Retros, Rumbles, and Trust

I want to explore three key leadership concepts from Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead: vulnerability as a prerequisite for trust, identifying core personal values, and conducting meaningful team retrospectives.

Vulnerability Before Trust

Trust doesn’t precede vulnerability—it follows it. Drawing on Brown’s Trust Marble Jar concept, vulnerable acts build trust incrementally, while betrayals erode it. Teams must intentionally create spaces where members can be vulnerable to strengthen their collective trust foundation.

Living Into Values

Brown highlights an exercise identifying two core personal values. This constraint forces meaningful reflection and, when done as a team, generates “trust and empathy.” Understanding teammates’ values helps clarify their intentions and enables mutual accountability grounded in shared principles.

Rumbles and Retros

Brown’s concept of “rumbles”—vulnerable, generous conversations focused on problem-solving—connects directly to agile retrospectives. Well-executed retros function as containers for vulnerability and connection, enabling teams to address issues collaboratively and move together as a team.

The underlying theme: trust emerges through vulnerability, clarity about values, and structured conversations where egos take secondary importance to collective growth.