Leadership is When Preparation Meets Opportunity with David Grevemberg CBE
Opportunity they say comes but once. As a leader, what happens when the opportunity comes knocking and meets you unprepared? Learning the art of being prepared in anticipation of all forms of opportunities is what makes you a leader.?
In this episode of Everyday Leadership Podcast, my guest is David Grevemberg. David is the Chief Innovation & Partnerships Officer at the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. He is also a former competitive wrestler, who has also served as a coach, athlete agent, team administrator, consultant and board member.?
We talked about growing up in a black neighbourhood, awareness, advocacy and action, creating welcoming environments, Birmingham 2022 and lots more.
“Looking at interests that are bigger than yourself, things that you can champion I think is quite healthy and helpful in not always focusing on yourself and I think it becomes harder and harder with this wonderful world of social media because we become so self-consumed with our own image and our own identity and our own sense of popularity or positioning where I think particularly young athletes looking at their place what sincerely means something to them and stylistically fits with their vibe I think is quite important.”
Key Takeaways
?? On growing up in an all-Black neighbourhood in New Orleans
“You had this real melting pot of influences and so forth and I can tell you that every stage of that journey as a child going through that really realised there were lots of things that divided the community but also some wonderful things that really brought the community together and those were things like food, music, art and culture, and sport.”
??On injured athletes moving on and transferring skills
“Looking at interests that are bigger than yourself, things that you can champion I think is quite healthy and helpful in not always focusing on yourself and I think it becomes harder and harder with this wonderful world of social media because we become so self-consumed with our own image and our own identity and our own sense of popularity or positioning where I think particularly young athletes looking at their place what sincerely means something to them and stylistically fits with their vibe I think is quite important. But I think that requires support. It requires self-reflection. It requires openness…”
???? Changing the narrative on Paralympics sport
“...And so a number of the athletes I started to talk to were referred to at that time as ‘disabled athletes’ and very controversially, I started to talk with the athletes and say, “Well, what do you want?” And everything they say is I want to have the same services and the same opportunities and the same recognition as an elite athlete. I said, “Well, you are an elite athlete, so let’s start acting like elite athletes. Let’s start referring to ourselves as elite athletes and we’ll put elite athlete systems in place to support you but also standards.”...”
领英推荐
?? Having a different view from the rest of the athletic world
“You can always say one person’s protest is another person’s activism. It’s about creating environments where you uphold certain universal principles. I would say that I think every sports federation looks to uphold freedom, fairness, equality and dare I say, justice.”
??? What it takes to put games together
“Patience, partnership, a willing and enabled place, and people with hope and ambition and that really brings together games, because if you get the right places and the right places within the place that you’re hosting the games, that actually brings people together and running the program around that in terms of the scheduling and the support and logistic, and creating opportunity with that is not just in what you do, it’s how you do it.”
This interactive session with David was relatable, interesting and educating. It is a highly recommended podcast.??
LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST HERE ????????
Podcast Host
Sope Agbelusi is a husband, father, executive coach, Keynote Speaker and Founder of MindsetShift. MindsetShift is a leadership development compact focused on leaders, teams and organisations to create people-centred, inclusive cultures that harness each individual’s full potential ?????https://mindsetshift.co.uk/contact-us/
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