“Purposeful work won't find you, you have to go and find it”

I am proud to have had the good fortune of learning from one of the best I have come to know within the football industry over this past year. David Cosgrave & the guys at The Leadership Bunker have drastically expedited my learning curve and enabled me to reflect and make sense of my journey to date and how I arrived here. Therefore I thought it was ample time to pass the buck and listen to David's own unique and captivating story. Having spent nearly 20 years at a whole host of clubs including Liverpool, Spurs, Bolton & Fulham it was his departure from Copenhagen which led to an intense period of self reflection and discovery. Recently appointed the new Director of Sports Medicine & High Performance at Orlando City David is set to embark upon a new chapter in his life and career. This is a story of values, mission and never compromising on your purpose. Among what we discussed included;

- The path from chiropractor to leading a whole MLS department?

- Standing on the shoulders of giants at Bolton.

- Does “service excellence” exist amid the never ending tension at top flight clubs?

- The rise of purposeful value driven football clubs.

- Losing inside to unpack whether or not your identity is tied to your job?

- Why unlearning is more important than learning as a leader?

- David's process for achieving buyin just 3 weeks out from the start of a new MLS season?

Timestamps;

00:00 - 03:44 - Intro

03:45 - 09:36 - Pioneers

09:37 - 15:20 - Values, mission & purpose

15:21 - 18:40 - Copenhagen

18:41 - 25:05 - Burnout

25:06 - 30:22 - Beyond the game

30:23 - 39:26 - Leadership

39:27 - 43:21 - Advice

David's LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-cosgrave-09187b3/

The Leadership Bunker; https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-leadership-bunker/

John Demartini values assessment; https://drdemartini.com/values/