Australian Sports Commission’s Post

Please take the time to consider how Anna Meares pulled this off so well. Personally I will use this as a great case study when facilitating discussion around effective leadership

A small insight into our 6Nations preparation. Thanks to Leaders in Sport for the time.

On the eve of the Olympics, it seems a great time to revisit the story of Roger Banister and how one person breaking barriers can means they tumble for others too! Most people know the story of Roger Bannister, who, on May 6, 1954, became the first man through the four-minute barrier mile with a time of three minutes, fifty-nine and four-tenths of a second. Until then, many people believed that was impossible. However, once that impossible milestone was passed by one, others soon followed. Just 46 days Bannister’s race, John Landy, an Australian runner, broke the barrier again, with a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds. Then, just a year later, three runners broke the four-minute barrier in a single race. As of June 2022, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,755 athletes, a barrier that had once been considered physically impossible. The key was that when Bannister broke the mark, even his most ardent rivals saw it could be done, they did it too. What lesson can we take for business?  Well, what goes for runners goes for leaders running organisations. When an entrepreneur or an innovator changes the game, the barrier thought to be unreachable instead becomes a benchmark, something for others to aim for. We can look at what they did and aim to reach the same heights. OK everyone knows Bannister and not the 786th man to break the 4-minute mile but whoever that was reached achieved the same result, quite possibly better, the current world record is 3:43.13. That’s Roger Bannister’s true legacy and lesson for all of us. Demonstrating that the role of leadership is doing things that haven’t been done before. Then that we can observe what others achieve and by replicating their lessons get results we once believed to be impossible.

https://lnkd.in/gztRm6dG Sport is a workplace for many people. AFL included. Decision-making is an important component of all workplaces. First of all congratulations to the Brisbane Lions Now to the Sydney Swans I don’t doubt their preparation was as good as it could have been. How would I know otherwise anyway? If Sydney want to avoid the same outcome next time they arrive on grand final day I suggest they do the following. I have sent similar suggestions to the Swans over several years and have received no engagement – so maybe they are doing what I am about to suggest and maybe they are not. With or without the ball players make deliberate and conscious decisions about what they do on the field (and off it for that matter – but let’s leave that for the moment). Players do not just kick a ball without thinking. They make a decision to do so. Players decide whether to get to the contest or not. Whether to chase. Whether to keep an eye on the player/space they are guarding in the centre of the field or not. And for every decision they will have a reason or reasons. I don’t know what their decisions were or their reasons during the Grand Final, but they do. A pressure rating of 1.6 or thereabouts is a consequence of decisions made by players. Kicking a ball while under little pressure into forward space and mostly into the arms of a Brisbane player is a deliberate decision (not the outcome – just the decision). Now sometimes the decision is fine but the execution is not (and again there will be reasons for that too). I suggest every Swans player from the Grand Final: # write down three decisions they made which had poor outcomes (maybe one with the ball or all without – it does not matter) # for each decision write down the reason (or reasons) they made that decision. Do this as part of their review on Monday. The coaching staff need to review all those decisions and speak with the player about them. Then take a leaf out of Chris Fagan’s playbook. Put all these decisions + reasons into an envelope and set them aside as a time capsule. If they get to the GF again they should open those envelopes and refresh their thinking. This suggestion is not about making better decisions. You can’t go back and anyway each decision is unique. It is about learning about yourself as a player and becoming better. And getting better outcomes. Declaration: I spoke with a member of the Brisbane Lions coaching staff several years ago about analysing decision-making and the benefits of doing so. I received a good hearing and they trialled what I suggested and decided they could do these things internally. All power to them. I do not know if the Lions analyse decision-making in this way or not.

Michael Jordan is one of the premier sportspeople for motivational quotes. His track record in delivery in his sport is peerless, so when he speaks we should see how we can relate it to our world; and it is a great one today! As #businessleaders we frequently get presented with obstacles both internal and external, it is why we build capability within our organisations. How we utilise challenge to our advantage is something we have shared a lot this month; sports and challenge go hand in hand. Every obstacle is different and often created in different ways and contexts. And as MJ is sharing today, they might come out of the blue and hit us, at that point we stop and think how do we overcome it? As #salesleaders we try and move quickly to deal with any obstacle we face, either from customers or competitors. The more closely our team is aligned and engaged then the faster we start presenting solutions to consider; this is can be the most exciting part of any deal, as often life is far from plain sailing. So today let's test our teams on how ready they are to overcome obstacles. Assume external ones however it's always sensible to test internal approval ones as well. Winners win because they are prepared to face into anything a deal will throw at them. Let's be those winners today! #michaeljordan #inspirationalathlete #positivemindset

