Power Women: The NFL Network’s Taylor Bisciotti On How To Successfully Navigate Work, Love and Life (2024)

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Taylor Bisciotti: Wiki, Bio, Age, Height, Parents, Boyfriend, Net Worth

Don’t ever give anyone a reason to question you. Know the sport or subject you are talking about inside out. Be so over prepared that your knowledge on a topic can’t ever be questioned.

How does a successful, strong, and powerful woman navigate work, employee relationships, love, and life in a world that still feels uncomfortable with strong women? In this interview series, called “Power Women” we are talking to accomplished women leaders who share their stories and experiences navigating work, love and life as a powerful woman.

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Taylor Bisciotti.

NFL Network’s hottest on-air reporter, Taylor Bisciotti is tackling all sides of the entertainment industry — as a fashionista and football fanatic. The fearless female leader in sports, has already made her mark as the youngest on-air talent the NFL Network has ever hired. As a journalist, she is shaping the world of sports reporting by not only telling fans tales of triumph on the turf, but also the unique stories behind the players. Taylor’s playbook is chalk-full of formations that are shaping women empowerment in the field of sports and the connections between players and fans that stem from them.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia with my older brother, Kyle. Went to the Lovett School and onto the University of Georgia. I graduated with a bachelor degree from the Terry Business School for Marketing, as well as a bachelor degree in Digital and Broadcast Journalism from the Grady College of Journalism. I moved out to Los Angeles 6 years ago to take a job with NFL Network.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Oh gosh, you know how they say no two paths are ever the same? That definitely holds true for me! I was an accounting major (yes, I don’t even do my own taxes now). I was sitting in my final month of college before deciding on one of the big accounting firms and and I just remember thinking to myself “why am I doing this?! I don’t even like accounting”

In that class in April, I applied to every news & sports internship I could find. I ended up interning at WUSA9, the CBS affiliate in DC for hard news. The 11 pm newscast. I knew I didn’t want to be a hard news reporter but I figured if I could just get myself in the door, I can try and surround myself with the sports department as much as possible so that’s what I did. At the end of the internship, my parents said if you really want to do this you need to go back to school for broadcast journalism. Luckily, UGA has the most incredible journalism school so that’s what I did.

In my final semester of college I started working for ESPNU campus connection and that’s what really helped land me my first major network job after college.

I knew I loved sports — -I grew up a die hard football fan. Both NFL and College football. I went to an SEC school so every weekend consisted of college football on Satudays and NFL football on Sundays.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share an example?

Kind, hardworking and compassionate. Perseverance and hardworking fall into the same category and this is one I can absolutely talk about — — don’t give up!! I can’t tell you how many times I was told “no” and continue to get told “no”. Whether it be for a job, story, whatever it may be. Just when you think you want to give up, keep going. My favorite quote: “It doesn’t matter how many no’s preceded it, you only need one “yes” to make your dreams happen”

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. The premise of this series assumes that our society still feels uncomfortable with strong women. Why do you think this is so?

Cue one of my favorite quotes: “The way people treat you is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves.” If someone is uncomfortable around you because you are a strong, independent woman then they probably aren’t the person you should surround yourself with.

What should a powerful woman do in a context where she feels that people are uneasy around her?

I always say- women have to work so much harder to earn a seat at the table. Especially in a field like sports broadcasting. No one ever questions it when a male talks about football (whether they actually played or not) but there always seems to be questions and dismissal when a woman shares her thoughts, opinions and perspective on it.

Don’t ever give anyone a reason to question you. Know the sport or subject you are talking about inside out. Be so over prepared that your knowledge on a topic can’t ever be questioned.

And if at that point, people still judge, so be it. Know that it’s their own personal issue and not yours. You don’t need to give them a second thought. You can hold your head high and be confident knowing you deserved and earned your seat at the table.

What do we need to do as a society to change the unease around powerful women?

This might sound odd, but the biggest change that I think women need to make is amongst each other first. Why are we tearing one another down? It is SO important to build each other up. Powerful women EMPOWER one another. We need to stop viewing and seeing each other as competition and start seeing a woman’s accomplishment as a win for all of us. We are not each others competition, we need to be each others cheerleaders and biggest advocates.

In my own experience, I have observed that often women have to endure ridiculous or uncomfortable situations to achieve success that men don’t have to endure. Do you have a story like this from your own experience? Can you share it with us?

I could talk about this one for DAYS! I’ll narrow it down to only one example though so I don’t bore you. First, why is it that every time a female is on-air the first thing that someone comments on is their appearance? Shouldn’t they be critiqued for what they are saying rather than what they look like? That’s something I will never understand.

But I remember there was a day when I was on air- and I was talking about a story that involved a death. When a death is involved, whether you are on-air or in person having a conversation it’s not usually one where there is smiling. I’ll never forget- we went to a commercial break and I looked down at my phone and saw a message from one of my bosses that said “Can you please smile more? You look miserable”

I have no words to even explain why this is so frustrating and unprofessional but it’s also a perfect example of how a man would never be told to “smile more”. People are concerned with what he is saying, not with how they look and if they are smiling.

