1 | The Power of Leadership in Organisations | Mary Davis

Welcome to Face Forward, the inspiring change podcast on all things internal communications, engagement, leadership, and change. I'm really excited to be here today with Mary Davis, the CEO of Special Olympics, sitting in her beautiful house overlooking the sea in Hoth, having a cup of tea and a biscuit, which is how you should be spending the afternoons in the winter, a week away from Christmas, I think. Don't you agree?

Absolutely, Scott, and you're very welcome to the home we're only moved in here in July, so it's still very, very new for us. And in fact, because I spend so much time in the US now, in DC, I feel like I'm a visitor in my own house. So I'm glad to be back here for 3 weeks. It's the longest time I've ever spent here because we only moved in in July. So I'm looking forward to it, and it's beautiful to have a sea view. And I find that the sea is very calming, even when it's a rough sea. There's something about looking out at water that can be very calming and inspirational as well at the same time. Lovely to be here and no two days are the same, I can guarantee you. I looked out this morning and the sea was like flash beautiful crystal glass. Yesterday it was roaring, tempestuous, wild, tempestuous. So no, no two days the same and that's what I guess what's interesting, and it's like watching a fire. There's something, you know, you feel like you're never alone when you're watching the sea roll in and out or watching the flames burn and the cinders.

So it's kind of beguiling. I think it's a very beguiling kind of nature trip.

Yeah, definitely. Brilliant.

Well, listen, thanks for having me. I'm going to kick off just a really easy one first of all by getting you to tell me a little bit about your career and then ultimately today as a CEO of Special Olympics, what your role is.

Okay, well, I started out when I left college, I'm a teacher, so I worked in St. Michael's House in Ballymun initially and then travelled around. St. Michael's House is a large organisation for people with an intellectual disability, so I travelled around most of their centres, the all-day centres at the time, coordinating the whole physical activity program, and as a result of that, I got involved in Special Olympics in the very early days, in 1978. Okay. Uh, so I was definitely straight out of college, practically, uh, although I'd done a few subbing jobs before that in various different schools. So I thought Special Olympics was a wonderful organization at that time for me and for a couple of others of us that had begun to work in the field, we had really no materials, no resources, because there was really nothing written here about people with intellectual disability and physical activity or the importance of it, etc. So it was wonderful having an organization like Special Olympics that suddenly had those resources available to us, and we learned an awful lot from Special Olympics through that, through getting involved. And I just loved what I got involved in, and working with people with intellectual disabilities and working through the program of Special Olympics was a very uplifting experience. They're wonderfully happy, energetic people to be around, eager to learn, wanting to learn, unlike many other students that I had taught when I was subbing around in a couple of schools. I was energized by the job and particularly by Special Olympics then, so stayed involved and I volunteered for 10 years, then I became the first National Director of Special Olympics Ireland and from there we would keep thinking of ways that we could raise more awareness, raise consciousness change attitudes, get more volunteers involved in Special Olympics, like how, how could we do more and more and more? And we always felt if we did something big, the organization will be better recognized. And we were always benchmarking ourselves amongst other organizations or not-for-profits that were at that stage and trying to figure out how to get there. So we organized the European Games in 1985, We had 17 countries come over to Ireland. Some of them had never even experienced Special Olympics before, so it was a great introduction for them as well. And went on from there to take on the world and organize World Games in 2003. Yeah, and I was fortunate enough to be the CEO for those games, worked with an incredible board, Denis O'Brien, a group of people who were just so knowledgeable and were true leaders in their own field. You know, there were people that I could see had unshakable confidence and courage to do things and to be innovative.

And I was very lucky to see it from the other side of the coin because I, of course, volunteered in the badminton venue for the World Games and helped to run the badminton venue. Yeah. So I got to see, which is bizarrely around the corner from my house now, about 500 yards.

Fantastic.

So when I look back at that 14 years, and absolutely, yeah, you know, it was an absolutely amazing thing to be involved in that really got the country behind us. Isn't it funny now when you'll be the same as me when you drive down the country and you still see the twinning, the twinning signs with the towns in Ireland, with the countries that came to visit that year.

