Worklife with Adam Grant
Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird on leading great teams and moving on
Apr 1, 2025
Megan Rapinoe, an Olympic gold medalist and FIFA's best soccer player, joins her partner, Sue Bird, a basketball legend with five Olympic golds and four WNBA championships. Together, they share insights on building great teams, drawing parallels between sports and work. They open up about their retirement journeys, the emotional challenges of stepping away from competition, and finding new purposes in life. The duo also discusses leadership in women’s sports and the importance of character over competence, all while fusing humor into their conversation.
42:13
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Quick takeaways
- Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird emphasize the importance of redefining personal identity and seeking new fulfillment after retiring from sports.
- They discuss the complexities of team leadership, highlighting the need for open communication and trust to foster a cohesive environment.
Deep dives
The Journey From Sports to Retirement
The transition from active sports to retirement often poses significant challenges for elite athletes. The sense of identity tied to their careers can make it difficult to let go, leading to an internal conflict between their past accomplishments and the realities of aging and physical decline. Athletes like Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird discuss how the end of their careers prompted them to confront feelings of unfulfillment and dissatisfaction, particularly when they realized they were no longer performing at their peak level. Navigating this change requires not just accepting a loss of identity but also redefining one's purpose and finding new avenues for growth and fulfillment.
