Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

How to build a team that can “take a punch”: A playbook for building resilient, high-performing teams | Hilary Gridley (Head of Core Product, Whoop)

411 snips

Jun 15, 2025

Hilary Gridley, Head of Core Product at WHOOP, discusses building resilient teams in high-stakes environments. She shares actionable tactics for overcoming negative perceptions and fostering a supportive culture. Hilary reveals the underestimated role of AI in growth and how habits shape productivity. She emphasizes the importance of transparency in leadership and the need for empathy within teams. Listeners can expect insights on creating space for creativity and the significance of mental models in navigating organizational challenges.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

00:00 / 00:00

Counter Negative Narratives Proactively

When feeling criticized or fearing negative perceptions, focus on what action you can take next to counter that narrative.
Taking a small, proactive step helps regain agency and move past negative spirals.

00:00 / 00:00

Power of Behavioral Activation

Negative thinking and avoidance worsen mental health and productivity.
Behavioral activation—acting even when you don't feel like it—can break negative cycles and improve mood and work engagement.

00:00 / 00:00

Share Leadership Mental Models

Share your notes and interpretations from leadership meetings to build team understanding of how leaders think.
This transparency reduces the need for approvals and accelerates decision-making.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The sun also rises

Ernest Hemingway

Originally published in 1926, 'The Sun Also Rises' is Ernest Hemingway’s first novel and a classic example of his spare but powerful writing style. The novel follows a group of young American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid-1920s, capturing the moods, feelings, and attitudes of the cynical and disillusioned Lost Generation. The story centers around Jake Barnes, a World War I veteran and journalist, and Lady Brett Ashley, as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain. The novel portrays an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions, reflecting the existential disillusionment characteristic of the Lost Generation[2][3][4].

East of Eden

Paul Osborn

In 'East of Eden', John Steinbeck tells the story of the Trask and Hamilton families, set against the backdrop of California's Salinas Valley. The novel is a modern retelling of the biblical story of Cain and Abel, focusing on the tumultuous relationship between Cal and Aron Trask, and their struggles with their father, Adam. The book delves into themes of love, rejection, and the choice between good and evil, symbolized by the Hebrew word 'timshel', meaning 'thou mayest'. The narrative is rich with characters like Samuel Hamilton, a kind and wise patriarch, and Kate, the embodiment of evil, whose past and actions significantly impact the lives of the Trasks.

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

Published in 1878, 'Anna Karenina' is a novel by Leo Tolstoy that delves into the complexities of Russian society in the late 19th century. The story centers around the extramarital affair between Anna Karenina, a married socialite, and Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, which scandalizes the social circles of Saint Petersburg. The novel also follows the parallel story of Konstantin Levin, a wealthy landowner, and his struggles with marriage, faith, and managing his estate. Tolstoy explores a wide range of themes including love, loyalty, betrayal, hypocrisy, and the differences between rural and urban life. The novel is known for its detailed character development and its profound commentary on the human condition[2][4][5].