Mild panic by sports managers in transition

A recent meeting with several prominant public sector sports/leisure professionals revealed a general concern over financial changes in the future. Anecdotes and examples shared included the dissatisfaction with the work of direct reports who are gifted budgets to deliver their over the officers who had to start from a zero budetry line. There was a general concern over the rediness to transition into a new way of working across the teams. Observation of the types of good practice shared and celebrated focused on use of grant for outcomes with the group especially in front of the pay master almost competing for attention and recognition.  There is a level of acceptance and almost a state of depression at the prospect of this financial transition with the use of negative language. HE is undergoing regionalisation and radical change in Wales it is almost certain that local authorities and national agencies will follow.  Like HE will we see a mass clearout with 100's of established career professionals leaving the profession at a fixed point. Is the industry ready for the void that this will leave?
 Is the next generation of sport/leisure professional prepared for this transition and potential flipped shift in focus - new financial climate, new collaborative climate, new creative sustainable solutions.

Sports Management Tribes

I have found myself studying a mountain leaders course in snowdownia with course leads that I have know for several years. It is interesting listening to their stories of starting out as outdoor leaders. These professionals are passionate about their work and have been focused on a career in the outdoors since young children. What has struck me listening to them describe their development pathways has been the influence of gatekeepers or key influncers on this journey in both cases it wasn't necessarily parents that provided the main impetus  but certainly contributed to the mindset or interest. Instead there were unlikely heros which included careers advisors (good and bad), mentors and teachers/coaches (good/bad) that through key decision points (especially as children and teens) pushed them down this career pathway. Talk of early career roles (happy memories) complementary to their current expert status highlighted their journey. 

Key questions to consider: 

Does the prevailing decision making behavior and mind set linked to a role/career and the environments in which they have to work in affect broader org/bus decision making e.g. structured, preplanned, assessment of risk /dynamic assessment of risk, problem solving, passion based decisions, core values annual cycles, mood enhancers, influence of others. 

Broader culture and meaning frameworks are certainly prominante potential tribal within the community but does this reflect prevailing meaning frameworks. 

Key issues 

include the power and influence potential of the tribe

Impact of Sport

Great reminder today of the power of grant funded programmes at a premier league funded launch.The language however still relates to exit strategies and grant life cycle issues. Should teams consider how to sustain these programme through alternative means from the outset?

PhD: Start of my journey

2012/2013 has seen the start of my PhD journey. This blog site will continue to document my thoughts and experiences during this process. The aim of the PhD will continue to explore some of the key themes highlighted in previous blog posts around employability, education and sport management.

Specifically I will be utilising this blog to outline my experiences throughout my research journey and will also record my experiences of voluntary roles in senior positions in sport and leisure organisations.  The main focus of my PhD centres around identifying the 'entrepreneurial capacity of expert sport and leisure professionals' and to translate any findings into strategies that will inform sports management educators in higher education institutions.

The Research Canvas

Having just completed my second trip to Finland lecturing within a partnership University. I find myself sitting at the end of another exhausting intensive block of teaching reflecting on my delivery and performance over the last three days. The subject area of research methods is notoriously difficult to teach and this was my first time delivering the programme to any group. It certainly forced me to return to a subject area that I have had training in over the last 10 years but not necessarily used it. I found myself worrying how I would cover such a broad and often complex body of work in 14 intensive hours.

To help I turned to the books Business model canvas (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2011) and business model you (Clarke et al.,2012). Osterwalder and Pigneur (2012) suggest that business model generation offers a powerful, simple, and tested tool for understanding, designing, re-working, and implementing business models where the key tool is the single-page Business Model Canvas. Having utilized this tool within my work as a voluntary chair/CEO of a national governing body of sport (not for profit) to good effect I could visualise some synergy with utilizing a similar approach to project/research planning. The attached image was my version of a reengineered canvas with the key areas the students needed to construct their research proposal namely;

- Rationale
- Scope
- Outcomes
- Responsibility
- Theoretical Framework
- Design
- Data Collection
- Partners

This provided a framework for my delivery and also allowed the students to build their research ideas after each section. We started with the availability of resources, the scope, outcomes and partners - this immediately provided a focus for their proposals and resources and they could match their potential areas of interest (rationale) to the outcomes they wished to achieve. This then provided a platform for me to discuss the key decisions they needed to make in constructing their research (design, theoretical framework, data collection and responsibilities). Although there are still difficult delivery elements within this course the students engaged with the framework and I built in individual reflection points and group discussions for individuals to keep refining their canvas after each major section of the course. By the final session most had drafted out ideas, working titles and realistic objectives and ideas to engage with the literature and preferred data collection techniques.

