Brene Brown to Adam Grant: Too many people play not to lose rather than to win

Too many people approach adversity playing not to lose rather than playing to win, bestselling author Brene Brown explained to Adam Grant during a recent Wharton School event.

"Playing not to lose is always losing," she said.

During their conversation as part of the McNulty Leadership Program's Authors@Wharton series, Brown and Grant discussed the tension between protecting our egos and pursuing growth.

When advising organizations, Brown shared that she focuses her questions to CEOs on the challenges that keep them up at night: "If you want to win, we're going to have to have these hard conversations."

Younger employees, meanwhile, need to be ready to step out of their comfort zones in similar fashion.

In offering advice to the Penn students in attendance, Brown recommended asking their future boss, "What do you need me to do to win?" and explaining how they can contribute to common goals.

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