In The Arena

“Mum, do men play footy?”

Having spent a lifetime in the game, I learned that some people are into growing, but most people are only interested in arrival.

The ‘arrival’ people create all the commotion that distracts from the critical work of the ‘growers’, who are playing a much bigger and far more important game, energised by all its possibilities, and significantly, not overwhelmed by its ambiguity.

Our next guest on the ‘In the Arena’ Podcast, Debbie Lee, is a ‘grower’ in the truest sense.

In my experience, the ‘growers’ are also exceedingly generous, as Debbie is in this Podcast. It would be easy for her to gloat about her achievements, but that is not who she is, even though she could be forgiven for doing so as the first (and only) female footballer to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame.

Instead, she speaks openly about how the game has shaped her. How thankful she is for the lessons the game gifted her, always prepared to put herself in deep and diverse conversation to grow herself, the game and all that it is, and all that it can be.

“Who you are is what you settle for, you know?” said singer Janis Joplin.

Debbie was not prepared to settle for how she personally experienced our game of Australian football. She had the courage and insight to ask better questions of the sport, and would become the evangelist women’s football needed and changed the game forever.

Debbie did not have a platform or a profile and also suffered from the personal bias directed at women footballers of her era. Every effort to grow the game was met with resistance and prejudice.

But still, she had the fortitude and will to look at the future of the game and see something radically different.

She was not prepared to settle for the prevailing view that only young men could envision a career playing the sport at the highest level or, for that matter, coaching, administering, or commentating on the game they love.

She wasn’t prepared to settle for the prevailing view that people would not watch women’s football. Then, 52,000 people turned up to watch an AFLW Grand Final at Adelaide Oval, and the game was never the same.

Our game is at its best when it leads, when it has the collective courage to forge a new way, and at its worst when it lags, as it did when it betrayed Adam Goodes.

Until recent times, the language and sounds of the game were exclusively male, with homophobia, sexism and bigotry not only tolerated but an expectation, a way of fitting in and belonging, connecting via the worst parts of us.

It was the football world I grew up in and desperately wanted to be a part of, never challenging and now sometimes wondering why I didn’t. But I know the answer. It was ‘the way’, and it would take individuals who could see another way, stronger and more visionary, courageous and willing than I was. It needed to be personal to start the conversation, a response to the pain of their lived experience. People like Debbie Lee, and with a force they created, a catalyst for change, and change the game did.

I have learned that discomfort marks the place where the old way meets the new way. It is a place of vulnerability and courage. If it doesn’t challenge you, it will not change you, and whenever in doubt, back the new way and all its uncertainty.

In terms of women’s football, the ‘old way’ was meeting the ‘new way’, and Debbie Lee was the catalyst.

We worked together at the Melbourne Football Club and, with some wonderful football people, set about creating the vision the women’s game needed. An Exhibition Game in 2013, became the AFLW by 2017, an extraordinary achievement by any measure.

Her story is remarkable, and she tells it wonderfully.

Her legacy is profound.

It will never be beaten.

Play On!

Cam

Just remember, you asked for it!

Moments of uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity are the uncomfortable leadership moments, and what you signed up for.

The discomfort of not knowing.

These are the times when leadership is most needed, your leadership, and in fact, if not for these conditions, you may well be doing someone else’s job for them.

Learning how to be comfortable with the discomfort of the role.

“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf’, said Jon Kabat Zinn, perhaps my favourite ever leadership quote.

Our first guest ‘In the Arena’ is Michael Voss, three-time AFL Premiership Captain of the Brisbane Lions and the Senior Coach of the historic Carlton Football Club.

As a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Michael Voss would feature near the top of most football pundits’ ‘greatest ever’ lists, elevated not only for his sublime talent but also for his capacity to exert his will on the game and the teams he led.

A career in coaching beckoned, and so it was, stepping up as Senior Coach of his beloved Brisbane Lions, forgoing the assistant coaching ‘apprenticeship’ that has become the practice over the past few decades.

But it did not play to script, and five years later, he was dismissed from the role.

But this setback was merely a lesson and one of the many for a leader who is determined to be the best he can be for the people he gets to influence on their own journeys. It was seven years as an Assistant Coach at the Port Adelaide Football Club before he would get the opportunity to once again be ‘In the Arena’ as the Senior Coach of Carlton, now into his third season, taking them deep into the 2023 final series (after a rocky period of six straight losses) in just his second season, their first finals appearance in a decade.

One thing that separates the most impressive and influential leaders I have worked with is their willingness to embrace reflective learning and generously share their lessons and insights.

This makes Michael Voss a great football coach, leader, and super podcast guest, hence our decision to lead off the first episode of ‘In the Arena’.

The conversation also benefits from our personal relationship. A couple of years ago, Michael sought support in his role, and I have been his coach, focusing on leadership, the mechanics and dynamics of a layered and complex role, all playing out in the public eye as coach of one of the biggest clubs in the country.

I must say, he is highly coachable, as you will experience listening to this podcast.

There are many layers to this conversation. Yes, the insights are invaluable, but you will also sense the principles he leads, be it his generosity, humility, and a sense of purpose, while acknowledging his role’s impact on the players he coaches and the club he leads.

He genuinely embraces his old coach Leigh Matthews’ mantra of:

- Know your role

- Accept your role

- Play your role

He will have you reaching for a pen and paper, jotting down the ideas and thoughts of a leader and teacher who has ‘done the work’, and challenging you to do likewise.

Episode #001 is a leadership masterclass, and we are so grateful to have the opportunity to share it with you.

You’re going to love this.

Play On!

Cameron Schwab

In the Arena with Cameron Schwab. Stay tuned for more