Gale measures success differentlyJohn Stensholt
Editor, The Australian
August 31, 2019It certainly helps that Richmond have a superstar like Dustin Martin leading the AFL premiership favourites on the field to drive business results off it.
But Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale says his football club has to be more than just a winner of football matches to be classed a success. In fact, ask Gale what is the actual purpose of a football club and what should it strive for and you get some unexpected answers.
“Often we say the most important thing we can do as a football club is to win games and win finals and win premierships,” Gale tells The Weekend Australian.
“Ultimately, footy is the most important thing we can do. And we can never lose sight of that. But it is not why we exist. We actually exist for a deeper purpose. It is that purpose we define as connecting to thrive and win.”
The importance of purpose stems from the lessons learnt on a study trip to Israel several years ago where he met with army, government and business leaders. Gale didn’t go there to learn the power of purpose, but it is where he found clarity in articulating the role of a football club in a community sense, for example.
Gale is talking about clubs connecting with fans and the wider public around where they exist and beyond — “helping to build, stronger, vibrant and connected communities … that goes to the heart of a purpose” — and quotes American leadership and management guru Simon Sinek when saying: “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
It is not Vince Lombardi or Alex Ferguson-esque in the usual sporting motivational speech terms, and it may well sound full of schmaltz and buzzwords more at home in the corporate sector. Indeed, coach Damien Hardwick once again in the past off-season headed off to Harvard for a refresher course on authentic leadership, alongside entrepreneurs, academics and business executives, which is said to have been a big turning point in his coaching style when Richmond won the 2017 premiership.
The Tigers say they are putting their money where their mouth is. Richmond now have more than 100,000 members, average home crowds of 59,994 and are on track for a profit of at least $4 million.
Gale notched up 10 years as Richmond CEO this month, helping revitalise a club on its knees on and off the field. Its facilities in the shadow of the Melbourne Cricket Ground now include the adjoining Korin Gamadji Institute, where thousands of young indigenous people have received vocation training over seven years.
Richmond have also established a wholly owned Aligned Leisure subsidiary, which manages 30 health and fitness centres for councils across Victoria and recently launched their own diversity and inclusion action plan. The club has won awards for its community work and as an employer of choice. The club also has a Richmond Institute of Leadership course with Swinburne University and is working on the masterplan for a $60 million revamp of Punt Road that will include expanded facilities for its men’s and women’s teams but also house the Bachar Houli foundation.
Gale stresses Richmond are not alone in what they do. Fierce rivals Collingwood feed and provide housing for hundreds of homeless people, North Melbourne’s Huddle has helped tens of thousands of young migrants and refugees, and West Coast contribute large chunks of their profits to community and philanthropic endeavours. That is just to name a few.
But Gale says that doing all the work in the community is vital not just from a social point of view, but also a financial one. “We do it because we think it is right thing to do. But we also do it because it makes good business sense. Take gender diversity. We are passionate about diversity, yes, but we are not just motived by altruism.
“We actually think the best, most motivated workplaces are the ones where there is a diversity of views (and) lived experiences. Football has been played and managed by men for more than 100 years. It can’t continue to be that way. It’ll whither.
“It is our purpose, and that purpose is reflected in our brand. But it tells me that it is working, because our members buy into it. Our (commercial) partners buy into it. How do I know that? The evidence is we’ve got 100,000 members for the second year in a row, and we’ve got very committed blue-chip partners who want to work with us in our community programs.”
Gale is adamant that sport and sporting clubs can have a powerful role as cultural and social institutions, bringing people together in trusted environments. It is why, he says, that governments at all levels provide funding for clubs for their community programs. But sport, and AFL in particular, has been tested. There is the lingering Adam Goodes situation where the former Swans champion has steered clear of the code where crowds had booed him before his career ended in 2015. More recently, the AFL has battled brawls breaking out at several matches this season.
Gale says sport and his code have to reflect on “teachable moments” and simply be better.
“I look at the Goodes situation and think we all could have done better. We had a Friday night game (in 2015 and) we wore our Dreamtime indigenous jumper in support of Adam. It was a really strong symbol of support for Adam. At the time we thought it was an appropriate and really strong show of support, but at the time we probably didn’t explain why. We didn’t lead well and say we’re doing this because we think the treatment of Adam has been appalling and it has to stop. I look back and think we all could have been better.”
Then there is the question of Gale’s tenure at Richmond. A decade in the job already, he has been touted as the eventual successor to AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and was interviewed for the role after Andrew Demetriou left the league in 2014. But Gale is playing a straight bat.
“My response is that working at a football club, there is a great clarity of purpose and I find that very motivating. As a former athlete, you’re taught to stay in the moment, not look back or too far away. What will be, will be. I could not be more motivated or engaged in my current role.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/brendon-gale-striving-to-make-richmond-more-than-a-winner-of-matches/news-story/b169dead01e79acb0f4b070ca76b4c5f
