding the tension long enough for new insights to emerge.
7. Vulnerability as the Code for Courage
A central argument of Brown’s research is reaffirmed in Strong Ground: vulnerability is not weakness but the code for courage (Brown, 2012, 2018, 2025). She dismantles the myth that toughness and control generate high performance, showing instead that leaders who model openness create cultures of trust and innovation. Empirical studies confirm this: psychological safety defined as the ability to take risks without fear of punishment is a key predictor of team success (Edmondson, 1999). Brown reframes vulnerability as the essential ingredient of leadership in uncertain times, because courage without vulnerability is impossible.
8. Lessons from Sports and Collective Action
Sports metaphors permeate the book. The “tush push” play of the Philadelphia Eagles demonstrates how collective grounding amplifies individual effort. As physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains, the play succeeds because players push against the ground with unified force (Brown, 2025). For Brown, this illustrates teamwork: individual stability becomes the basis for collective momentum. Similarly, organizations thrive when individuals align their strengths toward a shared purpose. Sports, she argues, provide visible lessons in resilience, coordination, and recovery that are harder to observe in office settings.
9. Plumbing and Poetry in Leadership
Brown adopts James March’s metaphor of “plumbing and poetry” (March & Weil, 2005). Effective leadership requires both: the “plumbing” of efficiency, systems, and competence, and the “poetry” of vision, inspiration, and meaning. Leaders who focus solely on plumbing risk reducing organizations to mechanical systems; those who focus solely on poetry risk becoming disconnected from execution. The genius of leadership lies in balancing both, and Brown links this duality to her concept of grounded confidence. Stability and imagination, technical skill and human connection, must coexist for organizations to flourish.
10. Toward Cultures of Connection and Courage
The book concludes with a vision for cultivating cultures that honor humanity. Despite political divisiveness, technological disruption, and global uncertainty, Brown sees hope in leaders and individuals who choose courage, empathy, and connection. She warns against fear-based systems, which may deliver short-term results but ultimately destroy trust and sustainability. Instead, she calls for deep collaboration, paradoxical thinking, and grounded confidence (Brown, 2025). Strong ground, she argues, is both stability in uncertainty and a launchpad for transformation.
About the Author
Brené Brown, PhD, MSW, is a research professor at the University of Houston, where she has spent more than two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, including Daring Greatly (2012), Rising Strong (2015), Braving the Wilderness (2017), Dare to Lead (2018), and Atlas of the Heart (2021). Her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability, is one of the most viewed in history, with over 60 million views. Beyond academia, she has worked with global corporations, nonprofits, and governmental organizations to foster courageous and connected cultures.
Conclusion
Strong Ground is not merely a memoir of injury and recovery, nor is it solely a leadership manual. It is a hybrid work that interweaves personal vulnerability, organizational insight, and philosophical reflection. Brown demonstrates that the pursuit of courage begins with grounding rooting ourselves in values, practices, and connections that sustain us. The book’s lessons resonate with individuals seeking resilience, leaders navigating complexity, and organizations striving for meaningful transformation. By embracing paradox, cultivating vulnerability, and reconnecting with our humanity, we can find the “strong ground” necessary to thrive in uncertain times.
Why You Should Read This Book
- It bridges personal growth and organizational leadership. Brown’s ability to translate her personal experiences into organizational insights makes the book accessible across contexts.
- It is grounded in research yet told through story. Readers benefit from both academic rigor and relatable narratives.
- It offers practical strategies. From mindfulness practices to cultural interventions, the book provides actionable tools.
- It provides hope. In an era of disconnection, Brown insists that courage and connection are not only possible but essential.
Glossary of Terms
- Strong Ground: The metaphor for stability and resilience derived from aligning values, presence, and connection.
- Core Stability: Foundational strength that prevents dysfunction and supports growth, both physically and metaphorically.
- Vulnerability: The willingness to face uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure; the precondition for courage.
- Paradox: The coexistence of seemingly opposite truths that, when held, produce deeper understanding.
- Plumbing and Poetry: James March’s metaphor for balancing technical efficiency with inspirational vision in leadership.
- Emotional Dysregulation: Difficulty in managing intense emotions, leading to disconnection and reactivity.
- Mindfulness: Awareness of the present moment through intentional, nonjudgmental attention.
- Stockdale Paradox: The ability to balance faith in ultimate success with the discipline to confront brutal facts.
- Grounded Confidence: Confidence rooted not in bravado but in clarity of values and grounded practices.
- Neurobiological Connection: The principle that humans are wired for connection, and its absence produces suffering.
References
Brown, B. (2012). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. Gotham Books.
Brown, B. (2015). Rising strong: How the ability to reset transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead. Spiegel & Grau.
Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House.
Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the heart: Mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience. Random House.
Brown, B. (2025). Strong ground. Random House.
Collins, J. (1994). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. HarperBusiness.
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap... and others don’t. HarperBusiness.
March, J. G., & Weil, T. (2005). On leadership. Blackwell Publishing.
Rohr, R. (2011). Falling upward: A spirituality for the two halves of life. Jossey-Bass.
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