Work: Notes from Session 3 of TEDNext 2024

Session 3 of TEDNext 2024 is all about work, with innovators who challenge us to think about work in new and exciting ways. They provide practical tools for navigating an ever-evolving career landscape, as well as insights into preventing burnout, weathering crises, and reevaluating the role work plays in our lives.

The event: Talks from Session 3 of TEDNext 2024, presented by Rachell Morris of TED

When and where: Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia

Speakers: Kat Cole, Tarveen Forrester, Avani Prabhakar, Molly Graham, Dundee Gouin, Meredith Wilson Parfet, Simone Stolzoff

Watch TEDNext 2024 on TED Livecheck out more photos from the event and learn more about it attending a future TED conference

The conversations in short:

In a career that has seen her rise from waitress to CEO of global health company AG1, Cat Cole has discovered a key strategy for effective, progressive leadership – a technique that helps her take decisive action, ignoring historical baggage and sunk costs. She calls it the “Hot Shot Rule.” It goes like this: imagine that tomorrow a business leader steps into your position. What improvements would they make on day one? And which of these can you handle now?

Setting boundaries is easier said than done, but Tarveen ForresterVP of people at Kickstarter, explains why this is essential to avoid burnout. By communicating clearly and establishing non-negotiables – whether it’s a self-care routine, ten minutes of piano playing in the evening, or a child’s baseball game – we can pursue our goals more sustainably.

Employees are more productive when we let them choose when and where they work, says Avani PrabhakarChief People Officer at Atlassian. She talks about how her company, by moving to a distributed work model (with 12,000 employees in 14 countries), has helped unlock potential.

Careers these days are not made by climbing stairs, but by jumping off cliffs, he says Molly Grahamhead of The Glue Club, a community of startup leaders scaling companies. The changing nature of work rewards risk takers, so if you don’t risk failure, Graham says, you’re doing something wrong.

There is a famous saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago; the next best time is now.” Dundee Gouin from Northwestern Mutual shares five fundamental tips on how to manage your wealth effectively and prepare for the unexpected.

Sadness is inevitable. But as poignant as loss can be, crisis offers unique opportunities for personal growth, allowing leaders to sharpen their empathy and self-awareness, says Meredith Wilson Parfet from crisis management consultancy Ravenyard Group. For this growth to occur, however, we must first recognize that grief is grief – both at home and in the workplace.

Work-life balance isn’t just about setting boundaries or knowing when to put the phone down; it’s about identifying as more than just a job. To truly achieve balance in our lives, writer and work-life expert Simone Stolzoff says we should look for richer and broader ways to define ourselves.

Watch TEDNext 2024 on TED Livecheck out more photos from the event and learn more about it attending a future TED conference