Connecting with the people you work with doesn’t just make your team stronger — it’s good for you too. Whether you’ve just joined a new organization or you’re managing a remote team, these three tips from collaboration expert Mark T. Rivera can help you strengthen your ties with your co-workers, so that everyone can thrive.

These days, everyone feels pressed for time. Duke University professor Dorie Clark reveals the hidden reasons behind why we’re all so busy, and why we struggle to break out of the cycle of overwhelm. This talk presents a new way to look at the choices we make, and how to create more space in our lives to think.

Growing up in the US in predominantly white communities, Canwen Xu struggled to reconcile her American and her Chinese identities. She explains the unique ways that racial bias affects Asian Americans — and shares how she has learned to embrace all of the different parts of her background.

In this touching talk, Ash Beckham offers a fresh approach to empathy and openness. It starts with understanding that everyone, at some point in their life, has experienced hardship. The only way out, says Beckham, is to open the door and step out of your closet.

When journalist Mariana Atencio was seven, her father sent her from her home in Venezuela to a summer camp in Brainerd, Minnesota. Unsurprisingly, she was treated like an outsider. Over the course of many more such camps and a senior year in an American high school, she discovered that the best way to belong was to embrace the qualities that made her different. In this deeply personal talk, Atencio describes how these early lessons helped her succeed as an immigrant and as a journalist.

Making your mark in a world increasingly defined by strong or even overbearing personalities can be a daunting prospect even when you know it’s essential to getting ahead. In this inspiring talk, Emily Jaenson examines her journey from timid undergrad to senior executive in the male-dominated field of sports management to illustrate actionable tips on asserting yourself and fulfilling your potential.

Know you should establish clear limits at work but not sure how to do it? Here are a few strategies from relationship therapist and author Nedra Glover Tawwab that can help you feel more empowered and less overwhelmed, both on and off the job.

Calls for authenticity at work ask for passionate people with diverse, fresh perspectives who challenge old ways of thinking. But too often workplace culture fails to support the authenticity of professionals of color and other underrepresented groups, leading instead to backlash and fewer opportunities. Writer Jodi-Ann Burey outlines steps toward exposing privilege and achieving true equity on the job — and implores those in leadership positions to accept responsibility for change.

We’ve all heard presentations about the importance of DEI. In this powerful talk, Carin Taylor shares why belonging should be the focus of any DEI strategy and the most important piece of the DEI discussion. She outlines the key ingredients needed to belong and how to create them. Leverage the discussion guide to host a conversation with your team after watching the Ted Talk.

Over the last few years, the pattern of divisive issues pushing people apart has only become more prominent. Politics, climate issues, equity, and much more have divided people across a number of lines. Elizabeth Lesser suggests a new strategy for bridging the gap between individuals and groups. Having lunch with those you may disagree with opens the door for productive conversation and growth. Understanding leads to a lack of contempt that breeds change and action.

Stella Young suggests that in our society disabled people are viewed as exceptional and “are congratulated for getting out of bed and remembering our own names in the morning”. She believes that we need to rewire our perceptions and celebrate their accomplishments for what they are, not as impressive because of their disability. Her unique perspective inspires thoughtful reflection on how we treat people with disabilities, and how we can celebrate them more appropriately.

Imagine a workplace where people of all colors and races are able to climb every rung of the corporate ladder — and where the lessons we learn about diversity at work actually transform the things we do, think and say outside the office. How do we get there? In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.

What do you think when you look at this speaker? Well, think again. (And then again.) In this funny, honest, empathetic talk, Yassmin Abdel-Magied challenges us to look beyond our initial perceptions, and to open doors to new ways of supporting others.

Elizabeth Lesser suggests a new strategy for bridging the gap between individuals and groups. Having lunch with those you may disagree with opens the door for productive conversation and growth. Understanding leads to a lack of contempt that breeds change and action.

In this candid talk, inclusion advocate Janet Stovall shares a three-part action plan for creating workplaces where
people feel safe and expected to be their unassimilated, authentic selves.

Why is it so important for us to know someone else’s gender? We live in a gendered world, but for Audrey, gender is fluid at best, an uncomfortable construct for most of us. Is there a way to be less reliant on gender in our interactions with people?  Use this Ted Talk and Discussion Guide to host a conversation with your team.

In this powerful talk, psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt explores how our biases unfairly target Black people at all levels of society — from schools and social media to policing and criminal justice — and discusses how creating points of friction can help us actively interrupt and address this troubling problem. 

Baratunde Thurston explores the phenomenon of white Americans calling the police on black Americans who have committed the crimes of … eating, walking, or generally “living while black.” In this profound, thought-provoking, and often hilarious talk, he reveals the power of language to change stories of trauma into stories of healing — while challenging us all to level up.

The presence and visibility of a movement can often lead us to believe that progress is inevitable. But building power and changing the system requires more than conversations and retweets, says Rashad Robinson, the president of Color Of Change. To create material change in the racist systems that enable and perpetuate violence against Black communities, Robinson shares how we can translate the energy of global protests into specific demands, actions, and laws — and hold those in power accountable to them.

A more equal world starts with you. Citing a formative moment from her own life, equity advocate Nita Mosby Tyler highlights why showing up and fighting for others who face injustices beyond your own lived experience leads to a fairer, more just future for all.

Justin Baldoni wants to start a dialogue with men about redefining masculinity — to figure out ways to be not just good men but good humans. In a warm, personal talk, he shares his effort to reconcile who he is with who the world tells him a man should be.

Looking to get ahead in your career? Start by being respectful to your coworkers, says leadership researcher Christine Porath. In this science-backed talk, she shares surprising insights about the costs of rudeness and shows how little acts of respect can boost your professional success — and your company’s bottom line.

For the first time ever, we have five generations in the workplace at the same time, says entrepreneur Chip Conley. What would happen if we got intentional about how we all work together? In this accessible talk, Conley shows how age diversity makes companies stronger and calls for different generations to mentor each other at work, with wisdom flowing from old to young and young to old alike.

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

It’s a fateful moment in history. We’ve seen divisive elections, divided societies and the growth of extremism — all fueled by anxiety and uncertainty. “Is there something we can do, each of us, to be able to face the future without fear?” asks Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. In this electrifying talk, the spiritual leader gives us three specific ways we can move from the politics of “me” to the politics of “all of us, together.”

We’re taught to believe that hard work and dedication will lead to success, but that’s not always the case. Gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation are among the many factors that affect our chances. In this actionable talk, Melinda Epler shares three ways to support people who are underrepresented in the workplace.

Tracing the contours of her career, America Ferrera calls for more authentic representation of different cultures — and a shift in how we tell our stories. “Presence creates possibility,” she says. “Who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures.”

We often find ourselves stuck in narrow social circles with similar people. What habits confine us, and how can we break them? Organizational psychologist Tanya Menon considers how we can be more intentional about expanding our social universes — and how it can lead to new ideas and opportunities

Speaking up is hard to do, even when you know you should. Learn how to assert yourself, navigate tricky social situations and expand your personal power with sage guidance from social psychologist Adam Galinsky.

Like any strategy, the success of your diversity and inclusion strategy is dependent on setting the right goals.  Listen to this talk with your diversity and inclusion team and use the facilitated discussion and action planning worksheet to apply these concepts to your own goal-setting process.