The Can-Do Leader Mindset with Candace Parker

Ellen McGirt (00:00):

You've navigated injury and recovery, complex business relationships. You've had associations with global brands since before you could even drive a car. And the pressure of public scrutiny on your personal and professional life with a balance and a candor that is hard for even the most seasoned leader to muster. And you've learned to use your platform early and often to have important conversations. Everything from pay equity to private equity while playing a key role in helping the WNBA become the powerhouse it is today. We all know what the world can do to talented young people who dazzle and entertain us, but not you. You broke barriers for yourself and others, has long been prepared to discuss the hard truths about bigotry and ignorance, and made sure that girls knew that they could dunk too.

Ellen McGirt (00:52):

And now your greatest achievement to date, you've written a book. This is the only physical version of this book, although it is available for pre-order. The Can-Do Mindset that encapsulates everything that you are about in your signature style. Unflinching, generous, honest. I call it a part memoir, part roadmap, and part leadership manifesto, which means that you should buy many, many copies. Give them to your friends and expense it. Please join me in welcoming once again, Candace Parker, thank you for being here. Thank you so much. Let's dig right in. Why did you write this extraordinary book, which I have read cover to cover?

Candace Parker (01:35):

There's never a perfect time to do anything, and especially as a parent, I always tell my daughter, the time is now, the time is now. And I kept putting it off. But I think I kept putting it off because I wasn't at a place where I felt like my journey was able to be talked about in the way that I speak about my journey in the book. And that's authentically if I'm only sharing a part of the story or half the story or a part of my life, I didn't feel comfortable being able to write something. But also, I think I'm at a place in my life where I can relate to a lot of different people and it not just be about basketball. I've retired and now in the business world and in the studio, I'm a mom. I've been through tough injuries, I've been through a divorce.

Candace Parker (02:24):

I've lost somebody that is near and dear to my heart and my coach. And so I think just from being able to relate to a lot of different people and not just in the sorrows, but also in the joys, being able to celebrate and reflect on the journey that has gotten me to this place. So it was a labor of love. I think it's part therapeutic. When you're writing a book, you ask yourself so many questions and there's always forks in the road, but I kind of led with truth and I hope all of you all will buy it for your aunties, your moms, your cousins, and your fathers and brothers and all of them.

Ellen McGirt (03:00):

We're going to be moving some merch today.

Candace Parker (03:01):

Yes.

Ellen McGirt (03:03):

So can-do is the mindset. I want to dig into that in a second, but it's also your name. Tell us how you got that name.

Candace Parker (03:08):

Growing up, I had two brothers that are eight and 11 years older than me. My oldest brother played 10 years in the NBA. He was teammates with this guy named LeBron James in Cleveland. I dunno if you guys know him. And my middle brother Marcus is a doctor. And so people come up to him all the time and they're like, what happened to you? And I'm like, he's a doctor. He's a doctor, but he's apparently the black sheep in the family. But I grew up watching them excel at every single thing that they did and I was almost overwhelmed. And my mom growing up, my parents shortened my name as Candace. So they'd call me can, and every time she would see me doubt myself because I didn't feel like I was great enough or as good as my brother, she would always tell me, can-do.

Candace Parker (03:55):

And it kind of became something that her voice turned into my own. And then it started standing for the acronym of community, authenticity, dealing with negativity, enjoying the dash, which is the journey between the start and the finish, and seizing and creating opportunity. And so that's kind of the way that I live my life. I feel like it's gotten me through tying my shoes. It's gotten me through dunking a basketball. It's gotten me through the toughest parts of continuing to try to be true to who I am and who I was when I was little.

Ellen McGirt (04:30):

So let's dig into the stories and the framework that you share because it's a leadership and business book. Yes. But really it's a love letter to possibility. You, basketball is obviously a team sport, but you spend a lot of time talking about the various communities that you were part of or that you stumbled upon or who welcomed you, who were part of your success. Can you share a couple of examples of where community really made a difference for you?

Candace Parker (04:56):

I come from, honestly, I'm so grateful for the family that I come from and my mom and dad were always the ones that even when the world wasn't like, “Hey, girls can play sports” or “Hey, girls should go out there and be competitive,” my parents were the ones that opened my eyes to the fact that I shouldn't be any different in the way that I approach things as my brothers. And so I just think that the foundation of who I am starts with that. It starts with my dad where I was the tallest kid on the floor and my coach just wanted to put me by the basket. My dad saying, “no, she's going to learn how to dribble. She's going to learn how to shoot. She's going to learn how to pass.” It's my mom being okay with me coming in with my stockings all messed up from beating all the boys at kickball, at recess.