I DO want to play the devil’s advocate with this question. To all the female readers- it is so important to portray yourself the way you want to be treated. I do sideline reporting so after the game, I’m in the locker room with the players. I can truly say that I have never been treated with disrespect by the players and coaches because I carry myself in a professional way, wear conservative clothes, and don’t engage in conversations that I don’t want to be a part of. I think this holds true for both men and women…portray yourself and carry yourself how you want to be treated. If you are dressed for a night club, that’s how people are going to treat you. Demand the respect you deserve by coming across that way.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by women leaders that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

Expectations and pressure on females will always be higher when you’re in a male-dominated industry. That’s just the way it is. Viewers are definitely going to be more forgiving if a male makes a mistake on air than if a female were to. I try and focus on the things I can control. I can’t control other people or their opinions. I work hard, I over prepare, and I try to be the best version of myself I can be because those are the things I CAN control.

Let’s now shift our discussion to a slightly different direction. This is a question that nearly everyone with a job has to contend with. Was it difficult to fit your personal and family life into your business and career? For the benefit of our readers, can you articulate precisely what the struggle was?

I’m very lucky with this- my family is a big sports and football family so the fact that this is what I do for a living fits perfectly with them. I grew up in a sports family. It’s always felt like the universal language of our family and it’s part of our fabric.

The biggest struggle is just having to miss out on so much. Whether I’m hosting a show on Sundays or at a game reporting, my weekends during the season are 100% dedicated to work. I prepare all day Saturday for Sundays shows/game and am working all day Sunday. Weekends are not for living during the season, they are for working so I do miss a lot of monumental events. There are so many weddings and birthdays I will never be able to get back but that just comes with the territory. Both of my parents have been incredibly supportive and understanding with this. I had the opportunity to cover the Saints/Bills game on Thanksgiving this year so had to miss our family Thanksgiving — I could tell my mom was bummed but above all she was so excited and proud of me for getting that game. It was a surreal moment for me because every Thanksgiving I watch the NFL games with my family — -felt like I was living a dream to be covering the game. I remember walking to the Stadium in New Orleans that Thursday thinking “wow, if only I could tell my 22 year old self I would be doing this. I don’t think she would believe me”

What was a tipping point that helped you achieve a greater balance or greater equilibrium between your work life and personal life? What did you do to reach this equilibrium?

I’m laughing at this question because this is something I still struggle with all the time! I grew up on the east coast and live in Los Angeles now so it is not easy to make it home for a lot. I’ve missed more of my best friends’ birthdays and weddings than I’ve been able to attend. I think a lot of that just comes with the job. I work on Sundays- it’s the biggest day of the week for me so it’s not possible to make it back for everything. My biggest piece of advice for this or for those who struggle with this is to just try to be present wherever you are. With social media it’s hard to not feel like you are missing out but if you focus on staying present with the people you are with that’s the most important thing you can do. Your family and friends understand that work comes first and if they don’t then maybe they weren’t your true friends to begin with.

I work in the beauty tech industry, so I am very interested to hear your philosophy or perspective about beauty. In your role as a powerful woman and leader, how much of an emphasis do you place on your appearance? Do you see beauty as something that is superficial, or is it something that has inherent value for a leader in a public context? Can you explain what you mean?

I love makeup and beauty products! Who doesn’t!? They help make you feel beautiful but full disclosure, I try not to become overly obsessed with it. It sounds cliché but sometimes it’s hard to feel beautiful when you’re wearing TV-makeup 5 days a week. When you take it off, you’re like “oh my gosh I look so different and couldn’t look as good as I did with all that professional makeup on!” It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole where you become overly critical of yourself. Don’t get me wrong, I still love beauty products, but I try and remind myself that it’s OKAY to not look perfect all the time and that it’s important to love yourself makeup-free too.

Do I wish I was a guy most mornings? ABSOLUTELY. I would love to get out of the shower and be ready for the day. Think of how much time we would save?

But the biggest lesson or piece of advice I have for women is something my dad has instilled in me since I was a little girl. Beauty comes and goes, what matters is what’s inside. Beauty doesn’t make you stand out. What makes you stand out is your brain and heart.

How is this similar or different for men?

Men have it easier because they don’t have hair and makeup like females do but fun fact: men on TV do in fact wear makeup! They usually have 15 minutes in the makeup chair opposed to female on air talent who are in the chair for an hour! Men usually just wear concealer and powder. The lighting is brutal on tv sets if you don’t!

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Powerful Woman?” (Please share a story or example for each.)

• Perseverance: Nothing that is worth it comes easy. Be willing to be told “no” 10,000 times and not let it discourage you. What makes someone stand out is the ability to be told “no” and to keep going. Chase those dreams.
• Kind: It is so important to treat everyone with respect and be kind. It costs nothing to be kind to someone. Life is short and karma is real :)
• Perspective: This is something that I struggle with “in the moment”. When you feel like everything is going wrong and falling apart around you, take a step back and realize what’s bothering you today likely won’t matter in 5 years. I go on walks by the water to help me with this (or talk to my dad). He’s the most level-headed, even-keeled person I’ve ever met. He listens and then approaches every situation with a calm, understanding response but also forces me to see the bigger picture. He’s taught me to approach things in a pragmatic way rather than an emotional one.
• Close circle: I can’t stress how important this is. You are only as good as your support system. Keep your circles close and cherish and nurture the relationships that matter the most. For me, it’s my family and a handful of friends. I know that I can trust them with anything. It’s really easy to be someone’s friend and support system when things are going great, but pay attention to who is there for you when things aren’t. Those should be the only relationships worth caring about.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

Sara Blakely- the founder of spanx! She is so fascinating to me. Talk about someone who literally chased her dreams when no one else believed in her. I love her story and success.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.