Yeah, isn't it amazing that they're still there? Like, 17 years ago, it's hard to believe it's 17 years since those games, but it is. And that the memory still lives on in all those towns, but it's not just in the physical presence of the signs. The memory lives in people's minds, and so many people after those games got involved in a voluntary capacity at local level. So much so now that Special Olympics Ireland has something like 24,000 volunteers on its database, which is just phenomenal, for all of those, yeah, all of those actively involved in one way or another, and there is no doubt that Special Olympics has gone from strength to strength and is an incredibly well-respected, trusted, and developed organization now, and that's really what we set out to do in 1978, you know, when we were struggling, when we didn't have very many resources, constantly bringing people together, thinking, brainstorming how we can, how we can do better. And now we're seeing the results of that and all the people who worked in a volunteer capacity to make that happen. So it's great to be at this stage and to see that. And then I moved on to work as Managing Director in Europe, so got to bring what happened in Ireland and the experiences and what I learned to a larger audience throughout Europe. And, you know, as I visited countries like Moldova or Romania or Russia or Uzbekistan and Central Asia, and you see, you know, where there is still a lot of stigmatization in relation to intellectual disability, still a lot of institutionalization, And that's a bit like what it was for us back in 1978. So we saw how we transitioned and moved forward. Now, obviously, in the work we're doing now, we're trying to do that an awful lot faster. We don't want it to take 30, 40 years for this change to happen. So we are using experiences of the past to guide us for the future.

I think attitudes have changed as well worldwide. I think in many ways, I don't think we're as I don't think we're as old school as we maybe were 35 or 40 years ago. I think people's attitudes have changed slightly, unless I guess you'll have pockets where it's still the same.

You win.

And now of course you're in a role as CEO of Special Olympics, Special Olympics Worldwide, to be able to bring that European knowledge to an even higher level on the world stage.

Yeah, which is great to be able to do that and now to be able to to see, you know, massive big countries like India and China and how they're progressing and how attitudes are changing there as well. I mean, it is great to be part of that and to be able to, to be able to guide that with the volunteers in those programs. And Special Olympics itself has come a long way in that time as well, because when I started out in 1978, you know, it was very much an organization for people with intellectual intellectual disability, and that's what we did. We provided a service for people with intellectual disability, mainly through the platform of sport. Now, that's still our strength, and we still work through the platform of sport, but we have so many other programs that we've introduced now. We have the, the largest health program for people with intellectual disability in the world, and there's so many disparities in health health for people with intellectual disability. Like, that's, that's a big part of what we do now. We have a great, what we call, unified sports program, which is people with and without intellectual disability playing together in the same playing field. And we feel that if we can introduce that program at the youngest age possible— in fact, from age 2, we have a young athlete program that's unified also and where young children and school-going children, youth, can interact, can learn from each other, whether you have a disability or not a disability, that you recognize that we're all the same at the end of the day, that there really is no, no difference. And, you know, people with intellectual disability can play sport just as well as anybody else, and you don't even notice the difference when you see them on the soccer pitch or on the basketball court. So our program really has changed from being an organization for people with intellectual disability to an organization with people with intellectual disability and very much driven by people with intellectual disability. We have an incredible leadership program that we've introduced now as well, uh, through our Organizational Excellence Division, and That's again a unified program where our athletes and our staff and some volunteers participate in that program with some board members who participated as well as in the Leadership Academy. We've run Leadership Academies all over the world and they have really helped our athletes as well to be leaders in the organization. So we're empowering them all the time. So it's not so much an organization for now, like it was when I started, but an organization from which we learn a great deal about life and about change and about difference and understanding difference from people with intellectual disability. So I say it's more of an organization now from which we learn. Rather than an organization particularly for people with intellectual disability, and that's the big change I've seen, and that's what's going to drive us forward. I mean, we're 50 years next year, Special Olympics was started in 1968, and you know, whilst next year is of course about looking back and celebrating the past, it's about how that past is going to drive us into the future and how we can bring that message of our athletes are not to be pitied, you know, neither are they to be forgotten. They are human beings. They have rights exactly the same as everybody else. And please treat them in that way and give them the support network that they need in order to shine and be the best that they can be. And that's all they ask for. And after all, that's all any of us ask for. We want to be the best that we can possibly be.

