Meet
KATE JOHNSON
Kate Johnson is an Olympic medalist, Executive leader, Cancer survivor, and Influential women's sports advocate. Her story is one of relentless pursuit. With a wealth of experience, Kate's diverse leadership draws on lessons learned navigating adversity, building resilience, and galvanizing teams around a common vision.
WHAT IS
THE ATHLETIC IMPACT
The athletic impact lives within all of us. It is a crucible that forges resilience, teaches teamwork, and drives reinvention. It is understanding that the best version of ourselves is a constant work in progress. That the legacy of who we are is determined by how we show up when no one is watching. It's having a vision, backed by goals, backed by daily incremental actions towards improvement. It is the unspoken understanding that we are what we repeatedly do. That learning to fail is essential in learning how to rise. And that there would be no adventure without a healthy dose of uncertainty.
INTRODUCTION
I wrote, “I will compete in the Olympics” in black permanent ink. I was 13 and had been rowing for just 2 weeks.
In 1995 Nike launched a campaign called “ If You Let Me Play.” As an eager young rower it was the first time a brand made me feel seen. The campaign reminded me that my participation in sports meant I would be more likely to take risks, more likely to follow through, and more likely to accomplish my dreams. That summer I took out a black permanent marker and penned my dream of becoming an Olympian. 12 years later I was an Olympic medalist, World Champion and World Record Holder.
I LIVED AS THOUGH I WAS AN OLYMPIAN RATHER THAN TRYING TO BECOME ONE
6 months before the Olympics my coach asked me whether I saw myself making the team. I took a deep breath, answered yes and then asked my coach’s opinion. He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I think, only what you believe.” So, I took out the pen once again, and made signs that said, ‘I am in the 2004 Olympic Women's Eight.’ I chose the word ‘Relentless’ to define how I would make the team. I plastered the signs all over my bedroom, so they’d be the first and last things I saw every day.
I spent the following months visualizing myself as a member of the 2004 Olympic rowing team, which included acting the part of a leader who was totally committed to my team’s success. Not only did I make the team, but as we launched for our Olympic final, my coach went down to the boat shaking everyone's hand before sending us off. When he came to me, he said, “Kate, you’ve earned every square inch of the seat you’re sitting on. You were absolutely relentless.” He used my word ‘relentless'.
The truth is nothing in life is quite as clear or straightforward as chasing an Olympic dream.
“THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW WAS TO BEGIN AGAIN, BRINGING A NOVICE MENTALITY TO THIS NEW CHAPTER OF MY LIFE.”
You can never connect the dots looking forward only looking back
TAKING WHAT SPORTS TAUGHT ME
Now, as a two-time Adweek ‘Most Powerful Women in Sports’ executive, a WISE Woman of the Year and a Sports Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient, I’ve learned that passion for what we do has a lot to do with how we bring ourselves to ‘the work’ we do. Whether it's figuring out ways to better our best on the athletic field, or building off the learnings of the last project to make the current work better, the athlete in all of us thrives when we know where our focus needs to be.
As former Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing at Visa and now as Global Marketing Director at Google, I’ve learned that the trajectory of my success has everything to do with whether or not I find ways to grow in a particular role. Similar to my Olympic training, the more comfortable I am being uncomfortable, challenging myself to grow and refine my skills,, the more success I continually see. By focusing less on the outcome and instead by focusing on the opportunities and projects that give me energy, the more the opportunities to grow present themselves.
