Doping scandal: Why Sebastian Coe must cut ties with Nike to signal dedication to athletics
Lord Coe is facing the biggest challenge of his professional life. Widespread corruption and cover-ups are seemingly being unearthed as he settles into his new role as president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The heat will be cranked up on him further when he faces MPs this month to answer questions on the Russian doping scandal and his potential conflict of interest as an ambassador for Nike.
Calls for Coe’s resignation as he begins his tenure are premature and despite these being what he called “dark days” for athletics, he has stressed his commitment to lead the sport down the “long road to redemption”. Coe faces a sport in tatters but in my view there is no-one better equipped to get the sport back on track.
Having interviewed many of the world’s great sporting champions and coaches for Sporting Edge’s corporate training programmes, Coe shows all the characteristics I believe are needed for success.
Read more: Anti-doping expert says Lord Coe and IAAF don't have dedication to clean up athletics
His former life as an Olympic athlete called for him to run down and conquer many long roads on his way to a gold medal in the 1,500m final of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. I believe that it’s this mindset which not only delivered the success of London 2012, but will now fuel his determination to re-balance world athletics.
Whether you are leading a City corporation or a major sporting body, coping with adversity is a key driver of success.
When I interviewed Coe last year he said: “I would say that the most important lessons that I have learnt in my career were always actually on the back of defeats. I think back to the 1978 European Championships, which probably defined my whole career, because that was the moment I realised that in order to bridge the gulf between the very best and where I currently was as a jobbing rookie athlete we had to approach things very differently."
Taking the integrity of athletics’ governing body to the top will be no easy task. A thorough review of the current allegations and bold action taken to remove any violating parties will need to be clinical. Leaders should never waste the opportunity that a crisis presents to recalibrate the cultural values of the organisation and clarify the expected behaviours and sanctions.
The need for trust in our senior leaders has never been so strong. While difficult to quantify from a psychological standpoint, consistency, competence and transparency all fuel trust but the thing which erodes it faster than anything is the prevalence of self-interest. This is where Coe needs to cut his ties with Nike as a signal that he is selflessly dedicated to the cause.
As for many of his peers across the Square Mile, the future is uncertain but by showing strong personal values he can navigate his way to stability. His definition of the champion mindset illustrates the challenge ahead. "I think the athletes that really reach the highest level have an insatiable desire to find out more about themselves. They want to know what’s around the bend even frankly if they can’t see it sometimes," he told me.
"And secondly, it is just the ability to unremittingly grind out the work knowing that not every day is going to be the most exciting day of your life. There is nothing at the end of that day that is going to be flash bulbs and headlines, and you may only get those three or four times during a course of a two- or three-year period. It’s just the ability to get up in the morning and deal with that consistently that makes the difference."
For now Lord Coe is in the headlines for the wrong reasons but by reconnecting with the resilience of his youth and his strategic thinking from the London 2012 campaign, he is the best man for the challenges ahead.