Alison Oliver MBE.
Chief Executive Officer at Youth Sport Trust.
What do you do now?
I am the CEO of the Youth Sport Trust, a Children’s Charity devoted to building brighter futures for young people through the power of play and sport.
Where did your career start?
I started my career in the early nineteen nineties as a Physical Education teacher in Essex.
Has there been a stage in your life where you first appreciated what great leadership looked like?
Yes, the first time I really understood leadership was listening to Ged Roddy MBE, the then Director of Sport at the University of Bath presenting a vision of how to combine sports development, sports performance, education and research into a whole that is much greater than the sum of the parts.
Without followership there is no leadership and Ged and his powerful and inspiring vision turned me and hundreds of others into followers who helped create the English Institute of Sport based at TEAM Bath. I then had a very similar experience listening to Baroness Sue Campbell explaining the vision and mission of the Youth Sport Trust at a Specialist Sports Colleges Conference.
Do you have any examples of what you have done to develop yourself as a leader?
Throughout my career I have sought out and spent time observing, listening to and indeed working with some of the very best leaders in British Sport. I also love to read biographies and books written by great leaders – I find them inspiring, full of incredible lessons, and messages which I can learn from.
But by far the most important things I have done to develop myself as a leader are:
- Listen, listen, listen – taking time to listen to those you lead or aspire to lead and understand to the best of my ability what they need from their leader, and
- Seek feedback from those you work with – people are happy to contribute to your personal and professional development if you have an open mind and an open heart.
How do you think Leadership has benefitted you?
I have had the opportunity to explore my potential, I have been taken out of my comfort zone and be better for that, I have had the privilege of working with people from all walks of life, building teams with them and pursuing a shared vision together. I am undoubtedly very, very lucky.