Borne out of a self-led team managers group, the forum was facilitated by HPSNZ’s Women in High Performance Sport team, and was one of the first in-person cross-sport learning experiences many of the group had attended as team managers.
The group heard from three keynote speakers who all acknowledged the important leadership role team and campaign managers play in high performance environments.
Darren Shand, former All Blacks team manager shared insights on world class team management drawing from his 20 years in the role and three times Olympic medallist and IOC member in New Zealand, Barbara Kendall, led an interactive session on leveraging off quality relationships, building networks and the role of team managers in navigating challenges.
The forum ended with a session by Alex Davids from Next Evolution Performance who shared insights regarding sustainable high performance practices.
Women in High Performance Sport lead, Helene Wilson, says HPSNZ’s involvement in the workshop aligned with the key pillars of Leadership and Wellbeing. “It was a privilege to facilitate such a capable self-led group and acknowledge the women right throughout the sector in leadership roles who contribute to high performance outcomes.”
“I jumped at the opportunity to share my learnings, and it fills my heart to know we are investing in the people who are key leaders and often the glue in sports teams, the team manager,” said Darren.
Similarly, Silver Ferns team manager Esther Molloy says the time spent together over the two days learning, growing, and connecting is so incredibly valuable to the individuals who attended and will flow on back through the sports they are so proudly involved in.
“I am excited to see where the knowledge will go with each member out in their sports, but also how it will shape the next evolution of our group as we are now a group of 25 across 18 different sports with a vast amount of diversity, knowledge and experience which is what makes it such a valuable group to be part of,” says Esther.
