Share

ReThinking
Befriending your impostor syndrome with Iceland's president Halla Tómasdóttir
When Halla Tómasdóttir lost her bid for the Icelandic presidency in 2016, she wasn't sure she wanted to run again. But after battles with self-doubt, encouragement from her supporters and an epiphany about leadership, she ran again this year — and this time, she won. Halla joins Adam to discuss dealing with impostor syndrome, why leadership is worth the effort and how listening and asking questions can build trust with constituents and make you a stronger leader. The two also dig into the story behind Halla's "scarf revolution," Iceland's history of solving problems with creativity and Halla’s approach to leading her campaign — and presidency — with optimism.
Available transcripts for ReThinking can be found at go.ted.com/RWAGscripts
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts
For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch
Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:
TEDSports: ted.com/sports
TEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-vienna
TEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf
More episodes
View all episodes
ReThinking: Fixing social media with Pinterest CEO Bill Ready
35:20|On social media, enragement is often used to drive engagement. But what if the algorithm was tuned to what makes us feel good? As the CEO of Pinterest, Bill Ready is leading changes to his platform in the hopes of inspiring change in the tech industry. He and Adam examine steps for improving online interactions, consider solutions for protecting kids from the dark sides of social media, and discuss how leaders can become better attuned to their employees’ and users’ experiences. FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Bill Ready (LinkedIn: @williamready) Linkshttps://www.pinterest.comSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: How you can do more for others with Rutger Bregman
33:29|What are you doing to make the world around you better? Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian and the author of the new book Moral Ambition. He joins Adam live in the Authors@Wharton series to discuss how to stop capable people from wasting their talents, lessons from great moral pioneers, and what it means to be a good person. They also consider how parents can encourage moral ambition in kids, debate the difference between cowardice and helplessness, and share actions you can take to make a difference.FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Rutger Bregman (Instagram: @rutgerbregman | Website: https://rutgerbregman.com/) LinksMoral Ambition FellowshipsMoral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a DifferenceSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: The myth of genius with Helen Lewis
33:01|What does it mean to be a genius? Journalist Helen Lewis is the author of the new book The Genius Myth, which offers a provocative analysis of how we put brainiacs on a pedestal. In this episode, Helen and Adam unpack our cultural myths about geniuses and explore the dangers of treating them like demigods. They also discuss what Helen learned from the wives of male geniuses and how child prodigies can avoid struggling as adults. FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Helen Lewis (Website: theatlantic.com/author/helen-lewis/) LinksThe Genius MythSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: The future of finding love with Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd
35:37|What will dating look like in the age of AI? Whitney Wolfe Herd is the founder and CEO of Bumble, the popular dating app that has helped millions of people meet their match. In this episode, Whitney chats with Adam about her vision for the future of dating online and offline, her decision to take a break from leading Bumble, and the importance of platonic love. They also debate whether or not you have to learn to love yourself before loving someone else, and imagine a world in which AI agents vet potential partners before a first date.FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)Guest: Whitney Wolfe Herd (Instagram: @whitney) Linksbumble.comSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: Ed Helms on growing through failure
27:12|You may know Ed Helms from his roles on The Office or in The Hangover, but building his career as a successful comedian required many moments of failure and embarrassment. In this episode, Ed joins Adam live at the Authors@Wharton series to discuss his new book, SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups, look back on what Ed learned from some of his own mistakes, and uncover the common patterns among historical blunders.FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)Guest: Ed Helms (Instagram: @edhelms) LinksSnafu: The Definitive Guide to History Greatest Screw UpSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: The truth about the attention crisis with historian Daniel Immerwahr
35:25|In the age of social media and short-form content, many people insist that our attention spans are getting shorter. But historian Daniel Immerwahr reminds us that people have cried wolf for centuries about technology hijacking our attention. In this episode, Adam and Daniel dive into evidence that what’s changing is not our attention spans, but the objects of our focus. They also discuss moral panics of the past, compare the cognitive benefits of video games and the opera, and debate whether or not Marvel movies are a waste of time.FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)Guest: Daniel Immerwahr (Website: history.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core-faculty/daniel-immerwahr.html) LinksHow to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United StatesSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: The science of taste and smell with Rachel Herz
34:30|Do you hate the taste of cilantro and chocolate? You might be a super taster! Rachel Herz is a neuroscientist at Brown University who specializes in taste and smell. In this episode, Adam, Rachel, and Adam’s wife Allison Sweet Grant investigate the sources of their different food preferences, uncover the overlooked power of smell, and analyze the effects of the gene that can turn some people into picky eaters. FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Rachel Herz (Instagram | LinkedIn: @rachelherz | Website: rachelherz.com/) LinksBooks: Why You Eat What You Eat (2019), That’s Disgusting (2013), The Scent of Desire (2008)Subscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: John Green on fighting diseases of injustice
37:29|You may know John Green as the best-selling author of The Fault In Our Stars or the co-creator of the popular YouTube education channel Crash Course. In this episode, John joins Adam for a live conversation at the Authors@Wharton series to discuss his book Everything is Tuberculosis and his mission to fight diseases of injustice. The two also explore strategies for finding motivation and creativity, address John’s banned books, explain how writing is like playing Marco Polo, and uncover John’s favorite Hank Green invention. FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)Guest: John Green (Instagram: @johngreenwritesbooks | TikTok: @literallyjohngreen | Website: johngreenbooks.com/) LinksCrash Course YouTubeEverything is Tuberculosis by John GreenAuthors@Wharton ProgramSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcastsReThinking: What motivates great Americans with Ron Chernow
35:46|Ron Chernow is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer whose work has deepened our understanding of the men who made history in America, and even inspired Lin Manuel Miranda to write his musical about Alexander Hamilton. In this episode, he and Adam discuss Ron’s new book on Mark Twain, analyze what fuels outsized accomplishments, and dig into what it takes to uncover new insights into the lives of historical figures.FollowHost: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Ron Chernow (Website: ronchernow.com/) LinksMark Twain by Ron Chernow Alexander Hamilton by Ron ChernowSubscribe to TED Instagram: @tedYouTube: @TEDTikTok: @tedtoksLinkedIn: @ted-conferencesWebsite: ted.comPodcasts: ted.com/podcasts