I remember around the World Games time, there was a, there was a bus shelter just really stuck with me, you know, 14 or 15 years on. And it was a picture of one of the Special Olympics athletes, one of the golfers, and he was a scratch golfer. And it just said, 'Where do you see the disability?' Yes, yes. And it was such a poignant message that actually, when he's got his golf visor on, when he's on a green looking at his ball about to putt, you know, and he's a scratch golfer, which many, many of us are aspire to be.

Yeah, absolutely, we sure do. I will never be as good as that, as that, because I know him actually. His name is Oliver Doherty, and, um, he was— when he was young, Oliver was bullied very badly in school, had a really tough time, and his dad got him involved in golf, and he pursued it, as you say, to such an extent that he excelled and won many gold medals at various different World Games that he was at. And you know what, he came back to his community then in Donegal, because that's where Oliver is from, and he was made— he was invited to be captain of the club.

Wow. Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?

Which such a change from a child, such a huge achievement, absolutely, but such a change in attitude from a society whereby he was bullied earlier on in his life to now a society where he was totally respected and acknowledged for his abilities, which is what he has. Interesting.

Very interesting. Listen, I'm going to go back a wee bit because you touched very, very briefly there on the Leadership Academy and the way that Special Olympics looks now at more unified leadership. And just from your perspective, What do you believe makes a good leader? What makes a great leader? Maybe in Special Olympics or more broadly, if there's even a difference.

I don't know. I don't think there's a difference. And for me, leadership is very simple as well. I don't see, you know, I know there's loads of theories and loads of definitions of leadership and tons and tons of books and materials read about leadership. To me, it's about the way you behave. It's about your actions and it's about what comes from inside. And I think if you can inspire people by what you do, by what you say, and if you can empower them, well then I really think that you're a true leader and it's authentic leadership as well. It's not just leadership because I'm a CEO and I Neither do I think leadership is about being a CEO, and I often say this to my own team: you are all leaders, you're all the face of our organization. No matter where you work, when you step out and represent Special Olympics or represent the company or the agency or wherever you work, you are the leader, you are the front of that organization at that particular time. And you either impress people or you turn them off or you engage them. So it's about how we behave, it's about our attitude to things. You know, they say life is what happens to you 10% and how you react to it 90%. And it is because it's how we react to different situations, different things in our life, and you can react in a negative way or you can react in a positive way. And I, I would very much be somebody who would certainly try to react in a very positive way and would try to lead by what I believe myself and to show that every day. Like, leadership isn't either, I think, just about, you know, sort of being something once every so often and doing something that you say, oh, you know, that's my leadership box ticked. It's not like that to me.

It's every day.

I've done my leadership bit for today. You know, it's not about that. You know, it's about living every day with people, showing them, empowering them, Spending time with people as well, I think that's a really, really important trait of leadership and that you're actually spending the time with them. It could only be a couple of minutes, but you're giving, you're feeling, making that person feel that it's their time with you and that you're not distracted. And, you know, I always think sometimes when we're in company or when you're at a party and everybody wants to talk and nobody's listening listening to anybody. And you begin to tell your story and suddenly you realize, you know, eyes are all over the room, nobody's listening to you. You think, oh, you're deflated then because you think, oh my good story and nobody's listening to me. And I always feel that's a bit about leadership as well, you know, that with staff particularly, staff like to be heard. They like their views to be They like their views to be heard. Now they also like their views to be taken on board, and in as much as you can, I think you should try to accommodate that, but I don't think you always can.

And I think if you don't, then you tell them you can't, and you tell them why.

And you tell them why, but you've actually engaged with them right through the process, so they feel like, okay, I've been listened to, that person really gets what I'm trying to do. Now they've decided not to go down that route, 'But these are their reasons.' And then that obviously everybody's willing then to play on the team. Yeah. Just because it's a decision that they don't like. But it's how you come to that decision that's important, and that can either turn somebody off and put them off ever coming to you again because they feel they're not being heard. So I think being listened to, and obviously there's all the the words that we all talk about around leadership as well, like respect and trust. These are all important things. I think particularly respect and trust in people. You're— I feel I have to trust my team, but I feel they've got to trust me as well. And it's building that trust, and that can take time, can take a long time.

