Worklife with Molly Graham

Careers rarely move in a straight line, and for many people, the old roadmap no longer works. In this special feed drop from LinkedIn’s Hello Monday, host Jessi Hempel sits down with Caroline Wanga for a conversation about building a career with intention, authenticity, and room to evolve.

As president and CEO of Essence Ventures and co-founder of Wanga Woman, Caroline has spent years helping people rethink success on their own terms. Before leading Essence, she spent 15 years at Target, rising from intern to the C-suite — a journey that taught her the value of continuously revisiting, reshaping, and even reinventing your career map.

Jessi and Caroline discuss:
Why your “next right move” may not look like anyone else’s
Why playing with your career map, not perfecting it, leads to clarity
How, and when, Caroline has created her own career maps
The role of authenticity in leadership and life
What it really takes to live and work with personal purpose
Tools and mindsets for building a meaningful career in today’s world

Caroline also shares insights from her memoir, I’m Highly Percent Sure, and offers a refreshing perspective for anyone questioning what comes next.

Follow Jessi Hempel and Caroline Wanga on LinkedIn, and listen to more Hello Monday wherever you get your podcasts
For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Uncertainty is in the air in so many industries as AI disrupts and destabilizes even the jobs that felt most secure in the past. It can be difficult to see the path forward as the ground shifts beneath your feet. But for journalist and TED Radio Hour host Manoush Zomorodi, disruption and change are nothing new. In this episode, Manoush reflects on her career and the sudden shifts she has had to adjust to as new media technology emerges—from perfecting writing a seven-minute slot on broadcast radio to building a production company on the blockchain. She also shares what she’s learned about staying adaptable when the world around you keeps changing.

Featured guest
Follow Manoush Zomorodi on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at https://www.manoushz.com/
Subscribe to Manoush Minutes on Substack
Buy her book Body Electric

Connect with the team
Follow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/
Subscribe to Molly’s Substack Lesson
Watch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve tried AI and felt underwhelmed — or if the constant pressure to “just play around with it” makes you want to throw your laptop across the room — you’re not alone. But according to Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart and one of the most practical thinkers on this technology, you might be closer to becoming an AI expert than you realize. In this episode, Max makes the case that expertise with AI isn’t about taking a course or spending your weekend trying to learn how to use it. Max talks about how to use AI to solve real problems, why you want to try it more than once, and argues that building a relationship with the tool is the key to getting better and faster results. This is the episode for anyone who’s skeptical, behind, or just exhausted by the hype.

Featured guest
Follow Max Mullen on LinkedIn and at maxmullen.com/
Visit Instacart

Connect with the team
Follow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/
Subscribe to Molly’s Substack Lesson
Watch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you think about risk, you probably think about big, dramatic moves: quitting your job, moving across the country, saying something controversial. But the people who are actually good at taking risks are the ones who practice small challenges every day. Julie Zhuo was one of the earliest product and design leaders at Facebook, and is now the co-founder of Sundial, a company that uses AI to help organizations make better decisions. In this episode, Molly and Julie dissect what it actually means to take a risk and how you can build your risk-taking skills through daily practice. Julie reflects on her own risk-taking journey, the ways she has honed her abilities to challenge fear, her thinking on when you shouldn’t take a leap, and the important distinction between courage and fearlessness.

Featured guest
Follow Julie Zhuo on Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, and at juliezhuo.com/
Learn more about Sundial.ai

Connect with the team
Follow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/
Subscribe to Molly’s Substack Lesson
Watch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok

For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might think the biggest, most prestigious job is always the right career move. Patty Stonesifer — founding CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and an early Amazon board member — says that’s exactly the wrong way to decide what to do next. So what should guide your career? In this episode, Patty joins Molly to share the nine-word personal mission statement she’s used for decades to filter opportunities, turn down what doesn’t fit, and speak up for what matters. Patty shares how you can write your own, and even coaches Molly through creating hers in real time.

Connect with the team
Follow Molly on Instagram, LinkedIn, and at glueclub.com/
Subscribe to Molly’s Substack Lesson
Watch WorkLife videos on YouTube at TEDAudioCollective
Follow TED on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
For the full text transcript, visit https://www.ted.com/podcasts/worklife-transcripts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.