8. Conclusion: Leadership, Culture and Invention

In bringing the book to a conclusion, this chapter acknowledges that it is not easy to change the culture of sporting enterprise, since they are by nature conservative, masculine institutions, which value their traditions and histories. While organisational culture is troublesome to reveal, and difficult to manage, it remains the cornerstone of any successful change strategy. Despite the conceptual messiness that surrounds culture, a detailed cultural map is the most effective tool for coming to grips with the culture of a sporting enterprise. Some cultures are clearly engines of energy and innovation, but others can be negative, distorted, and dysfunctional. While it was once believed that a strong culture was a good culture, this is no longer the case. For culture to be useful and productive, it must be appropriate to its operating environment. This chapter argues that the key to organisational transformation lies with a leader’s ability to empower others to act on the vision, and once they have established new policies, practices and procedures, to anchor them to the organisation’s culture. This chapter concludes that the best way forward is to utilise the Innovative Culture Framework deploying the five key dimensions of (1) Leadership, (2) Aligning Business and Innovation Strategy, (3) Fostering Collaboration, (4) Reducing Fear of Failure, and (5) Driving Openness to New Ideas, which can be applied to sport enterprises.