My Story: From Playing Everything to Leading Something Different
I’ve played it all, football, rugby, hockey, golf, swimming, tennis, squash, badminton, even ten-pin bowling. If it had a pitch, a pool, or a racquet, I wanted in.
I didn’t just play sport, I lived it. Sport was where I first learned how teams work, how leaders emerge, and how structure builds success.
On my gap year I coached sport full time. Then I studied sport and exercise science at university. Everything was heading in that direction until life threw a curveball.
I found myself working in digital, software, agile delivery. At first, it seemed like a total pivot. But over time, I realised something that changed everything:
Leadership in tech has the same challenges as leadership in sport but business hasn’t caught up.
The Massive Mistake I See Repeated
In sport, players and coaches are separate careers. You don’t become a manager because you were the best on the pitch. You become one because you understand the game differently.
But in business? We treat leadership like a ladder. Perform well? You get promoted. No training. No mindset shift. Just more pressure.
That’s the trap and it’s where most founders, team leads, and high-performers fall flat.
You’re still playing. Still executing. Still doing. But you’re meant to be coaching now.
First and Foremost - Sport Should Be Fun
And that’s the other part people forget.
Yes, sport is serious. Yes, there’s pressure. But the reason we fall in love with it in the first place? Because it’s fun.
And leadership development should be the same. That’s why Syncity doesn’t feel like a classroom. We use sport, team kits, tournaments and challenges, not because it’s gimmicky, but because it’s memorable.
People remember what they enjoy. They implement what sticks. So while we have fun with the format, we’re deadly serious about the outcome.
Come game day? We show up to win.
The Bit That Gets Me
About the only time I get properly emotional is with sport.
Athletes stepping onto the top step of the podium after a big event especially the Olympics. One shot. One moment. After years of unseen effort, they deliver. It gets me every time.
And it’s why I understand why so many business leaders try to adopt the athlete mindset:
Discipline
Grit
Relentless personal drive
They think it’s what leadership is about.
But here’s the truth: those are the traits that help you win as a player, not as a coach.
That mindset might get your business off the ground. But it won’t help you scale. It won’t help your team perform without you.
A lot of leadership programmes focus on how to be like the athlete. At Syncity, we think that’s the wrong approach.
Football: The Myth of the Natural Leader
Football is the most popular sport in the world, but even here, the pattern is clear:
The best players rarely become the best managers.
Gerrard. Lampard. Rooney. All legends on the pitch.
But in the dugout? Mixed results.
Meanwhile, the likes of Ferguson, Mourinho, and Howe were average players yet exceptional leaders.
Because coaching is a different skillset.
In business, we forget this.
We promote based on performance, not leadership.
And that’s where things fall apart.
NFL: Two Different Careers, By Design
In the NFL, coaching and playing are treated as completely separate paths.
Most head coaches never played in the league.
Some were solid college athletes. Others barely played at all.
And that’s by design.
You don’t need to be a star on the field to lead a team from the sideline.
You need strategy, structure, clarity and the ability to get the best out of others.
Business could learn a lot from that.
Because leadership isn’t a promotion.
It’s a profession.
F1: Stay Off the Track, Lead from the Pit Wall
In Formula 1, the boss doesn’t touch the car.
They don’t do the pit stops.
They don’t drive the laps.
Their job is to lead.
To trust the driver.
To trust the crew.
To make smart, high-pressure decisions, based on data, not instinct.
The best F1 teams win because everyone knows their role.
No confusion. No overreach.
It’s a level of structure most businesses never reach because too many leaders are still jumping into the car.
One Goal. Different Roles. Total Clarity.
Whether it’s football, the NFL, F1, rugby, the pattern holds:
Every great team is working toward a clear goal.
But the roles? They’re not blurred.
Players play. Coaches lead. Everyone knows what’s expected.
That’s the principle we build everything on at Syncity.
You don’t scale by playing every position.
You scale by stepping into the coach’s role and leading the team.
Once you’ve made that mindset shift, the rest of the programme sets you up to win:
Structure
Rhythm
Trust
Execution
So enter the tournament.
Have some fun. Wear the kit. Get stuck in.
But know this:
What you learn here will change how you see your role.
And unlock how you lead your business to win.