Caitlin Clark is the most prolific scorer in college basketball history. The records she set at Iowa led to storylines sports fans around the country followed. 

The increased popularity and viewership of women's basketball can be directly traced to Clark. 

Her career and accomplishments have spark countless sports conversations, but here's what I keep thinking about - if it was my job to coach Caitlin Clark, what skills would I need to support a superstar talent? 

Thinking outside the box scores leads us to a different type of conversation altogether, one that could benefit every leader because it's ultimately about the high performers on your team. 

There's no question Clark is highly motivated on her own, but she can't win by herself. No one can. Her individual efforts get a lot of attention, but her team is the reason she won. So think about that in terms of the rising star in your organization and the high performers you manage. How do you create an...

Having a front row seat to the winningest coach in Seahawks history was something I never took for granted. I also never expected to learn so much about leadership and communication.

I’ve been the Seahawks radio sideline reporter for the last 15 seasons. I talked to Pete regularly for pregame interviews, during press conferences and when we bumped into each other at the facility. I can attest to the fact his energy never waned. What you saw on TV was exactly what we saw every day. After watching him throughout his tenure these are the five leadership lessons that stand out for me.

Leadership can be fun. If you were to ask Pete Carroll he would say football should be fun and he regularly told his players that if it wasn’t fun he was doing it wrong. It’s one of the reasons he blared music at practice and held free throw shooting competitions during team meetings. Pete proved to me that “fun-loving” could be and should be on the list of great leadership...

I didn’t think it was a big deal and quite honestly I wasn’t sure why anyone else did either.

Being part of a TV broadcast is nothing new for me and something that happens every single day during the baseball season. Being part of an all-female broadcast team during Spring Training this season was a new experience. 

Heading into the broadcast I was most excited to work alongside very talented women I call friends. At dinner the night before the game I expressed my dismay that people were making a big deal out of it. After all, I pointed out, we go to work every day and do the same thing we’ll be doing tomorrow. It shouldn’t be a big deal that we’re on a broadcast together. Except it was. And here’s what drove that point home the day of the game – every single voice I heard, both on the air and behind the scenes, was female.  

Here's why that was so significant, in college I was told that men don’t want to hear women...

Often in effective business communication less is more. 

A more concise email gets read. Shorter meetings can increase engagement. And simply making a decision without justifying everything that went into your decision can be empowering. 

When you have combined facts, expertise and experience you don't need to say anything else. You might feel like you need to convince people you're right, but the more you try to talk them into something the easier it is to talk yourself out of the confident decision you made. 

Author Katrina Adams is also a past president of the United States Tennis Association. She shares a number of experiences and leadership lesson in her book Own the Arena. You can also access the full Learn from a Leader conversation and the entire library of leaders using this link.

You are not your successes or failures. You are not your accomplishments or disappointments. 

It doesn't always feel like that but it's an important distinction for building confidence. Focusing on what we do instead of who we are makes our confidence and self worth conditional. Dr. Chantale Lussier is a mental skills consultant who works with athletes and high performing individuals. She joined the Learn from a Leader series to share this insight about developing confidence. 

Here's one way you can catch yourself in the act of conditional self-worth: "I am" vs. "I did."

I did x,y,z at work. 

I am proud of how I showed up to do the job. 

I did not get the new job.

I am pleased with how my interviews went.

You won't always be happy with the outcomes. You won't always feel good, but if you can force yourself to think about the difference between "I did" and "I am" you''ll have better self-awareness of what's driving your confidence. 

You can find more...

Sports fits my personality. Sports broadcasting fits my skillset. Helping you communicate more confidently is my passion.

Hey there, I’m Jen!

None of my family members or teachers are surprised I choose a career that involved talking, but some days I'm surprised I ended up as a sports broadcaster. There weren't many opportunities for women to work in sports when I was in college, and it certainly wasn't something that was encouraged. 

But I love to compete. That's one of the reasons sports is a natural fit for me. 

Finding Ways to Win. 

As a lifelong sports fan, my interest in sports comes naturally. I played multiple sports through high school and when I got college at Southern Methodist University I became an intramural flag football official, which led to a 10-year career officiating high school football and helped lay the foundation for becoming an NFL sideline reporter. I intentionally built a solid sports resume in every job and internship I pursued...

The end of the year is always a time of reflection. It's a time to evaluate what worked what didn't. Where you had success and where you can be even more successful next year.

Goal-setting often starts with what you've done in the past. So does authenticity. 

As former NFL GM Randy Mueller explains, doing the "crap jobs" develop character. It's part of your story and it's how you demonstrate authenticity as a leader. When people know you've failed or you've done the dirty work or overcome adversity they can better relate to you and follow your lead.

So when you evaluate 2021 don't gloss over where you've failed, overcome challenges and persevered. It's just as important as the success and the wins you've enjoyed. 

You can find more insights from Randy and other leaders on YouTube.

Everything changes, including your decisions. The “right“ decision might change based on new circumstances. That’s why it’s far more important to focus on the process you used to make decisions, as opposed to the decision itself. 

Case in point, this interview was taped at the beginning of the pandemic with very little was known about anything. We are still talking about making decisions in the face of uncertainty.

Thanks to Steve Singh of at Madrona Venture group for sharing these insights during a Learn from a Leader session. You can register for the next live session with former professional soccer player Roger Levesque at 10am on October 20^th.

Here’s a TV pro tip for making your eyes and your entire face look less tired – wear a dark or brightly colored shade of lipstick. The pop of color draws attention away from your eyes (and the dark circles or bags underneath them) and helps off-set a lack of sleep.

I’ve done this many times and I can tell you from personal experience it’s a small thing that makes a big difference, not only in what the audience sees, but in how I see myself that day.   

Showing up is half the battle as that quote goes, but as an on-air personality the way I show up counts. As a leader it’s not enough to show up. The way you show up is part of your brand and the message you communicate to others.

It’s up to you to own your space, or as former professional tennis player and past USTA president Katrina Adams would say “Own the Arena.” She joined the Learn from a Leader series to talk about her new book and the many leadership lessons she learned...

The NFL Draft isn't just about building a football team. It's talent evaluation being covered and talked about as a sports event. 

Every leader and business owner makes the same types of decisions as NFL general managers. They can also make the same types of mistakes. Here's the biggest one: acquiring talent vs. building a team.

There's  one thing that determines whether you are building a team or just acquiring talent: the job description itself. 

Former NFL GM Randy Mueller explains why that's key when evaluating talent and identifying the best fit for your team. 

Learn from a Leader is a monthly series hosted by Jen Mueller and features CEO's, visionaries, thought leaders and action takers. Join the conversation and the next Learn from a Leader session for free.