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Martin Snedden: former NZ Cricket CEO on the risks that come with leading a sporting body · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from news Talk ZEDB. Follow
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• 0:16
  Speaker 2: First, our three biggest sporting bodies right now are leaderless.
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  Speaker 2: Is there a problem with sports executives running out of puff? Rugby? Netball, cricket?
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  Speaker 2: Mark Robinson, Jenny Wiley, Scott wien Ink all finished last
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  Speaker 2: year and they each had their own reasons. They each
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  Speaker 2: had their own scandals in a way, But is the
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  Speaker 2: job of a sports boss becoming too much? Former Chief
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  Speaker 2: executive of New Zealand Cricket, Martin steeddents with me now Martin,
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  Speaker 2: Good evening evening, Ryan. Do you think the job's harder
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  Speaker 2: now than it has been in the past.
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  Speaker 3: It's always been hard, but it's very visible now with
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  Speaker 3: the increasing social media coverage and the ability of people
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  Speaker 3: to get in their keyboard warriors and comment. From that
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  Speaker 3: point of view, it is, but it's that these are
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  Speaker 3: very difficult jobs. You know, sport is volatile, stakeholders, the
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  Speaker 3: expectations sometimes board expectations are disproportionate to what the resources
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  Speaker 3: are of an organization. And burnout. I think burnout is
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  Speaker 3: a huge issue. So I have great empathy and a
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  Speaker 3: lot of sympathy for the people that have found themselves
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  Speaker 3: in the position that those three chief executives and others
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  Speaker 3: have found themselves in the last few months.
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  Speaker 2: You mentioned social media, which is interesting because a lot
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  Speaker 2: of people say it's media, you know, your media commentators,
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  Speaker 2: you know, mugs like me on the radio saying this person,
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  Speaker 2: that person. You know. But social media now has changed
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  Speaker 2: the game, hasn't it.
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  Speaker 3: It has? You know, the mainstream media is not an issue.
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  Speaker 3: Mainstream media is still full of people who buy large responsible,
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  Speaker 3: understand what they're writing about, and generally get it, you know,
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  Speaker 3: not always totally right, but are in the ballpark. Social
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  Speaker 3: media is completely different. Anyone can say what they like,
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  Speaker 3: they don't understand sometimes what they're talking about. They are
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  Speaker 3: vicious and you know if unfortunately it's almost impossible for
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  Speaker 3: people in leadership positions to get away from that. They
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  Speaker 3: can't and that has an impact. It has an effect
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  Speaker 3: on their well being, and it just adds to the
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  Speaker 3: burden of the job they're doing.
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  Speaker 2: And then you think, who would want to do it?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I mean, how much are they paid? Have
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  Speaker 2: they paid enough for it?
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  Speaker 3: No? They're well below market rates in other areas, but
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  Speaker 3: they're still okay remuneration wise, But the reason they do
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  Speaker 3: it is the passion they have, either for the particular
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  Speaker 3: sport that they are leading or just sport in general.
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  Speaker 3: You know it's it's I invariably come across good people
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  Speaker 3: in sport. You don't come across too many dads. And
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  Speaker 3: these are people who are talented and who are trying
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  Speaker 3: desperately to do their best and difficult circumstances, They'll make mistakes,
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  Speaker 3: There's no two ways about it. And you know it's
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  Speaker 3: it's just bloody hard work hanging in there and getting
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  Speaker 3: more stuff right than getting wrong.
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  Speaker 2: Mardin. And you know a lot of the cases that
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  Speaker 2: we've started with rugby, netball, cricket, there's player input. Are
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  Speaker 2: players have been given I don't want to say too
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  Speaker 2: much say because it makes it sound like they're not important.
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  Speaker 2: But can you listen to the players too much?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, just like you can listen to any other stakeholder
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  Speaker 3: too much. But I am on record, over a long
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  Speaker 3: period of time, I've been a strong supporter of players
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  Speaker 3: or athletes having input into the environments they operate with.
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  Speaker 3: In so if that it's not so much power as
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  Speaker 3: just the opportunity to participate either directly or through their representatives.
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  Speaker 3: And you know, for example, in cricket, the relationship between
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  Speaker 3: the Cricket Players Association and New Zealand Cricket over a
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  Speaker 3: long period of time from two thousand and two through
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  Speaker 3: to recently has been brilliant and has led to really
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  Speaker 3: strong relationships. At the moment, it's a little bit volatile
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  Speaker 3: and they're going to have to work through that on
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  Speaker 3: all sides over the next twenty twenty six. But I
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  Speaker 3: think if you get that relationship right, then the sport
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  Speaker 3: and the athletes, the players themselves benefit hugely. So I
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  Speaker 3: would hate to see it undermined. And I think David
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  Speaker 3: Kirk did a really good job last week of explaining
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  Speaker 3: really clearly that the review of the All Black Coach
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  Speaker 3: received feedback from players that David and his other ends
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  Speaker 3: that our administrators that asked for. So it wasn't that
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  Speaker 3: the players stood up and said we're demanding the removal
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  Speaker 3: of Scott Robertson. They answered a whole series of questions
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  Speaker 3: as to how the environment was going, and ultimately Kirk
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  Speaker 3: and the others just weighed that up and said that
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  Speaker 3: on balance they didn't feel confident that that under Robertson,
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  Speaker 3: they'd be able to keep going in a positive trajectory,
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  Speaker 3: so they needed to do something about it. Well, you
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  Speaker 3: know that the players are entitled to have a say
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  Speaker 3: in that, and so they should.
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  Speaker 2: And if you asked them, you've got to expect an answer,
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  Speaker 2: don't you, and.
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  Speaker 3: Are close to the action, and they will tell you.
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  Speaker 3: But you've got to be smart enough also when you're
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  Speaker 3: in Kirk's position or a CEO's position, to actually like
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  Speaker 3: any feedback to balance up what you're hearing against other
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  Speaker 3: feedback you're receiving and find the place where the truth
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  Speaker 3: most likely lies. And I have faith and lots of
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  Speaker 3: our leaders to be able to do that.
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  Speaker 2: But yeah, well we need to find three more of
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  Speaker 2: them pretty quick. Smart Martin, thank you for that. Martin Steeden,
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  Speaker 2: former Chief Executive New Zealand Cricket, head of the twenty
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  Speaker 2: eleven Rugby World Cup organizing team, as well knows knows
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  Speaker 2: a thing or two about managing sport.
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