Candace Parker (05:45):

I just am really grateful for them setting the tone of not putting me in a box. And I know a lot of young girls had to fight to just be included or just have a seat at the table and we're still facing that today. But having a foundation that doesn't limit my potential, limit what I'm capable of, and doesn’t, is unapologetic. I think as a young girl, when I went out into the world, college was my first experience of not having the world tell me that I could do or be anything I wanted to. Like be strong but not too strong. You don't want to look too muscular, be competitive, but don't yell because that just looks crazy. But my parents and my brothers, they've always encouraged me to be Candace. And because of that then, whenever I walk into spaces, whether it's a business meeting, my voice may tremble, but I know that I have to hold my shoulders back and I should be there and I deserve to be there. And so I think that comes from just the community I grew up with and it's carrying over to the community that now I'm creating with my friends, being a mom of three now, it's just everything that I do is as a result of them.

Ellen McGirt (06:56):

So speaking of family, we're going to move to the next part of the mindset, which is authenticity. This is where community gets really personal. You've had to navigate some extraordinarily personal decisions that affected your career and family, becoming a young mom the first time, and then navigating love and all the complexities of falling in love and declaring your love with your wife Anya. Could you talk a little bit about how you've been able to navigate being authentic when there was so much at stake?

Candace Parker (07:30):

It's so crazy because I'm a history buff and I look at the times of history and how we look back at even the eighties and nineties and movies and the way that they speak is how we probably wouldn't speak today. And how we live our lives and today, we shy away from authenticity because of the ways of the world now. And now athletes having babies and mothers and now there's all of these other avenues and support and there's a CBA in the WNBA that there's paid leave. When I was pregnant with my daughter, if you're away from the court, you don't get paid. I had to buy out sharing a room because I had to bring my mom with me to watch my daughter because I was nursing. So I think it was just navigating the times of how they were and not letting it impact of, impact who I am and who I want to be.

Candace Parker (08:26):

I always have always wanted to be a mom. That is my favorite job in my entire life. And at 22 years old, it's sad and an experience that I could not wait to have, the first thought was what is everybody else going to think? And so throughout those experiences now looking back and looking how time has passed and young girls that are having kids and playing and throughout their career, you look at Serena Williams and what she was able to accomplish coming back after having her daughter. You look at Allyson Felix who is unbelievable. You look at a KerriWalsh. So there's all these athletes that have shown that we can do it. And I just wish that the world didn't always have to work that way, where we live in a world that in order to be it, you have to see it. And so just early on, I operated in a way that if it wasn't there, it doesn't mean it's not possible. And so if it's my responsibility to create that for somebody else, and so I just think it's not living in the times, if that makes sense.

Ellen McGirt (09:32):

It makes perfect sense. And I believe if I have this right, that you're the only professional athlete who was in a huddle arguing with your coach while you were nursing.

Candace Parker (09:41):

Yes, at halftime. So I nursed my daughter for 15 months and because I grew up with a mom that was a stay at home mom, and the image that I had of a mother was somebody that was at all of my concerts that was even there when I had one line in a play. My mom was front and center.

Ellen McGirt (10:00):

Yeah

Candace Parker (10:01):

So it really impacted the way that I saw myself as a mom. And so my daughter went everywhere with me and in the locker room she was hungry and I had to nurse. So I'm arguing about pick and roll coverages with Michael Cooper and I'm nursing.

Ellen McGirt (10:15):

Arguing. But that's the other piece of it that I think is so extraordinary with all the athletes that you mentioned. Now we have the CBA, now it seems normal because every one of you, including you, fought for it, which is an unusual, that's an extra burden, extra added labor that we're asking people who are already so excellent and working so hard to stay healthy and to continue to entertain and delight us. Which brings me to the end. Negativity. You make a very, athletes are no stranger to pain. And you in particular have been through your share, but you draw a very important distinction between the pain of excellence and actual negativity that lives around you and that you have to understand and embrace it if you want to have a big life. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because you seem to have taken it head on at a very early age and just gotten better at it as time went on.

Candace Parker (11:03):

Negativity is a part of life and the more we shield ourselves for it, from it, I think the lesser we're equipped to deal with it. My job as a mom is not to shelter my kids from the hard stuff because I think later on you'll be more equipped to succeed. I mean, any type of success comes with negativity, setbacks, and we were just talking about resilience in the back. It's so important because from a young age, my first setback, I love basketball more than anything. It was my first love in everything I did. I would sacrifice whatever. And I tore my ACL when I was 17 years old and went through that rehab with a great attitude. Obviously it hurt, but with a great attitude. Then the next year I arrive at University of Tennessee and I have to have another total knee reconstruction. And I kept being hung up on the fact that it's not fair.

Candace Parker (12:05):

Why do they get to go out and play basketball pain free? And I have to be rehabbing on the sideline. And I think sometimes instead of focusing on the circumstance, let's focus on how we're going to get through it. And there's a point that I talk about in the book where I am still hung up on the unfairness of life and why is this that I'm not able to achieve my dreams? And I've had 13 knee surgeries and two foot surgeries, one shoulder surgery, and I just, I've always loved basketball and I've always tried to get back on the court as fast as I could. And there's a point in the book where I'm doing everything I can to shield and hide my emotions and try to navigate life and disappointment. And I'm on my crutches on my way to class and I literally fall and slip in the rain and I'm laying there and the rain is pelting me in the face.

Candace Parker (12:59):

And you know when you reach that breaking point where you're just like, you're done. And it's like I quit. I give up, I'm done if I don't play basketball. But I picked myself up and I got up and I went to class. And then when we hung the national championship banner, I still remembered that moment. And so I say all that to say that I think when you reach the success, you realize it's really the pain that got you there. It's really getting up, putting one foot in front of the other, thank you. And you can have great people around you, but you have to pick yourself up. You have to commit to doing the work. You have to have the passion and the energy and the drive. And it's not when you're cutting down nets, it's, I have tears when I'm cutting down nets because of that and all the energy and effort and sacrifice you put into it. So I think that's the main thing when it comes to dealing with adversity. Adversity doesn't build, it builds character, but it reveals it as well.

Ellen McGirt (14:04):

Yeah, we need to think about that more, today more than ever. The dash part was really delightful and a surprise, the joy between the beginning and the end. You just retired really quickly. Could you look back on your career? What was the big joy? Was there anything you would do differently?

Candace Parker (14:22):

The joy was the journey of every day falling in love with the process. And I don't say that lightly. I miss going out on the court and just form shooting. Or going out on the court and I know it's crazy, but you know that feeling when you get yourself up in the morning and you didn't want to work out, but then you finish the workout and you're so proud of yourself.

Ellen McGirt (14:45):

Yes

Candace Parker (14:45):

I miss that feeling

Ellen McGirt (14:46):

Sometimes I know the feeling.

Candace Parker (14:48):

I miss that feeling of looking around the locker room and you guys just won a big game and you're looking at everybody that contributed in whatever different way. I think the biggest regret that I have in my career is also the reason why I was able to do what I did in my career was I kept moving the goalpost. So you know when you accomplish something and then you are like, well, I want to do this, and I wish I would've taken the moments a little bit more, and it was always, I thought winning a championship would satisfy the hunger, but really it just made it bigger. It made me want more. It made me want seconds and thirds and fourths. And so I wish I would've taken the moment and really been like, this is really cool.

Ellen McGirt (15:35):

That's important. That's important to really stop and pause and think it through and feel it and experience it as what it is. So, oh, we're going to end with, oh, the opportunity that's, you just have clearly been this person. You're looking for opportunities for yourself and others. What is your best advice for the leaders in this room? Thinking through the mindset and what you've touched on today for continuing to look for opportunities for others when there's just so much noise in the world right now,

Candace Parker (16:04):

What's really hard to do is to check your perception. And I say that we are sitting in a world now where we're looking at women's basketball through a whole nother lens and through a whole nother light. But y'all, it's been pretty exciting for a while. So I don't know if it's changed. I think it's just the lens for what we're looking through, it has changed. And I think it goes across the board within leadership, within opportunity. You look at the impact sports has had on women in business. 97% of C-suite women in business played a team sport. It's not by accident. And so I think just when in creating these opportunities and seizing these opportunities, we have to figure out through which lens we're looking at it and check ourselves and our perceptions at the door. People are going to lead different. That's just the reality of it. And it doesn't mean that it's worse or better or whatever. I mean, look at the NBA now. They thought that young coaches couldn't succeed. Now almost two thirds of the coaches are under 45 years old. So I just think that we as humans in creating those opportunities, have to realize what our own misconceptions are and also not allow the time to be the judgment. The time is now. I'm tired of firsts in the year 2025.

Ellen McGirt (17:30):

Hello.

Candace Parker (17:30):

Tired of it being the first. Really, it's just about opportunity. It's about being seen, it's about being poured into, and it's about having the resources. And so I just would encourage everyone to be for someone else what you needed when you were growing up. To be for somebody else, thank you, because I'm so grateful for my parents instilling my mindset, because that's the main thing in achievement is your mindset going into it. And I think everything else is not as important. And so be that for someone else. And I think you can set them up for a huge amount of success.

Ellen McGirt (18:12):

That is the perfect, I hate to let you go, but that's the perfect place to end. Let's have your voice be in our head like your mom's and Pat Summitt was in your head as well. So thank you so much for being here. Good luck.