I love the way when you talk about leadership not being, you know, I've done my leadership today, tick, I'm done with being a leader because I fundamentally believe that leadership is about being and not doing. It's not actually about doing something. It's like engagement. We spent a lot of time in a previous company I worked in talking with leaders about engagement and it all focused very much then on the engagement survey and employee survey. And I kept saying to them, all that is, is an excuse and a reason to have a conversation with people. It's a line in the sand, that's all. Get over yourself. All it's going to tell you is, are you being a good leader or not? And actually, many times when you look at some of these engagement surveys, the questions in themselves are just fundamentally basic leadership skills, really. You know, am I recognizing my staff?

Yeah, exactly. Am I communicating? Because communication is one— that to me is one of the great traits of leadership and it's not easy. Look, and I don't know in the world if anybody has cracked it truly within a company or an organization because no matter where you go, you'll hear, you know, there's been a breakdown in communication or such a one thought they communicated with me but they actually hadn't, that's not the way I perceived it at the other end. And you know, there's all the various ways that we know to communicate by email, by telephone. Now there's just so many different ways with the Twitter and all sorts of the new technologies. Yeah, exactly. And WeChat and everything. There's so many ways to communicate. And yet the face-to-face is so important in the midst of all that. And, but it's not possible to do it all the time. Like for instance, In our organization where we have 172 countries and there are 7 regions of the world that report into me as global CEO, you know, you can't have face-to-face conversations with these people all the time, but we try to make it better and I certainly think things like Skype has helped. We've just introduced telepresence in the office in DC to make that experience a better experience. Experience and that it looks more and more realistically like a face-to-face conversation because I do think that's probably the best way, but from an economic standpoint as well as everything else, it's not possible to do that all the time. But using all those forms of communication and, you know, as we were chatting earlier when you arrived, the old ways of communicating are as good as the new ways of communicating. So whether it is the newsletter or the written letter, or— I mean, I send a Christmas card to every single one of my staff, and I think there must be over 200 in the organization, and I write a personal note every year just acknowledging the work, the positive things that happened in the year, and, you know, wishing them well for the next last year. And I just think it's— yeah, it takes a bit of time, sure it does, but you know what, everything takes a bit of time. So you just have to set aside the time if you think it's important enough.

Absolutely.

So that's what I say. I think that is important enough. Now somebody else might dismiss that and say, oh, don't be ridiculous, that's a waste of your time sending in the card out to everybody.

I would hazard a guess it lands way better and way more impactfully than a bottle of wine or a €50 one-for-all gift card?

Yeah, well, I would hope, I would hope that it would, because first we couldn't afford the bottle of wine or the €50 gift card for everybody in the organization. We're a not-for-profit, so we couldn't afford that.

But it means we must—

it just means it's a personal touch, comes from me, and I really do want to acknowledge their presence in the organization and what they've brought the success. And I think having people understand that no matter what role you play, you know, whether you work in finance, whether you work in administration, whether you work in legal, or whether you work coaching on the ground face to face with people, you play an important role. You know, I remember reading somewhere, and you probably have seen this over time as well. I think it was President Kennedy, God rest his soul, when he was in, um, when he went to visit NASA, and he said he met the janitor, and he said to the janitor, what do you do around here? And he said, oh, I help people on the moon. And just thought, yeah, well, good for you, because that's what you do. Because if somebody didn't do that job, then yeah, you, they wouldn't be as successful as they are. So it's It's understanding everybody's contribution to life.

Agreed. And what NASA, I think, did very, very well, whether they did it on purpose or by accident, was they had their why very, very simply put out there, and they communicated that to their staff very, very well. What's NASA's why? To put a man on the moon. That's why we exist. And everybody knew that. And I suspect, you know, it's really interesting when you look at purpose, for an organization, and actually that's what gets people bought in. That's what gets them emotionally bought into your organization. And I guess you're lucky as the head of a nonprofit because people choose to work there because they believe— in many ways, they believe in what you're trying to achieve as an organization, and that galvanizes them and the organization to a point where everybody is forcefully— they're not just going the same direction, They are pushing the same direction and you've got all those people behind you all pushing for the same thing. It must be phenomenal to be the head of.

But that's so powerful when you, when you do get that. And I mean, you know, it's, it's, it's not always the case either. You know, of course you do get, you know, people that want to go different direction or whatever, but generally speaking, when you can mobilize people to work together and actually that was the strength of 2003, the team that we had in 2003, the team of staff that were assembled, the volunteers, every single one of them— and there were 30,003, including yourself and the badminton and Val Joy— but every one of them knew that they were contributing to something bigger that was going to be massive, not just for the country but for the world. And there's was going to do something that was magical, in that it was going to change lives of people, change lives of ourselves. I'm not just talking about people with intellectual disabilities.

No, all of us.

Because yes, it was going to do that, but it changed all of us inside of us. And that was a very powerful message for people, and people understood that, and therefore they were prepared to do whatever they had to do to ensure the Games were successful. And now I try to do that in the organization as well, all the time, Bring people along, get everybody mobilized towards the same goal, communicate as much as you can in all the different ways for people, and empower them. Once people have the skills and that you've done the training, which again, going back to 2003, is what we would have done with all the volunteers. We made sure they were well trained. Then go and empower them. Don't try to be micromanaging them or looking over them. Trust, that's where the trust bit comes in. Trust them now to go out there and multiply and do their job and get other people bought into the organization. And that's enabling them to be leaders and allowing them to— and that's where, to me, when leadership cascades all the way down, that's when I would say you're a good leader.

Yeah, I remember, I'm smiling because I remember as you were talking there, an empowered volunteer in the badminton centre. And you mentioned Dennis O'Brien earlier on, and O'Brien's Sandwiches were the food sponsor, if you remember, and they provided all the food for all the volunteers. And I remember one of our more elderly volunteers, Dennis O'Brien, came to visit the venue one afternoon, and he came in the door. Hi Dennis, how are you? I was kind of showing him around, and this volunteer came up and shook his hand and went Mr. O'Brien, thanks very much for the sandwiches.

I hadn't heard that story actually.

So we just ushered her away. Very sorry, Dennis, very sorry.

That's funny.

That was very, very good. Very good.

Thanks for the sandwiches, Mr. O'Brien. That's great.

Let me ask you one thing around change, because I think Special Olympics, like all organizations, go through change and have to go through change. To remain relevant and to remain relevant in a changing landscape. What do you think the role of a leader is during times of change and how can they support change to make it successful?

Well, change is inevitable, I think, and change is good too. I mean, it has to happen, but it's for a lot of people, it's a 4-letter word: fear. Fear, fear, fear. For some reason, people think that, you know, it's going to be worse rather than better when change happens. So it's trying to reduce that fear in people, and it's a bit like what we spoke about earlier, though. It's how you communicate with people and bring them along in the process of change that can that can influence them. So I think it's, it's about influencing and persuading people as well and bringing them along with you and they understanding, well, why do you want to change in the first place? Like, why do we want to change something? You know, is it, is it broken? Is it that there's some new innovation now that we want to introduce into the movement or into the organization? So why are you doing it in the first place? And then how is everybody that's going to be impacted going to be involved in the process? And I think when you do that and bring people along all the steps, the various steps, and listen to them, it's easier to accept accept the change if you feel that you're part of it.

Yeah, I agree. I absolutely agree. I think that once you get brought on the journey, you feel part of that journey. Yeah. And part of that change, back to a point you made earlier about even if you don't agree with it, you've had your say, you've had your input, and now as a team we have to get on for it, for the betterment, for the betterment of ourselves and for the organization.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now Does everybody then always behave like that? No, not always. But then I always say there's always like, you know, people at either end of the spectrum, and then there's the people in the middle who will generally. And I think our job as well, or the job of leaders, is to try and bring the people on the fringes in as much as you possibly can and get them in towards the middle, but I think that you also have to accept the reality that it's not always possible to bring everybody along, but at least I think if you can feel that you have really made the effort and tried to, then you— well, for me, it's all about my conscience actually as well, you know, I can feel, well, look, I did the very best thing that I could do in relation to that. Uh, so yeah, sure.

Let me ask you who some of your leadership role models are. Who, who have you learned the most from, from a leadership perspective? Who do, who do you look up to?

