The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant
Mission vs. Ego: The Dangers of Narcissistic Leadership
Research professor Brené Brown and organizational psychologist Adam Grant are partnering on a new weekly podcast grounded in an unflinching commitment to learning and unlearning. At a time when public discourse rewards certainty over inquiry, The Curiosity Shop features two of the world's most sought-after experts on connection, change, and leadership making the case for slowing down, asking better questions, and embracing informed complexity over easy answers. Bringing together their left and right brain sensibilities — she’s a qualitative researcher; he’s a quantitative researcher — they explore some of the defining questions of our time, unpack the research reshaping how we live, lead, and love, and dive deep into the ideas, evidence, and cultural moments intriguing them the most. New episodes drop every Thursday. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Show Notes
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This week, Brené and Adam are live at SXSW! They explore why so many people are vulnerable to narcissistic leaders. The conversation covers the conditions that breed narcissistic leadership, the roles of shame and fear, and how to survive a narcissistic boss, and what it means to lead with mission over ego.
You can find The Curiosity Shop on YouTube and Instagram (@thecuriosityshop).
Chapters:
Introduction
Why People Are Vulnerable to Narcissistic Leaders
Shame-Based Fear
Do We Think About Emotions Wrong?
Undue Credit and the Narcissistic Leader
Mission Over Ego
How to Manage a Narcissistic Boss
Anxiety as a Path to Narcissism
Judging Impairs Judgement
Closing
Show Notes:
Adam Grant, Why We Fall for Narcissistic Leaders, Starting in Grade School, NYT 2025.
O'Reilly et al. 2001 When 'Me' Trumps 'We': Narcissistic Leaders and the Cultures They Create, 2021.
Brené Brown, "Shame shields" in The Dare to Lead Glossary: Key Language skills, tools, and practices. (pg. 15-16)
Bagozzi et al. 2003 (A study on cross-cultural differences in reaction to shame)
Brené Brown, Dan Pink on The Power of Regret, Dare to Lead, 2022
We're The Millers (Trailer) 2013, Awkward Roadtrip Moments: No Ragrets
George Saunders, "Failures of Kindness", Convocation Speech, 2013
Emily Grijalva et al. 2020 (A study of the impact of narcissim on NBA team performance)
How Brené Brown and Lumen CEO Kate Johnson Sparked This Telecom Comeback, WSJ Leadership Institute, 2025 ()
Adam Grant, Unless You're Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice - Adam Grant 2016 NYT
My response to Adam Grant’s New York Times Op/ED: Unless You're Oprah, ‘Be Yourself’ Is Terrible Advice - Brené Brown LinkedIn 2016
Watts et al, 2014 (A study of grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism in U.S. Presidents)
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