Brené on Strong Ground Ask Me Anything, Part 2 of 2

What It Covers

Brené Brown shares the Above and Below the Line leadership practice, a fear-awareness framework that helps leaders recognize when fear drives their behavior versus when they consciously acknowledge and manage it.

Key Questions Answered

• •The Line Framework: Fear serves as the dividing line. Above it, leaders feel fear but maintain awareness and control their responses. Below it, fear unconsciously drives behavior into three reactive roles: hero, villain, or victim patterns.
• •Below the Line Language Patterns: Recognize fear-driven reactions through specific phrases like "I'll do it myself" (hero), "nobody understands how hard this is on me" (victim), or "I don't care if you like me" (villain) to identify when operating unconsciously.
• •The Pause Practice: When recognizing below-the-line behavior, name it aloud and take a 10-15 minute break before responding. This simple act of awareness and stepping away creates space for conscious leadership rather than fear-driven reactions.
• •Anger as Fear Signal: Anger often masks underlying fear, particularly regarding children's safety or work outcomes. Identifying hero-villain-victim language patterns helps surface hidden fears before recognizing the fear emotion itself, enabling more productive responses.