Worklife with Molly Graham

If a team isn’t working well, everybody feels it. But when problems arise in your team, the issue usually runs deeper than the people experiencing it. In this episode, Molly breaks down the Waterline Model, a framework developed by organizational psychologist Roger Harrison to help diagnose workplace problems by looking beneath the surface at the systems and dynamics that shape the way an organization functions. She explains ...

Whether you’re working on Wall Street or bussing tables, every job has something to teach you—and no job is more full of learning opportunities than your first. In this new Storytime segment, Molly invites Ashley Murphy back to swap stories about their first experiences in the working world and share advice for people navigating a new position. They break down how to set yourself up for success on day one, emphasise the...

Many people approach job searches backwards, trying to squeeze themselves into the mold of what a company is looking for in a candidate. But there are two sides to every hiring decision, and who you are and what you want is just as important as the job description. Jamie Tilotta Green is one of the most respected recruiters in Silicon Valley, and has helped some of the world’s most influential tech companies find their senior...

Molly Graham is back for round two, and this one is even more powerful. Molly has spent more than 20 years helping organizations and the humans inside them navigate growth and change. She’s held leadership roles at Google, Facebook, Quip, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and is the host of TED’s WorkLife podcast (which she took over from Adam Grant). She also runs Glue Club, a leadership community for senior operators...

Technology has been promising to revolutionize education for a long time. Online learning, smartphones, and even asynchronous classes during COVID seemed for a while like they might finally transform what learning can look like, but all we really learned was that changing education is slower and harder than anyone wants it to be. Could AI finally be the unlock we’ve been looking for? Leah Belsky has spent nearly 20 years at t...

We all know the stereotypical story of the midlife crisis: leave your spouse, buy the red convertible, start from scratch and blow up your whole life. But for most people, the transitional period of midlife is a little more complicated, and it doesn’t have to feel like a crisis. Chip Conley founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality in his 20s, and built it into one of the largest boutique hotel companies in the country—but then...

The term “nepo baby” has been used in recent years to describe people who are born into successful families and industries with advantages that aren’t available to the average person. What does your success mean if you weren’t the one to earn it? Bryce Dallas Howard is the daughter of famous actor and director Ron Howard, and now a successful actress and director in her own right, having earned a Golden Glob...

In a world filled with requests, many of us are struggling to stay afloat. Even if you’re not a people-pleaser, the desire to maintain a positive reputation can make it hard to turn others down. In this episode, Adam explores the art and science of delivering an effective “no.” He highlights strategies for setting boundaries with others to create space for yourself—and healthier relationships with those arou...

When you’re tasked with solving a problem that has a deep impact on a lot of people, it can feel impossible to deliver results that everyone is happy with. How do you decide whose perspective should shape your decisions, or create change when people don’t even agree on the problem? Kaya Henderson took over leadership of the District of Columbia Public Schools when it was one of the lowest-performing school districts in ...

When it comes to seeking wisdom or advice in your career, there’s a lot of focus on mentorship and what more senior players in your field can offer you. But the truth is that your most important and valuable relationships are those with your peers—reciprocal, two-way relationships with a foundation of vulnerability and shared experience. Bill Gurley is one of the most influential venture capitalists of the last two deca...

Success in your career looks different for everyone — but no matter your industry, you'll need to take risks. Company and community builder Molly Graham took to the TED stage two years ago to share three key skills to learn before jumping off a metaphorical cliff, outlining a path off the corporate ladder and into true professional and personal growth -- and these key skills are more relevant today than ever.

Today, Molly ...

Managing people is a deeply human line of work—it requires relational skills, judgement, and deep knowledge of the people you work with. But Hilary Gridley believes that when used properly, AI can not only help you become a better manager, but can help your team make more meaningful use of their human skills. Hilary has spent years leading teams at companies like Whoop, and she’s known for her work helping managers use ...

If your company is growing faster than you can keep up, your manager might decide to “layer” you—that is, split your job in half or hire someone with more experience to become your boss. This is an experience a lot of people go through at work, but it’s rarely talked about because it’s often unpleasant for everyone involved. In this episode, Molly offers practical advice for anyone going through layeri...

A good leader is one who anchors and supports their team under pressure—and nowhere are the stakes higher than in the military. Don Faul spent five years as an officer in an elite unit in the Marine Corps. He then went on to become one of the most important operational leaders at Facebook, where he built and ran global teams during the company's most intense years of growth before he left to lead Google and CrossFit. In this ...

In times of change, sometimes the best way to hold onto your success is to let go of the things that got you there. Chris Anderson became the steward of TED in 2001, and transformed what was once a small, exclusive conference into a household name when he made the risky decision to make TED talks free and globally accessible online. In this episode, Molly sits down with Chris at the 2026 TED Conference in Vancouver to dig deeper in...

Religious faith is something that isn’t often discussed at work—in fact, speaking openly about your religious beliefs may be regarded as an unspoken taboo in some workplaces. But just like any other source of grounding intuition, faith is a powerful foundation for so many people when it comes to navigating uncertainty and tough decisions in their professional lives. Stacy Brown-Philpot was the CEO of TaskRabbit before f...

If you feel like you’ve lost your way at work—you’re burnt out, you’ve stopped trusting your own instincts, and every conversation leaves you overwhelmed or confused—then you might have a case of what Ify Walker calls the work twisties. Ify is the founder and CEO of Offor, a talent agency and recruiting firm that places executives at mission-driven businesses. In this episode, Ify and Molly reflect on ...

One of our favorite TED talks on TED Business is from company builder Molly Graham. She’s also the new host of WorkLife with Molly Graham, another podcast from TED. Modupe sits down with Molly at TED2026 to talk about her journey from Facebook to giving her first TED Talk to now joining TED as a podcaster. Molly shares how she quietens her inner critic whom she affectionately calls “Bob the Monster,” what she lear...

Most leaders say culture matters. Far fewer can explain how it's actually built. Mike Schroepfer spent more than a decade helping build Facebook's engineering organization during some of its fastest—and messiest—years of growth. As CTO, he helped shape a culture built around learning, experimentation, and moving quickly. In this episode, Mike discusses why great cultures aren't created through values decks or mission st...