Worklife with Molly Graham

We spend more time at work than we do on just about anything else, so how you spend your time at work matters. In this first episode of the How to Get What You Want at Work series, Molly sits down with journalist Simone Stolzoff, author of The Good Enough Job and How to Not Know, to unpack the first fundamental question of finding the right job for you: what do you actually want? Simone breaks down the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations that drive us to show up for work, and offers guidance on how to tell the difference between what you really want and what you think you should. He also shares practical tips for clarifying your values, crafting your current job to be more like the one you want, and interrogating your choices before you make them.Connect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

When you’re tasked with a big project at work, your first instinct is probably to put your head down, be as productive as possible, and nail it on the first try. But while this approach is often rewarded, it can get in the way of real creativity and innovation. Astro Teller is the head of the X team at Alphabet, a company that creates radical technologies to help solve some of the world’s largest problems. His official title is Captain of Moonshots, and he frequently leads a “bad ideas brainstorm” session to produce radical innovation in his team. In this episode, Molly attends one of these sessions and sits down with Astro to learn more about his “innovation machine” at X’s Moonshot Factory. Astro emphasizes the importance of taking real risks and celebrating failure, and shares 5 principles any organization can use to help drive innovation. He also points out things around X’s office that encourage creativity, and explains why employees there have to break a simple rule to get into the building.Connect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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 the 4 layers of dysfunction that are often the root cause of workplace issues and how to address them, emphasises the importance of clear communication and definition of goals and roles, and shares how the Waterline Model has helped her throughout her career, including as a wilderness instructor at the National Outdoor Leadership School.Connect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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 importance of listening and asking dumb questions early on, and reflect on a story from past guest Claire Hughes Johnson about her very first job and how it shaped her mindset for the rest of her career.Featured guestFollow Ashley Murphy on LinkedInLearn more about Glue ClubConnect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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 leaders. In this episode, Jamie joins Molly to take a closer look at what it actually means to be a good fit for a job, and how to effectively and authentically tell your story in an interview. She also offers advice on how to identify your key strengths, shares strategies for finding out the truth about what a company is actually like before you take the job, and reflects on the things that never change about hiring.Featured guestFollow Jamie Tilotta Green on LinkedInConnect with the teamFollow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/Subscribe to Molly’s Substack LessonWatch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDPodsFollow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

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, and writes a popular newsletter called Lessons.In our in-depth conversation, we discuss:Why Molly’s famous “give away your Legos” career advice no longer holds true in an AI worldThe grief, loneliness, and burnout sweeping through the tech industry right nowWhy delegating to AI is fundamentally different from delegating to a humanThe fear narrative around AI job displacement, and why it’s overblownWhich Legos you should never give to AIWhat the best managers are doing right now