{"id":30270,"date":"2025-05-08T09:38:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T09:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?post_type=article&p=30270"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:20:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:20:56","slug":"female-leaders-in-sport-unheard-voices-and-untold-stories","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/female-leaders-in-sport-unheard-voices-and-untold-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Leaders in Sport: Unheard Voices and Untold Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n 8 May 2025 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Female Leaders in Sport: Unheard Voices and Untold Stories<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/female-leaders-in-sport-unheard-voices-and-untold-stories\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n\n\n
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Former netball player Vicki Wilson describes her journey from the court to coaching, high performance and sports administration and offers advice to aspiring female athletes.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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By Rachel Woodland<\/h6>\n
The Women in High Performance Sport Community group aims to provide space to women in the sporting world to tell their stories and to shine a spotlight on some excellent people and their work.<\/h6>\n

In April, Vicki Wilson, Director at the Brisbane Broncos, joined our group call. Women coaches and practitioners from across the globe gathered to listen to Wilson tell the story of her journey from athlete, to coach, to high performance manager, and now a member of the board of directors at the Broncos. Hers is a story we wanted to share more of and to learn from.<\/p>\n

What has propelled Wilson\u2019s career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

From Wilson\u2019s perspective, she believes she has an eye for detail and an ability to plan, whilst wanting the best for athletes. She enjoys imparting knowledge, as well as gathering knowledge to extend her perspectives. She has also always been determined to be better. Having been an international athlete herself, Wilson can also lean on those experiences to guide her work. She\u2019s also adaptable and, since her days playing netball, has always asked questions and seeks to understand \u2018why\u2019.<\/p>\n

A key lesson was when she was dropped at an early stage in her playing career. It came just as she thought she would be made captain. The lesson she took was to never take anything for granted. This has resonated with Wilson every time she has applied for a role since. It also means she will quickly move on to the next challenge.<\/p>\n

What drives success?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To help people succeed Wilson shared some tips:<\/p>\n

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  1. Your high performance manager and administration team will make you or break you. So pick wisely \u2013 always look at who is running the show.<\/li>\n
  2. Surround yourself with support \u2013 informal mentors, peers etc. and treat them well.<\/li>\n
  3. Always have people smarter than you on your team \u2013 then let them use their expertise, whilst asking them \u2018why?\u2019 too.<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t over-commit. Give yourself time to switch off.<\/li>\n
  5. Ask questions of people around you e.g. what would they do? How would they find that?<\/li>\n
  6. Add perspectives to the pool that you draw on. Change your own if needed.<\/li>\n
  7. Share your own learnings with others.<\/li>\n
  8. Recognise good work. Celebrate success.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Support your high performance managers<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Contrary to instinct, Wilson believes sitting with high performance managers and helping them with their planning is critical. Many will have come from a coaching background and might not know the role fully. It shouldn\u2019t be assumed that they know what\u2019s expected and what needs to be done. Expectations need to be shared clearly before a season starts. It\u2019s about shaping this support around learning, and being their ally and not wanting them to fail, rather than trying to catch them out and needing them to show they know everything already. It really is about eliminating all assumptions.<\/p>\n

    Wilson\u2019s inspiration<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Wilson wanted to mention the women head coaches who were part of the original Australian Institute of Sport. There weren\u2019t many, and they experienced difficult moments. However, they paved the way for others by challenging and contributing when in shared spaces between sports. They were avid readers and learners, many working in academia. They also showed that women coaches can be as successful as men. Wilson has been inspired in particular by Wilma Shakespeare, who was an international athlete, captain, coach, administrator, Queensland Academy of Sport CEO, and eventually travelled to the UK to be the founder and first National Director of the English Institute of Sport [now UK Sports Institute] in 2002. It is Shakespeare that inspired Wilson to explore administrative roles.<\/p>\n

    Thinking of joining a board of directors?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Wilson spoke about her advice for those who are interested in joining a board. She recommends sitting with someone who has done the role. This will help you fully understand what\u2019s expected, and what\u2019s your purpose in that role. From her experience, it\u2019s about challenging management; making sure they\u2019re doing what they said they would and asking them if it could be done better. It\u2019s also about managing staff and athletes, and getting to know everyone in an organisation at a personal level.<\/p>\n

    Wilson fielded questions from the group too. They asked about:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Her challenges along the way<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Wilson was open enough to share where some of the biggest challenges have laid \u2013 fortunately our previous community call attests to changes in ways of working. It has happened that athletes who are closing in on retirement have wanted the decision to be made for them. As you can imagine, that hasn\u2019t made it easier for them to accept said decision. Wilson has also learnt the importance of an administrative team who are supportive and aligned to your values, having lost a role, alongside others, when strong decisions were needed. She is also grateful for the work done by many to have changed the way athlete pregnancy is treated.<\/p>\n

    Planning for the logistical realities<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s not always spoke about, but coaches and other staff will make decisions, and have decisions made for them that can leave them unsure of their future and exposed financially. Wilson shared that she has found that when it mattered, things gained positive momentum quickly for her. Small contracts came in, moves to different countries weren\u2019t as terrible as feared. She learnt to be open and once she\u2019d accepted something be all in. Wilson has learnt to not panic, and importantly, to back her own skillset. It helps that she has a positive mindset, and that she\u2019s always been a naturally good connector.<\/p>\n

    The group reflected on\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

    1. What their organisations are doing to support them. Answers included:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • Encouraging them to attend conferences<\/li>\n
    • Connecting across sports and organisations<\/li>\n
    • Finding the right level challenge \u2013 frame it as a positive, even when difficult<\/li>\n
    • AIS Women in Leadership Programme Talent Programme (for women executives)<\/li>\n
    • WhatsApp groups that support programmes like the one above well beyond their official run dates<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      2. What they would like to see in a dream world:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      • The head coach, high performance manager, and CEO are connected and aligned to others, and know the value of each other\u2019s skillsets (as well as those of the other staff members)<\/li>\n
      • Time protected for CPD<\/li>\n
      • Specific roles in projects, to support specific development goals<\/li>\n
      • Space to get things wrong and test learnings \u2013 for failure to be okay<\/li>\n
      • More space given to knowing yourself, as early as possible in your career<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        3. How they\u2019re supporting others:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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        • Through mentoring<\/li>\n
        • Supporting and connecting with staff, athletes, and administrators<\/li>\n
        • Encouraging people to understand themselves, to know how to work with others<\/li>\n
        • Giving people the same time that was given to them, to support them in their careers<\/li>\n
        • Celebrating the successes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          4. Resources recommended for learning outside of sport:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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          • Acting courses<\/li>\n
          • Spotlight – profiling from Mindflick<\/a><\/li>\n
          • Skill development delivered through a different lens:\n
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            • Negotiation skills \u2013 from a lawyer<\/li>\n
            • Difficult conversations \u2013 from the emergency services<\/li>\n
            • Leadership skills \u2013 from a generic or business perspective<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              What to read next<\/strong><\/p>\n

              <\/p>\n

              The Winning Formula for the Future of Performance Sport<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n