Why Female Athletes Make Resilient Business Leaders

What do 94% of female C-suite executives have in common? They played sports. On Leadership Lab, host Jamie McKinney talks with Bonnie Bernstein, founder and CEO of Walk Swiftly Productions. Bonnie spent three decades as an Emmy Award-winning journalist covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and college sports for ESPN, ABC, and CBS. She created ABC's The Champion's Edge, a series that follows women athletes turned business leaders across law, medicine, and the C-suite.Bonnie tells Jamie about the moment the idea for the show hit her, 10 years before it aired. She talks about the years of “no” she heard while building a database of more than 250 women, and the two questions she asks herself every time a pitch falls flat.The conversation turns personal too. Bonnie describes a health scare that landed her in a hospital bed alone, and what it taught her about burnout and self-care. She and Jamie talk through resilience, career confidence, and why so many women in leadership trace their instincts back to a locker room instead of a boardroom.Press play to hear the weekly practice Bonnie uses to find her own North Star, and the sports lessons for career success she has picked up from hundreds of female athletes turned business leaders who made the same leap she did. New episodes of Leadership Lab drop every week.Episode Breakdown:00:00 The 94% Statistic Behind Women Athletes and the C-Suite03:58 Breaking Ground as Reno's First Female Sports Anchor06:33 The 10 Year Origin Story Behind The Champion's Edge08:19 Turning Rejection Into Fuel While Building a Platform09:19 Reframing No as Another Opportunity10:43 Why Relationships Drive Career Breakthroughs11:32 Leadership Lessons for Women Who Never Played Sports16:42 Leadership Shows Up Far Beyond the Boardroom19:36 Why Failure Is Part of the Path to Success21:38 Rejection as an Invitation to Reevaluate Your Circle23:36 Staying Grounded While Breaking New Ground24:43 When Ambition Turns Into Endurance Instead of Fun27:49 A Health Scare That Changed How Bonnie Works28:23 Learning to Say No Without Fear30:54 Meditation as a Foundation for Resilience33:23 Building Community Through The Athlete Effect35:47 A Weekly Experiment to Reclaim Your Purpose37:54 Why Coaches Matter for Women in LeadershipLink: Listen to the previous episodeConnect with Bonnie Bernstein:Know more about Bonnie Connect with Bonnie on LinkedInSubscribe to The Champion’s Edge's Youtube channel Listen to the The Athlete Effect on Spotify Listen to the The Athlete Effect on Apple Podcast Listen to the The Athlete Effect on AudibleConnect with Jamie McKinney:jamiemckinney.com/lab Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm