Toronto Tempo president Teresa Resch takes theScore's leadership Q&A

During Women's History Month in March, theScore is publishing stories that illustrate how women in sports lead, inspire change, and navigate their careers.

The Toronto Tempo are months away from building a roster for their debut WNBA season, but the organization is already assembling a stacked team around president Teresa Resch. Most recently, the franchise announced Serena Williams as part owner, joining Kilmer Sports Ventures chairman Larry Tanenbaum.

"Anytime you get to associate with such greatness, it is incredible," Resch said via email in a follow-up to our conversation for this month's sports leadership Q&A. "We feel very lucky to have the GOAT in our court."

For Resch, working with Williams has also been an opportunity to learn. "Serena brings incredible insights into how to be a champion and compete at the highest level year after year. Even just as our relationship is getting started, I'm really excited to be able to tap into that knowledge to help build the Tempo into the championship team I know it will be," she said.

Part of that is because Williams and Resch's Tempo have aligned values. "Serena exemplifies the very best of what the Tempo stands for, having earned every bit of her incredible success with hard work, tenacity and determination in the face of countless challenges," Resch said. "She’s set the bar for women in sport, business and the world - and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring."

Resch knows a thing or two about competing at the highest level. For 11 seasons she worked in a senior position within the NBA's Toronto Raptors. Her accomplishments include leading the completion of the Raptors' training facility and launching their G League affiliate. Prior to joining the Raptors, Resch worked at the NBA league office to establish international basketball camps as part of the league's efforts to grow worldwide.

Those experiences have shaped her management style, one that Resch is unafraid to examine. After being asked to describe her leadership style, she went a step further and did an informal poll of her team for adjectives that describe the way she leads. "In a short survey, the people that work with me described my leadership style as direct, forthcoming, inclusive, and ambitious," Resch wrote.

Because of her forward-thinking leadership, we've selected Resch for this installment of our Leaders Q&A - a list of personality questions posed to leaders across sport.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

theScore: When were you most fulfilled?

Resch: I'm an operations person at heart, so seeing something tangible and finished is very, very rewarding and fulfilling. Building the Raptors' practice facility or starting Raptors 905, seeing that first tip - super fulfilling. I think as I've advanced in my career, you have less and less of those types of projects that you get a chance to work on.

Recently, I went back to a Raptors game and met with someone that I had been managing. While I was there I'd pushed them to make a change that they didn't want to do. It was really, really difficult at the time. But now he came back to me and said, it's the best thing that I ever did. So, that's really fulfilling to know that you've pushed someone to a place they didn't feel comfortable, and it was painful in the moment, but ultimately, it was really great to see them grow and take on something new that they're good at. To succinctly answer your question: seeing those people around you grow.

theScore: Describe your mindset currently.

Resch: It is definitely like I'm using my GSD degree - get shit done. It's very focused on moving the needle. But the other thing that's on my mind often as we're building this is, how are we building a foundation that can be scalable, that can operationalize for years to come? How are we making sure that we're getting off on the right foot?

theScore: What's the biggest intellectual challenge you've encountered in your career?

Resch: Working in sports, you're in the business of people, and people are so wonderful to work with but also the variables that you have to deal with are way different than if you made widgets or are trying to sell widgets. Inherently, that we're dealing with people comes along with so many considerations and so many variables. Just because something worked in one situation doesn't mean it's going to work the same in the next. You constantly have to be taking in all the different information and knowledge that you have of the people, of the culture, of the place, of the time, and be trying to understand how that's going to impact decision making.

I think it's the part of your brain that's empathy, putting yourself in someone else's shoes, trying to gain perspective of an experience that you've never been in yourself. There's no operations manual for that, right? There is no one way to do things. It's always something that you have to contemplate.

theScore: What's the biggest risk you've taken in your career? Would you say this role is your biggest risk?

Resch: It's probably the biggest risk, but it's also the one that I feel most prepared for. When I left grad school, I moved to New York City to work for the NBA league office. I'd never lived in New York City before. I had no idea how the sports industry worked. That was a risk, but it wasn't as big of a risk because there wasn't as much at stake. I think my lack of information and lack of knowledge going into it probably was the most risky part of it.

This last move from the Raptors, from a very established organization, into a place where we weren't even awarded a team, and we weren't guaranteed anything, was a very big risk because there was so much at stake. But I had a much better understanding of the industry, the marketplace that I was in, and the trajectory of women's sports. My knowledge base was so much more robust in order to make that decision.

theScore: Who do you respect most in the sports business?

Resch: There's those people that I know really, really well and respect them because I know exactly how they work, and I spent countless days and a lot of energy with them. Like Masai (Ujiri) and Bobby (Webster) and Dan (Tolzman) at the Raptors and even people at MLSE. ... I respect those people a lot because I've seen firsthand what they're capable of and how they think.