The experiment of using the canvas certainly paid off and I will use this again with individual dissertaion students  and within this module. I can see many opportunities to refine the process and improve my delivery of the course content and I am also considering adapting this approach further as I can see that the tool could be used for curriculum/ syllabus planning.

References

Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2011) Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Wiley

Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y.(2012) http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/book accessed May 2012

Clarke, T. Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2012) Business Model You: A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career. Wiley

Sports Development update - competency frameworks

In a previous update I reflected on the sever lack of confidence in some students when engaging with other professionals and students when delivering programmes. There is  a growing concern by employers that higher education programes are failing to produce students that can operate in a rapidly changing environment (Brindley and Mander, 1996; Skills Active, 2006). Barcelona & Ross (2004) argue that in order to meet the needs of the changing industry, it is imperative for both practitioners and faculty to clearly define a framework of competencies, knowledge areas, and skill sets that support the academic and professional development needs of students. 


I have continued to reflect on this issue across all the activities my final year students have delivered this year and as the group nears the end It may be observed that many have grown and developed and are ready to enter the professional sphere - some already having secured well paid jobs immediately after finishing their last exam. There are many positives but I am still concerned that for some they have not been able to fully develop their professional competencies. The balance of the entire degree is biased to knowledge (what you must know - QAA, 2008) and not competencies (what you must be able to do - Brooks and Althouse, 2007). I feel that my sports management programme moving forward should develop learning outcomes for both these areas in parallel (Brooks and Althouse (2007). I have discussed this with the group and presented competency frameworks based on (Skills Active, 2012) national occupational standards. I asked students to reflect and score themselves (e.g. superior skills, good, underdeveloped), I will follow this with my own assessment as part of the wider assessment framework for the module.   The reaction was interesting - having delivered a programme of work they could engage with the framework and were comfortable in immediately assessing where they may need to improve. For the proactive students this should allow them to continue their development working with their existing or future employers to access further training and development.


References

Barcelona & Ross (2004) An Analysis of the Perceived Competencies of Recreational Sport Administrators Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, 22 (4).

Brindley, C. and Mander, P. (1996) Leisure by degree, Leisure Manager, June/July.

Brooks, D.D. & Althouse, R.C. (2007). Diversity and social justice in college sports: Sport management and the student athletes. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2008) Hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism. QAA.

Skills Active (2006) Analysis of Gaps and Weaknesses, London, Skills Active.

Skills Active (2012) http://www.skillsactive.com/skillsactive/national-occupational-standardshtt accessed May 2012.

Sports Development update - Reflection on first year

As the group approaches the final assessment which includes a full review of their key areas of delivery the reality of graduation is kicking in for us all. I have conducted discussions with the micro teams as a check point to discuss their ideas, opinions and recommendations for next year. What was exciting about the sessions was that all the group could naturally reflect on their individual and collective experiences. The solutions and ideas were well thoughtout and individuals felt comfortable to express their opinions and were openly discussing how they could support their ideas with relevant examples, case studies and literature. If the discussions translate into effective written documents I will feel confident that the module has fulfilled its core objective of delivering valid experiences to develop both knowledge and professional competencies.

Utilising the social network Linkedin has allowed me to track the collaboration through the group including the analytics with some great patterns of activity. Most peaks correspond with the early planning and activities and there has been a steady decline in the second semester (especially close to major deadlines). This was to be expected but the information along with the student reviews will allow me to shape the programme for the incoming group. Planning will start immediately and the legacy from this initial group has included raising awareness with outside agencies and attracting grant funding investment for 2012-2013 which could total £15,000 for the University. The final presentations take place next week in front of a panel of internal and external partners -  This should prove to be the final test of what the have learnt through the process and provide their last valid experience before starting their full time professional careers.