ReThinking: Breaking leadership barriers with hockey coach Jessica Campbell - Worklife with Adam Grant Recap

Podcast: Worklife with Adam Grant

Published: 2026-03-17

Guests: Jessica Campbell

What Happened

Jessica Campbell has made history as the first full-time female assistant coach in NHL history, working with the Seattle Kraken. Her journey to this groundbreaking position is rooted in her childhood experiences growing up in the Canadian prairies, where she often found herself as the only girl on boys' hockey teams. This early exposure to being a minority in her field shaped her unique perspective on leadership.

Jessica's coaching philosophy prioritizes listening, lifting, and loving, with an emphasis on building genuine human relationships. Inspired by her mother, who played college hockey and coached a boys' team, Jessica learned to focus on the standards of excellence and psychological safety for her players. Her approach includes showing players clips of their successful performances to encourage improvement.

Despite facing skepticism and closed doors, Jessica remained focused on her passion and the impact she could make, rather than conforming to traditional expectations. NHL player Brent Seabrook once encouraged her by predicting that she would coach in the NHL, which motivated her to persist in her ambitions. Jessica also rejects the notion that she should be complacent simply because she has reached the NHL, advocating instead for continual growth and contribution.

Jessica's leadership style is informed by research, including a meta-analysis by Kluger and Denisi, which found no overall difference in effectiveness between positive and negative feedback. She believes feedback is most effective when it focuses on tasks and behaviors rather than personal attributes. Additionally, Karen Knowlton's research suggests that a strong sense of belonging with a group motivates individuals to break barriers.

The episode touches on the unique challenges women face in leadership roles, particularly the need to establish warmth and care to express disappointment without negative judgment. Jessica notes that men do not face the same challenges and that there is a psychological cost to being a trailblazer, as research by Ashley Rosette indicates that negative judgments of female leaders dissipate at higher levels of hierarchy.

Jessica has experienced positive interactions with professional players, while her negative experiences often occurred with junior players. This dichotomy highlights the varying levels of acceptance and support across different levels of the sport. The discussion also references Olympic figure skating, where going first is advantageous if one is competent, paralleling the idea that competence makes it easier to be a trailblazer.

The episode concludes with insights from research by Amy Rezneski, which found that leaders prone to guilt are more effective because they are driven by the anticipation of guilt and the desire not to let their team down. This guilt fosters a servant leadership style characterized by caring coaching and meticulous planning. Givers, as opposed to takers, are less likely to become complacent, as they anticipate gratitude and worry about the potential for guilt.

Key Insights