A group of Galway business leaders were treated to an insight on leadership from within the sporting world last week at the latest in a series of Bord Gáis Leadership seminars taking place across the country.
Outgoing Connacht Rugby manager Pat Lam was joined by Galway Hurler Joe Canning and leading National Hunt Jockey Katie Walsh to cover areas of their world that can transfer over into other areas of people’s lives.
The conversation was hosted by Galway native Darren Frehill and covered areas as diverse as the pressures of taking on board what people say in a positive way but not falling prey to self doubt from social media criticism though to the importance of leading with your actions and not just your words.
Lam spoke of the importance of self awareness among players around what they had done on the field during a game or a session.
“The two questions I want the players to ask themselves are ‘What did I do well?’ and ‘What could I do better?'”
“In answering those questions for themselves they have to think about what way they have played and not go through the filter of what I as a coach would point out.”
Walsh also touched on the self analysis of what you have just done in preparation for what the coach, or in her case the owners and trainer are likely to feel as she comes back to the unsaddling enclosure.
“You have to be ready with your own genuine belief as to what happened in a race.”
“You’d look at the owners as you are coming back and they might be smiling or they might have big thick heads on them.”
“It’s not always down to me, good or bad, but you have to know and be honest with yourself.”
The area of children in sport and the need to be competitive or all inclusive came up in the conversation as well with the view being that kids needed to learn to lose as well as win in order for sport to build their character.
“In order to keep getting better you have to surround yourself with people who will tell the truth, not just what you want to hear,” Canning told the audience gathered in the Clayton Hotel looking out over Ballybrit where the Galway races bring the city to a halt each summer.
Canning will be hoping to do that with the Galway Hurlers this summer as they look to bridge a 29 year gap in terms of winning an All Ireland Hurling Championship.
