Replay: Leading as a Generalist with Trail Blazers’ Senior VP of Innovation & Technology Christa Stout

12/05/23 • 62 min

Hi friend! It’s Giselle. I’m jumping on here real quick to remind you that I’m taking a break after over three plus years of weekly episodes to rest, reset, and recalibrate. In case you need a little woman in sports career journey wisdom while I’m away, I’ve pulled this episode from the archives.
This conversation with Christa Stout aired in March 2022 and it is the most downloaded episode of all time. So you’re going to love it. I know I did.
Since the last episode, Christa is still with the Portland Trail Blazers but has now advanced to the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer. This past year she’s helped launch the organization’s new G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix.
Enjoy!
Episode 87:
On today’s episode, I’m talking to the Portland Trail Blazers’ Senior Vice President of Innovation & Technology Christa Stout.
Christa played 5 sports in high school and 3 in college. She has traveled internationally doing development work and has seen the value of sport for social change. Because of a persistent interest in corporate social responsibility, Christa decided to go to business school. As a generalist trying to find her future career, a professor advised her to list out exactly what she was looking for in a job. By considering the qualities she needed in the workplace instead of the job title, Christa found exactly what she was looking for working in professional sports, working first with the Portland Timbers and now the Portland Trail Blazers.
We talk about:
●How taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way in international development, gives Christa more skills than she could ever list on a resume.
●How taking the time to define her values and the qualities she needed in her workplace helped Christa find great jobs after business school.
●The importance of keeping a growth mindset to continue learning the ins and outs of every task as a generalist responsible for leading specialists in their fields.

You can find the show notes and more resources at https://madamathlete.com
Keep an eye out for new content or let us know what you'd like to see next by following us on social:
Instagram: @theMadamAthlete
Facebook: @MadamAthlete
Twitter: @MadamAthlete

Previous Episode

Replay: Finding Sustainability Through Meaningful Work with Physiatrist and Founder of Sports Equity Lab Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu

I'm taking an end of the year break and bringing you some of the top downloaded episodes from the archives. This is episode 96 which originally released May 31st, 2022.
On today’s episode, I’m talking to Physiatrist and Founder of Sports Equity Lab Dr. Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu.

Yetsa is a sports physiatrist and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor at Yale School of Public Health. She is the founding director of the Sports Equity Lab, which focuses on dismantling inequalities in sport while amplifying sport’s role as an agent for positive change.

We talk about:

How learning to direct your focus to multiple pursuits can add meaning to your work.
Applying skills learned through sports, like how to pivot and adapt, to everyday life.
Yetsa’s advice to cherish and prioritize unstructured time as a way to create a sustainable, meaningful life.

Next Episode

undefined - Replay: Creating Your Own Space with Temple’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness, and Performance Stephany Coakley

Replay: Creating Your Own Space with Temple’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness, and Performance Stephany Coakley

Hi friend! It’s Giselle. I’m jumping on here real quick to remind you that I’m taking a break after over three plus years of weekly episodes to rest, reset, and recalibrate. In case you need a little woman in sports career journey wisdom while I’m away, I’ve pulled this episode from the archives.
This conversation with Dr. Stephany Coakley aired in August 2022 and it is one of the most downloaded episodes of all time. So you’re going to love it. I know I did.
Dr. Coakley is still working at Temple University as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness, and Performance. Since the last time we talked she earned the designation of Fellow with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and she was the keynote speaker for the Social Justice through Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium where she gave a talk on “Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: How Sport and Exercise Psychology Practitioners Can Support Athlete Activism.”
Enjoy!
Episode 108:
On today’s episode, I’m talking to certified mental performance consultant Dr. Stephany Coakley about creating your own space.
Stephany works with student-athletes to develop mental health skills as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Mental Health, Wellness and Performance at Temple University. She also works with professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, and beyond through her private practice. On the way to where she is today, Stephany developed her craft by creating her own space, like starting her private practice during grad school so she could start getting experience working with athletes. She also worked with warrior-athletes in the military to help them develop resilience. By creating her own space, she was able to gain experience, grow, and learn, and ultimately serve her higher mission to help people realize their best lives through sport.
We talk about:
●How Stephany came to recognize the burnout she was feeling in the early part of her career and the decision to go back to school to get her PhD.
●How hard it is to break into sports and how she started her private practice to create her own space and build experience in her own way.
●Stephany’s personal mental health practices and the tools she encourages others to have at the ready in times of stress.