“To do extraordinary things, it takes a different type of person”

John Bertrand

This week, we welcome Australian sporting icon John Bertrand AO to ‘In the Arena’, a leader who exemplifies this mindset.

With the Olympics currently dominating the sporting landscape as only the Olympics can, John brings his perspective as both a competitor (two-time Olympian and Sailing Bronze Medalist) and the man who was given the job of righting Australian Swimming when it lost its way a decade ago, with our team achieving a record medal haul in Tokyo, and off to an exciting start in Paris.

But he is best known as the Australian who skippered Australia II to victory to win the 1983 America’s Cup, breaking 132 years of American domination and, in the process, breaking the longest-running record in the history of modern sport.

Ask any Australian where they were that day, and they will remember.

The Confederation of Australian Sport voted the Australia II crew’s victory the greatest team performance in 200 years of Australian sport. In 2013, John was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, the most prestigious sporting honour that can be bestowed on an Australian sportsperson.

He is also the most curious person that I have met.

John is that rare kind of leader who can look at the future of their sport and see radically different things from most. He is far more interested in what we can become than who we think we are already.

He is also incredibly brave, prepared to risk himself to fulfil the promise of his sport. He did so for decades in two domains, swimming and sailing, but also in business and as a philanthropist.

Always trying new things, prepared to get it wrong, comforted by the understanding that, when the dust settles, loss and heartbreak are temporary states and essential for growth.

He understands that the path to doing anything difficult will require dealing with the inevitable roadblocks; the most significant is the capacity to stay clear-headed in the face of uncertainty, conflict and rancour.

Taking something from its first elementary thought, its many iterations drawn and re-drawn from mistakes made and learnings gained (the debates, the whiteboards, the training, the video sessions, the losing and winning of contests) to its full realisation (winning the America’s Cup or an Olympic Gold Medal) is metaphorically, what leaders do. It changes the way the sport is played and how the world thinks.

John also speaks openly about how sport has shaped him. How thankful he is for the lessons the experiences gifted him, always prepared to put himself in deep and diverse conversation to satisfy his relentless curiosity, being at ease with not-knowing.

He is all these things and more in this conversation, and I am honoured to have him as our guest. I doubt whether we will have a guest who represents the idea of ‘In the Arena’ more than John Bertrand.

Enjoy!

Play on!

Cam