Winning is important, but winning with integrity is everything. 🔑✨ Success means nothing if it’s not built on trust, honesty, and respect. 💡 True winners don’t cut corners or compromise their values—they lead with transparency and hold themselves accountable. ⚖️ In the long run, it’s not just about reaching your goals, but how you reach them. 🏆🚀 Winning with integrity strengthens your reputation, deepens relationships, and creates lasting success that others can respect and aspire to. 🌱🌟 Let’s aim to win the right way—ethically, authentically, and with others in mind. 🤝 #Integrity #Leadership #Authenticity #Relationships #SustainableSuccess #TrustMatters

The real stories behind the headlines…only in sport ! What a wonderful couple of days at Royal Troon, a course and venue that reflects this most prestigious sporting event, which for me and my pal, continues to exceed expectations year on year - well done to the R&A 👏 Due to flights we left the course earlier & missed Dan Brown - who went in as day 1 leader. So I jumped on the brilliant Open app to learn a bit more about DB as I didn’t know too much about his journey / career. I read he made it to Troon via the qualifiers. For those not into golf, this in effect, is like the early stages of the FA Cup - when non league clubs start their journey and then can end up mixing it with the top clubs, even though he is already on the top (DP) tour. In the Open, any player who doesn’t get automatic entry via qualifying criteria must enter through their regional events. It maybe the up & coming, lads from your local club, but also the odd senior pro like Justin Rose this year came through, whilst Sergio Garcia fell short. So for me, seeing Dan Brown going from the qualifier to day 1 leader made my day. We watched Rory really struggle, a star 3 ball of Rahm, McIntyre & Fleetwood battle the elements and the vintage Clarke, Leonard & Mickleson defy age on the most toughest of golfs challenges. This for me is sport at its purist. You earn the right through hard work, development, talent and creating an environment that allows you to dream and pursue the highest of ambitions. It’s an arena of Sporting development where I spend so much of my work on & off the pitch. The area that straddles top end elite and the semi professional phase. So good luck Dan, weather you go on to win it or not, you lead the Open field and the journey you had to take should be applauded & admired and you deserve all the rewards it hopefully brings … #talent #culture #coaching #hardwork #sportbusiness #golf #football

⏰⚽️ TIME WAITS FOR NO-ONE ⚽️⏰ Standards matter. Perception matters. Delivery is crucial. Yesterday we finally got our William Hill Scottish Championship campaign underway against a very well run and strong Ayr United Football Club side. Whilst the final result was nowhere near what we wanted, the progressive improvement & development in the playing squad under our Management Team of John Rankin & Darian Mackinnon over these last two seasons is evident; perhaps on another day the outcome could have been different. It’s actually only on match days like yesterday however that you fully appreciate just how well run off the park that your Stadium & the entire operational infrastructure has always been year on year under the watchful eye of our Stadium Manager Jimmy Thompson & his team of people. Sadly, as with most busiesses what goes on in the engine room never seems to get the credit it’s due or the recognition that it deserves & there are many unsung heroes behind the scenes. To have maintained the pretty much flawless standards and the impeccable delivery for our customer base and visiting spectators that we’ve become accustomed to Hamilton Academical Football Club Limited (certainly in my time at the Club) takes a phenomenal amount of personal effort, investment, pride in your output & knowledge/capability. These outstanding standards and levels of operational ability aren’t something that are just simply cross transferable either. As we’ve now moved back into possibly the most demanding and challenging League in the Scottish Professional Football League, it’s not only on the field of play that our quality, capability and class as a club will be measured across this season and beyond. Time really waits for no-one, and in a world and on a stage where public opinion based on their experiences is shared openly and freely on Social Media, it’s imperative that we strive to have as good a team and standards of excellence off the park as we do on it. Next time you attend a football match and enjoy a beer in hospitality or a Pie/Bovril in the stands, take a moment to sit and think of the importance of the person like Jimmy at that venue who actually ensured that you could be there to support your Team without issue. The fact is you wouldn’t have enjoyed the best movie you’ve ever seen without a great production crew. 🙏🏽 #Gratitude #Awareness #Appreciation #Standards #Reputation #Consistency #Knowledge

‼️ WEBINAR REMINDER ‼️ I’m excited to announce that we are just under a week away from our upcoming webinar, "The Road to the Olympics: Elevating Performance for Elite Competition." If you know anyone who would benefit from this webinar, please share this post or tag them in the comments. Let's make this a powerful learning opportunity for as many people as possible. #Olympics #OlympicPreparation #OlympicAthletes