Well, Eunice— it's hard to avoid without saying Eunice Kennedy Shriver, because really, I mean, you know, what the woman did was just incredible. You know, when you think that she grew up in that powerful family and she had a sister with intellectual disability who nobody would talk about, and that she was brave enough and courageous enough to come forward and say Rosemary has an intellectual disability— excuse me— when really it was never talked about. And then to go on and rally her own brother who, you know, had become the President of the United States and got him to change legislation and to then provided funding through the Kennedy Foundation to pay people to work in sport and recreation around the States and then to start the first games in 1968. Like, she did all that ever before she started the games in Special Olympics in 1968. So a truly, you know, courageous, brave woman that never ever took no for an answer. Like, just doesn't exist, that word, in her vocabulary. It was yes, we can make this, and yes, we can do this. And even, you know, when she came to Ireland, and she visited many, many times when I was both— when I was national director, when I was volunteering, and you had to be inspired by her. Because she always arrived, you know, to the airport and she never even wanted to go to the hotel. She couldn't care less where she stayed, never wanted to go in and be, you know, looked after with hospitality. She wanted to be on the field of play. Where were the athletes? Where were they competing? Where were they practicing? Where were they training? That's where she was. And that's where she was happiest, and that influenced me definitely, and that's actually the way that I've tried to conduct my presence in Special Olympics as I've gone along in my career as well. So she was very inspirational. You know, I mean, yeah, there are, I suppose, lots of other people that you would look at and say, well, were they good leaders, were they poor leaders, because you can have You can have leaders that are not so good leaders.

I think you learn from both.

I think you do, yeah, probably. Yeah, you do, you do learn from both. I had great experience with the people I worked with in 2003. I mentioned Bórd earlier, I mentioned Denis, you've mentioned him in your funny story, but he was a great leader. But Moya Doherty is another, I think, for me a female role model, which is, you know, was important. And, you know, what she went on to do with her life and the way she did it, I think, was fantastic. And you learn a great deal from people like that. She was also very involved with her husband John McColgan with the opening ceremony of the Games, put an amazing show together, and working with those people was an incredible experience because you're working with real, you know, people that have made such an impact on the world stage, really. So yeah, all of those I would say would have had an influence on my life. My own mother as well, and my mother-in-law. It's funny, I seem to be referring to women most of the time, but it is true. You know, my own mother was an amazing woman that grew up like we were reared in rural Ireland, you know, didn't have a huge amount, but was steeped in community and in understanding the value of people and understanding the value of your neighbor. And I think that was probably instilled in me from a very young age. You know, it takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a village to get an anything done, and it does. And we saw that in days when everybody gathered together and did all the work together. And now it's the same thing. I mean, I look at my organization like a village, and it takes all of us in that village to make the great things happen that happen in the world of Special Olympics.

Yeah, yeah, interesting, really interesting. Very finally now, very one last thing in 30 seconds. What leadership advice What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self looking back over the 10 years or so?

Well, I'd first of all say, be yourself. Be yourself. Because, you know, even when you're younger, you're a bit more tempestuous and you're less patient as well. I don't know if I go back to my own career in the beginning, you know, you're, you're less tolerant, I think. Well, I could talk about myself because you asked me.

I'm finding that the other way around, actually. I'm finding that as I get older, I'm less tolerant.

Really? No, I find I'm more tolerant. More tolerant, definitely. More understanding, more tolerant. And I wish, you know, it's like, you know, life, you have to live life forwards, but it would be fantastic to be able to live it backwards. There's definitely a quote about that. And it is true, you know, I think you live your life forward, but if you could live it backwards, there's, there's so much you'd have learned. But unfortunately, we can't do that. We have to live it forwards and we learn by our mistakes. And I feel that about myself. I feel, you know, I maybe could have been more tolerant in situations or with people even, that maybe I'd have got further. With in particular situations that now I deal with in a totally different way. But maybe you have to go through these experiences to learn as well. Maybe that's the way it is. So I would say, say, be yourself for starters. I think that's really important. And I think attitude is critically important, and just what you do and how you do it and who you are as a person. And if you can live every day like that, at the end of the end of the day is saying, well, am I happy with myself today? Because it is a little bit, it's that self-actualization that Maslow talked about. And it's getting to that stage. And hopefully I'd like to think I'm coming close to it.

I think you're pretty close to it, I have to say. It's been an absolute pleasure talking to you. Thanks so much for taking the time.

Thank you, Scott. A pleasure. You and the very best of luck as well in everything that you're doing right now.

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