KatrinaM series of 3 Questions

3 Questions with David Pembroke

?You might be thinking this guy looks familiar.

?You’d be right. You may recognise David Pembroke when he was a political correspondent for the ABC or when he helped establish the most successful professional start-up rugby team in the history of the game in the world, the ACT Brumbies. Or maybe you know David as the communications advisor and trusted confidant to England Coach Eddie Jones.

?David has had an illustrious career which has also included founding and acting as CEO for Contentgroup for the past 25 years. In just three questions, we’ll look at his origins as a leader and how technology has supported and enabled him in every role he’s held.

?Q1: When did you first call yourself a leader?

?The first leadership role I can think of was when I was captain of the under nine rugby league team, the Naremburn Panthers. I remember taking it very seriously.

?It was about trying to win the game, playing together, working as a team and understanding the strengths of the different players around you.

?After that, I’ve always been the captain of the team or the school and in leadership positions throughout my life. You keep learning as you go, and it doesn’t matter if it’s in a business or social environment. It ultimately comes back to focussing on people and understanding them as well as looking to get the best out of them.

?Q2: Has technology improved your ability to be a leader?

?I remember growing up in a family with the World Book encyclopedias, and we’d be sitting around the dinner table, and a question would come up. One of my five brothers or sisters would jump up and grab the book, so we could work out what the answer was.

?Now we’ve all got phones, and we can find out straight away. We just have a lot of access to information, and I think you learn not just from doing but also from reading about other people. It could be from case studies or stories.

?I’m an info-vore. I’m consuming content all the time. I feel better equipped to lead because I’ve got greater awareness and understanding as well as more information that helps me to make better decisions.?????????

Q3: How do you utilise all the skills you’ve developed over your career today?

?I became a founder of the ACT Brumbies, which has become the most successful start-up rugby union team in the history of the game in the world. I’m still involved in the game 26 years later by advising the coach of the England team, Eddie Jones.

We’re getting ready for the 2023 Rugby World Cup and working through the narrative themes we’re looking to develop to influence the players and get them in the right mindset so we can be successful.

There are 10,080 minutes every week. The game of rugby lasts 80 minutes. You’ve then got 10,000 minutes to try and influence what happens in that 80 minutes. A lot of that comes back to not only your behaviour, planning, and ideas but your communication and engagement.

?Part of my role is to work with Eddie to try and think about that as well as what we’re going to say this week. What are the large overarching themes? What are the grand narrative arcs that we’re going to develop in the next year to drive the high performance in the England team leading up to the Rugby World Cup?

?Supporting great coaches like Eddie Jones is a lot of fun. He’s the best coach in the world. We’ve worked together for 26 years. We know, like, and trust each other. I’m not sure if I’m mentoring him as such, but I’m giving him my best possible advice based on my experience and our relationship.

?It’s my hobby. Some people like to garden. Some people like to go ballooning. Some people like riding a bike. I like working out narratives for professional sporting teams.