We are pleased to announce the release of a new book by Pippa Grange; Ethical Leadership in Sport: What’s your ENDgame? ,
published by Business Expert Press
Ethical Leadership in Sport: What’s your ENDgame? is a practical guide on how to navigate the complexities of ethical leadership in sport, recognizing the increasing pressure placed on individuals and organizations in sport to be endless winners, role models, and good social citizens. Modern sport is under scrutiny in an era of weekly international headlines declaring its moral bankruptcy and looking to leaders for answers.
Yet most leaders know right from wrong, so what is getting in the way? Giving voice to your values isn’t always straightforward, and this book is an ally to the leader who wants to explore how to approach ethical dilemmas and value-based conflicts that emerge in sports organizations in order to choose well and reduce the risk of going awry.
The approach is two-fold: Coaching for the leader on how to make and act on an ethical decision when faced with a dilemma; and an exploration of those deep personal values and beliefs about self and sport that inform the way we think and act. The book considers ethics in the context of modern sport and highlights the classic ethical traps and cultural slippery slopes to avoid, using case studies and examples.
Pippa Grange is a Doctor of Applied Psychology and a graduate of the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship Program for Ethics in Leadership. Pippa is fast becoming a key person of influence in the sports culture and ethics field internationally. She is a keynote speaker, researcher, social commentator, educator, and Director of Bluestone Edge, an organization committed to helping sport and sports people thrive.
Preview
“This book is a welcome addition to the GIVING VOICE TO VALUES collection because it addresses contemporary and compelling challenges to our values that are faced by all manner of leaders in sports — administrators, athletes and coaches alike — and it not only offers ways to think our way through these challenges but also, uniquely and importantly, strategies and approaches for how to address them effectively and ethically. Pippa Grange draws on her professional expertise and her wide-ranging experience in the sports arena to provide an insightful and empowering and accessible resource”.
(Mary Gentile, Collection Editor, Giving Voice to Values on Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Collection, Business Expert Press.)
- …. Sport has been under fire in recent times as a hotbed of poor ethical choices, underwhelming integrity, and in some cases straight out corruption. Common problems have included the normalizing of harmful practices that put people at risk physically or psychologically, various forms of deceit and fraud that amount to cheating, avoidance of social responsibility on tough human rights issues both within the ranks and in the community, and a win-at-all costs mentality that leaves a chosen few bathed in gilded glory but many more as collateral damage along the way.
It has been argued that the very nature of competition, pitting rivals against each other in a battle for supremacy and gain, will necessarily bring out the worst in a flawed and self-interested human nature. Competitive sport results in a victor and loser, but it does not necessarily have to involve the destruction of the latter or a dismissal of values and principles along the way. It is not inevitable that the test of our own mettle, dominance, and skill in the metaphorical “field of battle” will result in moral poverty. In fact, it is this very test that may offer unparalleled opportunity to display who we are at our best.
… It is not always easy to act on your values. It is not even always possible. It can be particularly hard when you feel alone or isolated, conflicted with others with whom you would really rather stay on side, or if everyone else in the room thinks you are making a mountain out of a molehill. It is always easier, in the short term, to “kick with the wind,” but frankly, anyone can do that and I presume you are reading this book because you want to do better than that.
There are however times when it is possible to act and get a result, and for those times, it is worth trying. A classic sport maxim is that the “one-percenters” count, the small everyday things, as well as the great challenges, all contribute to fantastic performances. It is the same with building your capabilities as an ethical leader within your organization. The grand moments or genuine catastrophes are few and far between, it is your everyday will and skill that count the most.
To order, please visit http://www.businessexpertpress.com/books/ethical-leadership-sport-whats-your-endgame
For further information, please contact kate@bluestoneedge.com