This Is Public Health Book Club discussion

In pages 71-164 of Dare to Lead, Brené Brown discusses the importance of leading with compassion and empathy towards ourselves and others. Learning how to navigate the negative emotions we may experience in different environments in our lives can be beneficial for our well-being. In the field of public health, engaging in difficult and uncomfortable conversations is not uncommon, and practicing the empathy skills and resilience training that Brown establishes can aid in keeping us grounded.


Discussion Questions:

- What were your overall thoughts about the content covered in this section?

- Which skills of daring leadership do you think are most important for public health professionals to practice? (i.e. setting boundaries, modeling empathy, acknowledging collective fear, giving gold stars, etc.)

- Thinking about the negative effects of shame that are described in the book, what is one commitment you could make to start changing the narrative and build shame resilience for yourself and/or others?

- Brown defines empathy with the following statement: "Empathy is not connecting to an experience, it's connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience" (140). How could this definition be applied to the work of public health?