Lightbulb Moments - Stuart Ayres

Published Tue 10 Oct 2017

“I love sport’s capacity to reflect what is happening in life,” says The Hon Stuart Ayres MP, the NSW Minister for Sport. “I think there’s a lot of lessons in sport that can be used across business and just life in general.”

In the latest edition of Lightbulb Moments, Sport NSW Director Susan Horwitz sat down with the man who oversees the multi-billion NSW sporting industry and learnt some more about the Minister’s views on leadership, diversity and the rise of women’s sport.

On his lightbulb moment in terms of gender equality the Minister was emphatic. “I think it was the sheer reflection that there was 50% of the population that wasn’t getting the same opportunities as the other 50%.” He has no doubt about the current direction, saying “We are definitely in a period of exponential growth when it comes to women’s sport.”

And on diversity, sport also mirrors business according to Minister Ayres: “If you are playing football you don’t put out a team of all forwards or all backs – you’ve got to have a diversity of bodies, shapes, sizes and skills on the sporting field to get the win. The same thing exists in the corporate space. If you’ve got 10 people in your team that all look the same, think the same, have the same background and skills, you’re not going to be as successful. Teams that are diverse and bring that diversity of skills probably perform better in the long run.”

Click on the video above to watch the full interview with NSW Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres.

Lightbulb Moments is a video series exclusive to the Sport NSW website where Sport NSW Director Susan Horwitz speaks to leaders in the corporate and sporting world about leadership and equality on and off the field. The conversations focus in on the ‘lightbulb moments’ during the careers of these leaders and explore the ideas that have shaped them and led them to make changes in their own lives and the organisations they run.

With thanks to Foxtel for filming and production.

To view more Lightbulb Moments go to the Sport NSW Youtube Channel.