But then there's those people that you don't know at all but you see some of the moves that they make, and you're really intrigued by how they think. It also helps you continue to be curious. I look at a lot of the venture groups and how they're investing in different areas and how they're seeing what the future is and getting on board before it happens.

theScore: What's something you recently learned from someone below you in your organization?

Resch: This sounds so old, but anything to do with technology. Today, I was like, just need to figure out this Excel sheet. But I think it's also embracing some of the AI like ChatGPT and Copilot and finding efficiencies. It's quite incredible the resources we have available. Those are things that I've learned from the people that are working below me because they're using it every single day, and I'm not utilizing some of those things that didn't exist when I was at that stage.

theScore: What do you think is the most underrated quality in WNBA players today?

Resch: In the W, you only have 12 roster spots. A lot of teams only carry 11. So, the stars and the ones that carry the team - you want to make sure you have one of those, but then the fit of those other players is so important. So, I think underrated is maybe understanding the skill set and having the self-awareness to understand their role in a team. That is probably really, really valuable.

Then just physically, the game is getting bigger and stronger. It's incredible to see the people who are running the point. They're so tall and so strong. It's pretty incredible to see what they're capable of. The athleticism within - I would say that's not really underrated because it's well known, but just to see that continued evolution of the game has been incredible.

theScore: What do you think makes a team iconic?

Resch: First and foremost, winning. I think that teams become iconic because they win, and they consistently perform at a high level. There's also something to be said about traditions and different things - whether in the fandom or the team itself. You buy into part of their ethos and their identity. I think that there are always iconic teams that stand for something that's bigger than themselves. They transcend sport. That's what iconic teams really do.

theScore: You mentioned tradition. With a brand-new team, is that something that you guys are going to be trying to focus on - how to create those traditions and touchpoints?

Resch: Yeah, absolutely. It will be interesting because, as everyone can see, you can't necessarily predict what's going to catch on and become those traditions. But you can build an environment where those things are welcomed and encouraged. That's what we're going to try to do - build an environment on and off the court, within fandom, within communities, within our marketplace, where it's really encouraging people to start their own traditions and see what sticks and what resonates with everyone.

theScore: How do you do that? How do you encourage that? Is it the messaging, or is it activations, or something else?

Resch: It's not really one thing. We don't have it figured out yet either. We're going to be trying a lot of different things, but I guarantee it's not one magic bullet. It's a culmination of a lot of things coming together at one time to kind of capture lightning in a bottle. And what we need to do is just be, like I said, open to it. It's reading the signs, being open to things that are maybe outside of your purview.

theScore: What would you consider the most important aspect of a winning team?

Resch: You can't win without talent. That's just baseline. You have to have enough talent in order to compete at that level. But how you get that talent to achieve a championship - it's a very clear and unified vision, direction, and plan. And maybe one more thing - extreme focus. The ability to shut off all distractions because you can't eliminate them. They're always going to be there, but just be able to be laser-focused on what that vision, direction, and plan is.

theScore: What about off the court? What about on your front-office team?

Resch: I don't think it differs that much. You have to have the talent, right? You can't get to the mountaintop with underperformers. And then you have to have a great alignment and focus on those things that are going to get you to the mountaintop. Make sure there's an identification of what the things that we need to be sending our time and energy on are - versus those things that are not as valuable. There are so many things that we can be doing now. There are not enough hours in a day guaranteed. So, how are we making sure that we're focusing on the things that need our attention the most that can get us to our ultimate goals?

theScore: How would you describe your leadership style?

Resch: I'll say collaborative leadership. I like to talk things through. I like to think about all the different angles and all the different sides. I'm not one to make a direct decision in the moment without processing it or thinking through it.

Also, I don't know the right word for this, but I like to push people outside their comfort zone. Somebody will bring me an idea or something they want to do and I'm going to ask a thousand questions about it for my own curiosity, but then also to hopefully push you in a way that you haven't thought about yet.

I also like to think I'm a joyful leader. I try to have fun. There are a lot of serious points and big decisions that we have to make. But if you're not finding joy in it, then it's not worth doing.

theScore: What's the last good book you read?

Resch: I've been reading more fiction lately, just as an escape. It's been a while since I read it, but "Shantaram" (by Gregory David Roberts) is one that I thought was really, really good. And there's another one called "I Am Pilgrim," (by Terry Hayes). It's been a couple years since I read those, but they really stick in my head as incredible stories.

theScore: What is your motto?

Resch: I don't really have a motto. I would say one thing I definitely believe in - there's no such thing as luck. Luck is just when preparation meets opportunity. I think everybody is seeing that saying everywhere but it's very true. You make your own luck by being prepared and seeking out opportunities.

Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore.