People, Pathways & Purpose: Reflections from 2025 and Priorities for 2026
- Sarah McQuade
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
If there’s one lesson 2025 made unmistakable, it’s this:
Development in sport isn’t programme-shaped — it’s ecosystem-shaped.
Organisations that continue to treat coaching, mentoring or leadership as standalone interventions are missing the point. The sector is shifting towards integrated developmental ecosystems grounded in purpose, culture, relationships and learning — and the results are noticeably different.
Four shifts stood out in our work this year that we believe will define where sport goes next:
1. Organisational Purpose & Culture as the Foundation for Development
We’ve seen more organisations willing to pause and interrogate themselves:
Who are we? Why do we exist? Who matters here? And how do we develop talent?
These aren’t cosmetic questions — they are strategic. Without clarity of purpose and culture, development becomes fragmented, reactive or personality-driven.
Working with bodies such as the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) on cultural reflection and leadership identity reminded us that purpose isn’t “nice to have” — it’s infrastructure. When purpose is coherent and cultural behaviours align, development accelerates. When it isn’t, even the best programmes operate with the handbrake on.
Sector implication: The organisations that will thrive are those who treat culture and purpose as performance assets, not HR or PR projects.
2. Women’s Leadership as a Distinct and Necessary Pipeline
Despite pockets of progress, women’s leadership remains structurally constrained in many parts of the sport system. It’s not a lack of confidence — it’s a lack of access, sponsorship, psychological safety and contextualised development.
Through our work with Commonwealth Sport on the Commonwealth Women’s Leadership Programme (CWLP), we saw firsthand how community, mentoring and reflective practice strengthen leadership identity and purpose. This isn’t remedial work; it’s strategic continuity and diversification of tale yearnt.
Sector implication: Until women’s leadership is treated as a pipeline issue — not a side project — organisations will keep recycling the same voices and narratives.
3. Mentors as Capability Multipliers and Culture-Bearers
Mentoring matured in 2025. It moved beyond matching pairs to building structured pathways that include training, supervision, reflective practice and evaluation.
Across the Commonwealth Sport, the PGA of GB & Ireland, PTR / PPR communities and Aston Villa’s athlete mentor initiative, we saw mentors act as capability multipliers — accelerating learning, strengthening culture, supporting wellbeing and improving talent retention.
The most effective mentors we saw weren’t giving advice; they were building reflective thinkers. That’s a profound shift.
Sector implication: If mentoring remains informal and unstructured, it stays as charity. When it becomes intentional, it becomes strategy.
4. Coaches & Assistant Coaches as the Operational Leadership Pipeline
Assistant coaches remain one of the most under-leveraged leadership assets in sport. They influence athlete experience, continuity, communication and succession — yet most receive minimal structured development.
Our work supporting the IWLCA ASPIRE community showed how assistant coaches grow when reflective practice, communication, leadership identity and mentoring are integrated into their environment.
It’s worth stating plainly: assistant coaches are the leadership pipeline — and the sector cannot afford to leave that pipeline to chance.
Sector implication: Organisations that invest early in assistant coaches will have healthier future leadership, better coach retention and more adaptable cultures.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Across these four layers, the takeaway is clear:
Sport grows when we invest in people, pathways and purpose — not in isolation, but together.
In 2026, the question won’t be “What programme should we run?” but rather:
“What ecosystem are we building?”
We’ll continue strengthening ecosystems that support:
Organisational purpose and culture
Women’s leadership and equity pathways
Structured mentoring and supervision
Assistant coach and coach development
Facilitation and reflective practice
We’re grateful to all the organisations, facilitators, mentors, coaches and leaders who partnered with us in 2025. None of this work happened alone.
With thanks to our 2025 collaborators: Commonwealth Sport, IWLCA, PGA of GB & Ireland, PTR / PPR, Aston Villa, and and our digital partner MiMentor who trusted us with their people.
Our invitation for 2026: let’s build ecosystems that help sport grow — with clarity, connection and care.
Comments