Dare to Lead with Brené Brown Brené and Adam Grant on Rewarding Effort With Time
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Oct 22, 2025 
In this insightful discussion, Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and bestselling author, dives deep into the nuances of rewarding effort in leadership. He argues against the misleading notion of praising mere effort without progress, advocating instead for coaching and mentorship. Adam highlights the value of decision-making frameworks in prioritization and explains how leaders can shape team dynamics through their emotional signals. The conversation emphasizes fixing systems rather than assigning blame, creating a pathway for genuine growth and success.
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Effort Without Progress Misleads
- Praising effort alone can mislead people to keep failing with the same strategy instead of finding better ones.
- Adam Grant argues we should praise effort that produces progress, not mere persistence.
Students Demanding Grades For Effort
- Adam got complaints from MBA students who demanded grades that reflected their effort, not mastery.
- That surprised him because his courses grade excellence, not effort alone.
Reward Effort With Your Time
- When effort doesn't move the ball, reward people with your time rather than unearned praise.
- Sit down, coach them, and diagnose why their effort isn't producing results.
