This year’s new-look LIW had a strong focus on education, with a line-up of inspiring keynotes from the world of sport and leisure

Now in its 27th year, Leisure Industry Week 2015 placed education at the heart of the show. In keeping with the event’s prominent ‘One Team’ message, the line-up included stellar names from the world of sport and business – figures such as Ben Cohen, Kellie Maloney, Stuart Pearce and David Moorcroft, who each gave a rousing session that packed the 500-seat Keynote Theatre auditorium.

A shared purpose
Talking on the topic of ‘Taking UK Athletics from the brink of bankruptcy to the most commercially successful athletics governing body in the world’, David Moorcroft commented that he would be highlighting not only what worked well, but what didn’t go so well. Admitting that luck also plays a part in success, Moorcroft’s first major point to his audience was to highlight that “a crisis is a great excuse to drive through change – but it’s better to anticipate that change is needed before crisis happens”.

Appointed CEO of the British Athletic Federation (BAF) in 1997, two weeks prior to the federation going into administration, Moorcroft focused on the factors that led to virtual bankruptcy, the immediate challenges in creating a new governing body (UK Athletics), and securing financial stability for the organisation. His achievement in managing to financially rebuild the federation was, in his words, down to emphasising the importance of being positive through the trauma of people losing their jobs and the dramatic downsizing that saw the federation go from 60-plus employees to 10.

Working with the administrators of the BAF, one early challenge was to raise the money to buy back commercial and TV rights, which as Moorcroft commented “was a pivotal moment as we then had something of value to sell”. He continued: “I put my trust in experts in their field – people like Alan Pascoe, one of the UK’s most successful sports marketing and sponsorship professionals.”

Moorcroft also gave an insight as to how, with the small team that they had remaining, they went about recruiting a board of five very high-powered individuals led by Sir Christopher Chataway to become the newly-formed UK Athletics 98.

In spite of drawbacks – “we had problems like drugs, the government withdrawing our hosting of the 2001 World Athletics Championships, and a few relatively unsuccessful years at major championships” – Moorcroft and his team were able to turn the organisation around.

With a combination of anecdotes and words of wisdom, Moorcroft’s talk was a heartfelt message, as he himself said, “of creating a shared purpose, employing talented and committed people, being quick to make decisions and implement them, and modernising the governing body focusing on complementary skills”.

Be true to yourself
The boxing world is a particularly difficult one to tackle for new managers. Kellie Maloney, appearing following her recent gender reassignment, showcased the ins and outs of starting up alone with no experience and little training. Her talk was a mixture of recollection and advice, from a true life story.

Having battled through insults and abuse for being the newbie, and ridiculed for signing up boxing champion Lennox Lewis, Maloney’s talk ‘Effective negotiation and getting the best deal for your client or business’ would have been inspirational to many, not just those in boxing. Showing that anyone can achieve anything they set their mind to, Maloney discussed how despite being self-taught, it all comes down to two key things: a combination of persistence and belief in oneself.

Not one to take ‘no’ for an answer, Maloney commented that she wasn’t bullied into deals in the past and hopes that, following her return to boxing, her strength of character will inspire others to believe in themselves too, no matter what the odds. As Maloney pointed out: “The key to negotiation in any business is about reading people, about researching people, learning their weak points and being prepared.” She continued: “Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war.”

Offering insight into the tools that landed her where she is today, Maloney added: “You have to believe in yourself, your service or product and be honest to clients. It’s the belief in yourself as a person, the belief in your product, that will carry you through. Some companies will bully you into making a deal or force you to compromise and change your side of the deal to suit them, because they think they can get away with it.”

An engaging combination of both business and daily routine, Maloney’s talk offered a window into her day-to-day techniques to keep both body and mind strong, including her meditation process that allows her to relax and her resilient belief that the key to success is about “determination, frame of mind, making time for you and empowering yourself”.

Know your team
Treating the audience to a presentation entitled “Effective management and getting the best out of your team”, Stuart Pearce, football manager for Team GB at London 2012, led the busiest session of the show, focusing on the obvious challenges of leadership as well as the not-so-obvious methods of dealing with these challenges.

Focusing of course on the business of football, nevertheless all sports and fitness professionals attending the talk were able to take away key learnings. As Pearce explained: “While football is a unique business, it has great parallels with everyday life in the corporate environment and I will use my experiences, knowledge and stories to draw parallels between the two.”

Bringing his experience of being both managed and a manager, Pearce talked about his own learning curve and the influential people in his life. Leaning on his vision of what makes a good leader, he talked about his personal experiences of dealing with adversity alongside the ins and outs of goal-setting and team motivation.

Key aspects of his talk addressed individual and team progression, how important it is to get to know each individual, seeing how personnel gel as a team, and some key pointers for staff empowerment.

With a focus on goal-setting and team motivation, Pearce promised to impart tips for overcoming the challenges managers typically experience with regards to time and distance, as they only really get to see their team for short periods each month.

Pulling on his own challenges with the press, Pearce also offered up some personal advice for those riding the media rollercoaster, including how success and failure can be managed in the eyes of the media.

Grassroots to elite
Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen – capped 57 times for England – delivered an honest, forthright talk on ‘Creating a culture of inclusion and equality in sport’ to a packed theatre, with a particular emphasis on supporting communication (“no matter what level you play sport, even at the highest level, communication can be poor”) and youth sport (“it’s a shame that sometimes kids don’t get enough guidance in sport”).

Known primarily for his career at the pinnacle of world rugby, Cohen is also known for his work as an activist: The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which he founded, was set up to combat homophobia and bullying in society.

Cohen observed: “There’s obviously an extremely close link between grassroots participation in our national leisure facilities, and the standard of those facilities, with success at elite level. We’re a nation that has to get active.

“I want to talk to those involved in sport, physical activity and leisure about the issue of inclusion and how, as an industry, we can do more to get people from all walks of life active.”