Episode 116: Jen Cohen & Chris Petersen

Women Leaders in Sports Podcast

Hello, and welcome to the Women Leaders podcast! I’m Patti Phillips, CEO of Women Leaders in College Sports. For this episode, we’re doing something different! We’ve brought in two incredible leaders - former Women Leaders board member and athletic director at the University of Washington, Jen Cohen, and former UW head football coach, Chris Petersen, and the conversation is powerful. Jen and Coach Petersen are inspiring, seasoned leaders with a strong relationship based on mutual learning - and they share some of their most significant and valuable leadership lessons in this conversation. Jen and Coach P worked together for six years at the University of Washington. During that time, they developed shared goals for the program, reciprocal trust and humility, the ability to anticipate each other’s needs, and fill gaps for one another. All of this stemmed from their willingness to do the work to become self-aware so they could create positive change within themselves and those they lead. Our conversation covers a lot of ground on the topic of leadership from the lens of two leaders, in very different roles, but who were aligned in their belief in the purpose of leadership. We dive deep on everything from the skills Coach P thought made Jen an outstanding football sport supervisor and then athletic director, to the paradox of leadership, the importance of modeling the behaviors you want to see from the people you lead, how to maintain perspective, and how to learn to lead in the storm. There is a ton of great content here, so don’t miss a moment of this inspirational and thought-provoking conversation! And remember, we are Women Leaders!