Team sport ‘key to leadership’

New research says 82 per cent of directors and senior managers have one thing in common.

AFLW GWS Giants star Lou Stephenson pictured at her training ground at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush. Picture: Toby Zerna

Team sports at the childhood level is key to developing leadership skills for later in life, according to a new report commissioned by the AFL Women’s league and tech firm Atlassian.

The research, dubbed ‘the imagination gap’, looked at the link between involvement in team sports as a child and future success.

It found 82 per cent of directors and senior managers played team sports, while 95 per cent of respondents who played team sports said their involvement helped develop key skills for the future.

Those benefits skew towards men however, with the survey reporting an earlier dropout of women in team sport when compared to men. Only 34 per cent of females continue playing team sports into their adult years, compared with 50 per cent of males.

The study said this represented a potential disadvantage for Australian female leadership, with respondents suggesting they would have further developed key leadership skills if they had continued participation.

The boss of women’s football at the AFL Nicole Livingstone said the survey reflected the experience of many girls and women in sports,

“We know that participating in sport delivers very strong personal, social and community benefits, and that if girls can see role models at the elite and leadership level, they are more likely to believe they too, can make it,” Ms Livingstone said.

“The existence of our national league shows this in practice — our participation numbers at the grassroots level have soared since the AFLW arrived.

“Females made up 30 per cent per cent of the total participant figure in 2017. We also saw a 76 per cent increase in female teams across the country after the inaugural season.”

Aubrey Blanche, Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at team software firm Atlassian, sid

“Encouraging girls to participate in teams — whether it’s sport, scouts, debating or whatever else piques their imagination — will help develop these critical skills and foster our next generation of leaders,” she said.

“Both with sport and tech, they’ve been traditionally male dominated industries. We’re seeing an incredible sea change, with so much awareness now and focus on the gaps. We’re starting to see people and organisations really step up and begin to invest in solving the imagination gap.

“Excellence isn’t about one person doing something amazing. The best things happen when people come together and work collaboratively.”