What does it take to stay calm when millions are watching? Rebecca Lowe, the host of NBC’s Premier League coverage and Fox’s record-breaking 2026 World Cup broadcast, joins Brené Brown and Adam Grant to explore why preparation—not confidence—is her real superpower; the weight of being one of the only women in the room; and what it really means to lead when things get chaotic. Together, they unpack the difference between presence and preparedness, the “permission slip” moment that defines great leadership, and why the loudest person in the room isn’t always the one in charge. Along the way, Rebecca reflects on breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry, how she earns trust from personalities like Zlatan Ibrahimović, and the teachable habit she uses to keep her co-hosts focused on live TV.
The Return of Coach Lasso – NBC Sports, 2014, YouTube
Nessun Dorma, Rome 1990 – Luciano Pavarotti, 1990, YouTube
Double Standards for Competence – Martha Foschi, 2000, Annual Review of Sociology
"Executive Presence" Is Overrated – Adam Grant & Brené Brown, 2025, Instagram
Entrepreneur Passion and Preparedness in Business Plan Presentations – Xiao-Ping Chen, 2009, Academy of Management Journal
Beyond Nine to Five – Lieke ten Brummelhuis, 2017, Academy of Management Discoveries
Building atomic habits with James Clear – Adam Grant (Host), July 21, 2023, ReThinking with Adam Grant
Can Your Employees Really Speak Freely? – James Detert, 2016, Harvard Business Review
Trailblazing Motivation and Marginalized Group Members – Karren Knowlton, 2025, Organization Science
Bullet Time Effect in "Sherlock" the BBC TV Series – Moffat & Gattiss, January 14, 2014, BBC/YouTube
Conversational Style – Deborah Tannen, 2005, Oxford University Press
Who Won't Shut Up in Meetings? – Adam Grant, 2021, The Washington Post
Dare to Lead read-along workbook (Permission Slips) – Brené Brown, 2021, Brené Brown, LLC
Tell Me What I Did Wrong – Stacey Finkelstein, 2012, Journal of Consumer Research
Emotional Contagion – Elaine Hatfield, 1993, Current Directions in Psychological Science
Huge If True – Cleo Abram, YouTube
Range – David Epstein, 2019, Riverhead Books
The science of performing under pressure with Sian Beilock – Adam Grant (Host), March 28, 2023, ReThinking with Adam Grant (“Twisties” discussion at 8:50)
Hidden Potential – Adam Grant, 2023, Viking
What Being Sober Has Meant to Me – Brené Brown, 2019, brenebrown.com
The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown, 2010, Hazelden Publishing
Positive Conceptions of Perfectionism – Joachim Stoeber, 2006, Personality and Social Psychology Review
The Queen Bee Phenomenon – Belle Derks, 2016, The Leadership Quarterly
Some Effects of Proportions on Group Life: Skewed Sex Ratios and Responses to Token Women – Rosabeth Moss Kanter, 1977, American Journal of Sociology
Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex – Kimberlé Crenshaw, 1989, University of Chicago Legal Forum
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