# WorkLife: The case against personal branding

An episode of [ReThinking](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1554567118), 13 May 2025, 25 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/675858676d1777b3683ec351/e/681e38f6365a6906d38cea9f/media.mp3

In the age of social media and influencers, we’re constantly pushed to think of ourselves as brands—shiny packages containing all of our best traits to market to employers and followers. But striving to build a “personal brand” may actually hinder your ability to make genuine connections and maintain a strong reputation. In this episode, Adam explores the science on alternatives to personal branding and explains why contribution, collaboration, and humility are better self-promotional tools than a carefully crafted image. Guests: management professor Mark Bolino; military leader Chevy Cook; writer and brand consultant Debbie Millman, host of the podcast Design Matters. Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/) Guest: Mark Bolino (Instagram: | Website: ou.edu/price/bios/mark-bolino) Chevy Cook (LinkedIn: @chaveso-chevy-cook | Website: ausa.org/people/ltc-chaveso-cook) Debbie Millman (Instagram: @debbiemillman | LinkedIn: @deborahmillman | Website: https://debbiemillman.com/) Links https://www.centerformentoring.com/about-us/meet-chevy-cook-phd Subscribe to TED Instagram: @ted YouTube: @TED TikTok: @tedtoks LinkedIn: @ted-conferences Website: ted.com Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts ReThinking is produced by Cosmic Standard. Our Senior Producer is Jessica Glazer, our Engineer is Aja Simpson, our Technical Director is Jacob Winik, and our Executive Producer is Eliza Smith. For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/rethinking-with-adam-grant-transcripts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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