Insights from a conversation with Chris Brady, Co-Owner of Queensland Sports Medicine Centre (QSMC).
This week, I released the podcast of my conversation with Chris Brady, one of the owners of Queensland Sports Medicine Centre. Chris brings a remarkable background in elite sports as a physiotherapist - having worked with Australian Gymnastics, aerial skiers, and more recently in elite motorsport.
Our conversation uncovered powerful parallels between high-performing sports teams and successful workplaces.
We look to sport for workplace inspiration because it offers such simplicity and clarity of purpose - the goal is to win. In business, the objective may be framed differently, but the principle is identical - clarity of purpose unites a team.
In this respect, Chris and I drew on Jim Collins’ idea of the hedgehog versus the fox. Winning organisations, like winning sports teams, don’t scatter their energy in every direction. They identify what they can be the best at, what drives their revenue, and what they’re deeply passionate about - and then they pursue it with laser focus.
In many of my facilitated discussions, I ask: What makes a good team? The most common answer is “people who get along”. While harmony can matter, winning teams go beyond friendliness, and acknowledge that conflict or tension is endemic. Chris and I discussed that in the sporting context; winning teams embrace conflict and performance management as essential to ongoing success. This is often more transparent in sport, in circumstances where even the best athlete realises that their tenure in any team is time limited. That said, there remains strong parallels in business - good teams require a level of change and renewal, and don't shirk the hard conversations.
Chris and I discussed how a sportsperson’s journey can often mirror the professional journey. First, you master your technical skills (always a work in progress!) aiming to become competent in your professional niche. Next, you lift your head and ask - how can I contribute to the team?
This is the same transition many professionals experience when moving from technician to leader - while never ceasing to learn and refine their technical craft, the focus then necessarily becomes how to bring out the best in others.
Chris highlighted that high-performing teams - on the field or in the office - are built on high-responsibility individuals. Skills can be developed, but a sense of accountability and the understanding that you represent your organisation at all times is harder to teach. High responsibility is the glue that holds great teams together- the story of their overnight work in the race team illustrated this reality.
Takeaway: Whether in sport or business, great teams aren’t just friendly - they’re focused, accountable, and aligned around a clear goal. Winning is the byproduct of vision, responsibility, and the courage to engage in tough conversations.
Thanks, Chris, for sharing your time and wisdom, but more importantly, your great friendship to me over the years!
I regularly share short insights on mediation, negotiation and all things leadership. From how to optimise success in negotiations, to the skillset required to sustain high team performance and promote resilience. I share these video reflections, drawing from my experience both as a former leader in professional services and now as a mediator and leadership coach.
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