Brené Brown on courageous leadership | ReThinking with Adam Grant

Brené Brown is a researcher, storyteller, and author who hosts the podcast Dare to Lead and has given some of the most popular TED Talks of all time. Brené joins Adam live at Authors@Wharton to talk about her new book, Strong Ground. They discuss how to identify your core values, what courageous leadership looks like, and whether vulnerability has gained popularity. They also address the problems with “executive presence,” compare notes on how to have hard conversations and set boundaries, debate the merits of the “tush push,” and reflect on what Brené learned from working with FBI hostage negotiators. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Brené Brown (Instagram: @brenebrown | Website: https://brenebrown.com/) Links Strong Ground by Brené Brown List of all Brené Brown’s books: https://brenebrown.com/books-audio Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

Brené BrownguestAdam Granthost

Oct 3, 202540mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: October 3, 2025
Duration: 40m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Brené Brown is a researcher, storyteller, and author who hosts the podcast Dare to Lead and has given some of the most popular TED Talks of all time. Brené joins Adam live at Authors@Wharton to talk about her new book, Strong Ground. They discuss how to identify your core values, what courageous leadership looks like, and whether vulnerability has gained popularity. They also address the problems with “executive presence,” compare notes on how to have hard conversations and set boundaries, debate the merits of the “tush push,” and reflect on what Brené learned from working with FBI hostage negotiators. Follow Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Brené Brown (Instagram: @brenebrown | Website: https://brenebrown.com/) Links Strong Ground by Brené Brown List of all Brené Brown’s books: https://brenebrown.com/books-audio Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

SPEAKERS

Brené Brown
guest
Researcher and bestselling author known for work on vulnerability, courage, and leadership (Dare to Lead).
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and professor known for interviewing thinkers on work, leadership, and motivation.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Brené Brown and Adam Grant, Brené Brown on courageous leadership | ReThinking with Adam Grant explores courageous leadership through values, vulnerability, and clear, actionable behaviors daily Brown argues modern workplaces overvalue “being a knower” and need to reward curiosity, questions, and learning as a form of courage.

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