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Leaders have a vital role to play in the movement to tackle inequalities. Their actions can help to reduce and remove the barriers that people and communities face to accessing sport and physical activity.
We know that leading in this space is challenging and that the journey is in no way linear. It requires leaders to draw from a wide toolbox of different leadership skills and practices. Our leadership fundamentals page is here to help.
Leaders get pulled in lots of different directions. They’re often responsible for managing daily operations and developing longer term strategic plans while trying to deliver against priorities, and coordinate teams and budgets.
On top of this, leaders need to balance their own wellbeing and that of their staff and colleagues, keep up to date with changes in legislation, policy and funding and dedicate time to thinking through how to tackle complex systemic issues like inequality.
All these things make it hard to go against the grain, step outside of comfort zones, unlearn old ways of working, practice innovation and take risks. That’s why we’re working with leaders in our sector to build a community, a space where leadership isn’t a sole endeavour, and develop resources that can help.
These pages explore the leadership fundamentals that can help to tackle inequalities in sport and physical activity and pose some reflective questions throughout to support you along the way. Remember, this is a shared mission, that we want to work on together.
Mastering the essentials
There’s no definitive checklist of what makes a good or successful leader when it comes to tackling inequalities. Leadership’s a continuous and unique journey of personal growth and development. Every leader operates in a slightly different context, has their own life experiences, strengths and development areas. We know that wherever leaders are in their leadership journey, whatever their role entails, there’s a few essentials to focus on and refine over time. These include:
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Effective communication skills. When working to tackle inequalities, it’s important to listen, actively and curiously and be open to recognising differences in perspectives, influence and bias. Articulating clearly and engagingly and tailoring the message to the needs and interests of an audience helps leaders influence others.
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Good personal awareness and interpersonal skills. Understanding and sharing feelings and having empathy for other people’s views and experiences can help to create supportive and inclusive environments. Emotional intelligence is a powerful skill for effective leaders.
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Building strong, cohesive and diverse teams. Leaders need to be able to consistently manage, empower and develop others to achieve shared goals. Being able to recognise the strengths of their team and themselves and having the flexibility to adapt to meet different needs is critical.
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Interpreting information and demonstrating impact. Inactivity is a complex problem. It’s important leaders recognise, gather, analyse and interpret insight and evidence. This not only supports decision making but can be used to enable storytelling and demonstrate impact. Encouraging people to share their expertise and lived experience can really help to co-create possible solutions.
Reflective questions
- Think about these examples above, what do you do each day to live them?
- What are some of the other 'essentials' you think should also be demonstrated by leaders working to tackle inequalities?
- Have a look at the eight essential skills to succeed listed within the Skills Builder Universal Framework by the Enabling Enterprise CIC. Where are you in your own development journey? Where are your team members? What do you need to focus in on?
Fundamental principles
Our resources take a deeper dive into some of the fundamental skills required by leaders working to tackle inequalities. Leading the Movement certainly doesn’t have all the answers. So, we’ve combined research, stakeholder insights and the support of sector partners to provide leaders with a useful starting point and signposting to further resources. Explore the core areas:
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Looking after yourself and others
Prioritising self-care to protect and improve leaders’ wellbeing.
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Putting people and relationships first
Boosting trust, buy-in and morale with a people-centred approach.
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Being accountable and representative
Practising good governance and championing diversity.
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Adapting, innovating and mobilising action
Being bold, creative and doing things differently.
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