We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin King. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.

Kevin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is something I’m building right now — Styled to Lead, a TCLP art exhibit planned for fall 2026.

I’ve been developing TCLP for about a year and a half, and the heart of the work has always been this idea that leadership is art. That belief shaped our campaigns — from Where Do You Listen?, a multi‑generational, fashion‑forward photography campaign with everyday listening prompts like in the car or on a walk. Two of the models are twins, which became a subtle metaphor for the Twin Cities–the same, yet uniquely their own. Then the Every Leader Has a Place. What’s Yours?, a community activation that grew out of our Hidden Gems flagship segment and invited people across the Twin Cities to share the places that ground them and make this community special.

Styled to Lead brings all of that together for the first time in a physical space. It’s a curated experience that blends leadership, style, photography, and community — not as separate pieces, but as one cultural story. It’s meaningful because it represents the evolution of TCLP from a podcast into a creative direction practice, and now into an art‑driven experience that lives beyond the screen.

It’s also personal — having the chance to honor the leaders, founders, athletes, and creatives who shaped the community and helped define the identity of TCLP is meaningful.

Kevin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m the Founder and Creative Director of TCLP, a sport management professor at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, a leadership consultant, model, and high school tennis coach. My work lives at the intersection of identity, leadership, and creative expression. Each role gives me a different lens into how people move through the world — how they communicate, how they make decisions, and how they show up. That multidimensional background is what ultimately shaped the creative direction of TCLP.

TCLP has evolved into a space that explores who leaders are, not what they do. I’m drawn to the emotional intelligence behind leadership — the lived experiences, the internal conflicts, the identity work, and the deeply human (and sometimes flawed) moments that shape how people lead. Over time, the podcast evolved into a cultural storytelling brand because I realized I wasn’t interested in leadership as instruction. I was interested in leadership as a lived, felt, expressive experience.

What sets me apart is that I challenge the idea that leadership can be reduced to steps, formulas, or checklists. I don’t believe you become a leader by following a script–I let leadership reveal itself through the stories, emotions, and lived experiences of my guests. My work debunks the notion that leadership is abstract or prescriptive; instead, it shows leadership as something human, creative, and rooted in identity.

I’m most proud that TCLP has grown far beyond audio. It has become a full lifestyle and media brand grounded in emotional intelligence and creative direction — producing campaigns, editorial photography, and now a curated art experience that brings these ideas into physical form. TCLP has become a place where leadership is seen as art, culture, and community, and where people can recognize themselves in the stories of others.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience, for me, has been about believing in my point of view even when it felt unconventional. When I entered the podcast and leadership space, I knew I was stepping into an oversaturated market — one dominated by corporate voices, frameworks, and instruction. I wanted something different. I wanted to hear from the voices you rarely hear in leadership conversations: Gen Zers, athletes, founders, entrepreneurs, and entertainers whose lived experiences reveal leadership in ways textbooks never could. I believed leadership was art, and I wanted to build a platform that reflected that.

Trusting that instinct took resilience. I had to move from idea to execution quickly, without letting doubt slow me down or allowing negative thoughts to reshape the vision. Redefining leadership — shifting it away from titles and tactics and toward identity, emotion, and humanity — was intimidating. It meant challenging a narrative that had been accepted for decades. But resilience showed up in my willingness to be scared and still move forward.

What kept me grounded was the belief that leadership is found in real stories, not in instruction. That conviction helped me differentiate TCLP in a crowded space and stay committed to a perspective that felt true to who I am. Resilience, for me, has been the ability to trust my voice, honor my instincts, and build something that reflects the art, emotion, and lived experience of leadership.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey is to redefine how leadership is seen, felt, and experienced. I want people to understand that leadership isn’t a title or a checklist — it’s a lived expression of identity, emotion, and purpose. Through TCLP, I’m focused on creating space for voices that aren’t always centered in leadership conversations: Gen Zers, athletes, founders, entrepreneurs, artist, and entertainers whose stories reveal leadership in its most human form.

My goal is to continue building TCLP as a cultural storytelling brand that connects leadership to art, community, and emotional intelligence. I want to show that leadership can be cinematic, creative, and deeply personal — something you can see and feel, not just read about in a textbook. Every campaign, every conversation, and every collaboration is designed to move leadership out of theory and into lived experience.

Ultimately, my mission is to help people recognize the art in how they lead and the culture that grows when leadership is expressed with authenticity. TCLP is about shifting the narrative — from instruction to inspiration, from hierarchy to humanity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.premierteambuildingsolutions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twincitiesleaders/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-king-m-a-28b59925/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kevinking-29?si=3KtJcfvMCIqFEccL

Image Credits

Ben Saefke, James Hollingsworth, and Dan Robler