What unites us

Leadership, in its truest form, is rarely sought—it finds us, when there are far easier paths on offer.

Hawthorn Football Club President Andy Gowers’ leadership beliefs do not reveal themselves through grand declarations or certainties but through a willingness to embrace complexity.

It is an effort to find connection where others might see only division.

"The feedback I got when I was considering running for the board was confronting. Some people thought I'd be wasting my time. Others warned me it would be the hardest thing I've ever done."

He understood the full weight of leadership would soon settle onto his shoulders. His eyes were wide open, and if they weren’t, they soon would be, such were the cautionary tales from those who understood the complexity of what lay ahead for this storied football club, some of whom had travelled the path before, as well as those who cared for Andy.

"But I couldn't walk away. This club gave me so much. When it needed someone to step up, I felt a responsibility to give back."

Our paths first crossed in the late 1980s when Andy was a promising young player at Xavier College, and I was a Recruiting Manager at the Melbourne Football Club. I remember watching this tall, skinny centre half-forward who just kept running and marking the ball. Even then, there was something distinctive about his approach. Yes, he had ability, but his slight frame couldn’t disguise a seriously competitive attitude; he refused to take his eye off the ball, even in the face of personal danger. It was a mindset and skillset that would define his football career.

This was a time when the football landscape was very different. Andy faced an emotional choice between Richmond (the team he supported where his father Trevor had played) and Hawthorn, where he was zoned. Richmond was rebuilding and crying out for what Andy would bring, and the promise of an immediate place in the senior team was on offer. In the midst of a great era, Hawthorn was the reigning Premiers, a team consisting of many future Hall of Fame players but with few opportunities and no promises made. He would have to bide his time.

"The head said go to Hawthorn, and the heart said what about Richmond? Hawthorn was such a well-run organisation", explains Andy.

He chose the environment that would best develop him. It's a decision that would lay the foundation for a Premiership-winning career with the Hawks and foreshadowed the thoughtful approach he brings to his leadership. It builds on his deep respect for the values that shaped him and demands he does likewise as President, on behalf of the current and future groups who have aligned their careers to the Hawks as he did all those years ago.

"We need to focus on what unites us, rather than what divides us. There's a lot more that unites us than divides us."

Leadership, in its truest form, is rarely sought—it finds us, when there are far easier paths on offer.

Hawthorn's issues were well understood, but the solutions were less so. Alarming historical allegations affecting First Nations players, the development of the most ambitious high-risk/high-reward facility development any AFL club has ever undertaken, and a bold List Management strategy, led by a Rookie Coach in Sam Mitchell, that many industry voices branded as misguided.

"We inherited a difficult situation," he says, with typical understatement. But what I quickly learned was that we needed to focus less on the noise and more on creating a space where people could speak their truth, where they felt heard.”

Andy's approach wasn't an attempt to control the narrative, but to open space for genuine conversation. Authentic leadership isn't about talking at people, but the courage to create the space for truth to emerge through dialogue, not monologue, focusing on finding common ground rather than fortifying differences.

"What unites us is we all love the Hawthorn Football Club," he explains. "It's a bit like the family analogy. We've had a disagreement. Just park that for a minute. What do we want the result to look like? We want everybody to come back to the club, to feel welcome at the reunion, to bring their kids along."

In this simple statement lies profound wisdom: we are either moving towards or away from something. When facing complex challenges, there's always a choice—retreat into defensiveness and division, or move toward connection and shared purpose. Andy's leadership exemplifies a deliberate choice to move toward unity, even when the easier path might be to fight against criticism or blame others.

Leadership is not defined by the challenges we face, but by the direction we choose to move in response.

The complexity of leadership lies not in having all the answers, but in creating the conditions for better questions. Andy's approach exemplifies this: "We couldn't rush to judgment. We had to create a process that respected all parties, that gave dignity to everyone involved."

When faced with criticism about the club's rebuilding strategy, Andy demonstrates the courage to stand in uncertainty: "People in the industry have said to me, 'You have made the wrong decision here, cutting your list back. You will be in the doldrums for years.' And you have your moments where you think, 'Well, what if they're right?'"

Yet he maintains conviction without crossing into rigidity: "Time will tell whether it's successful or not. But we think we're going down the right pathway." A barnstorming 2024, where the Hawks captured the footy imagination for their bold and exciting football, indicates, if nothing else, a team and club that is on track.

Perhaps most refreshing is Andy's comfort with disagreement: "You can have the debate, you can have the discussion. But when we walk out of the room, we're aligned. You may have had a different view initially, but we've socialised it and we've discussed it."

As a leader, Andy brings a wonderful blend of humility and conviction. In a world that often demands certainty, he models a leadership approach that embraces nuance, and respects the complexity of his role and the challenges faced by those with ambitions to do well, personally and collectively. His understanding that unity doesn't require uniformity offers both challenge and hope for leaders across all domains.

Notebook ready.

Play on!