Leading the GIANTS

Ranked seventh in the 1988 national draft, Leon moved from his home town of Warrnambool, south west of Melbourne, at just 16, ready to embark on a career as a professional AFL footballer.

From 1988 to 2003, Leon devoted himself to the game, his clubs and his teammates.

Following such a long and distinguished playing career, Leon could have been forgiven for taking some time out of football, but instead – in a testament to his drive and dedication – he walked straight into the role of assistant coach at the Bulldogs.

He spent seven seasons as assistant at the club and two more at Hawthorn before accepting a unique deal by the AFL’s newest club, the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

Under the deal, Leon was contracted to serve as a senior assistant coach under AFL legend Kevin Sheedy for one year, before taking on the role of head coach in 2014.

The decision to leave 2012 AFL Grand Final contenders Hawthorn – who in Leon’s last year were unlucky to go down to the Sydney Swans in what is regarded as one of the best grand finals ever – for a club still very much in its infancy, could not have been easy.

But for Leon, the chance to lead a club – to take it from the bottom to the top – was difficult to turn down.

Rise to the top

Leadership is something that Leon has always valued himself, pointing out that helping people to improve comes naturally to him.

“I like to see people get the best out of themselves,” he says. “I really enjoy helping people get from point A to point B, whether that’s helping them become a better person off the field in their day-to-day life, or become a better player on the field.”

As his playing career was coming to an end, Leon decided he wanted to take his leadership skills further and set his sights on coaching AFL.

“I think at the back end of my career, when I was a bit more mature, a bit more experienced, a bit more rounded as a person – both on and off the field – I realised I enjoyed giving out direction,” he says.

“I enjoy helping someone improve themself, and so I think that just evolved to becoming a coach when I finished footy,” he says.

Leon believes that in his own life, he has had some fantastic role models and attaches great importance to their direction. While acknowledging his coaches and the rest of his family, Leon singles out his mother as his biggest influence.

“She probably had the biggest influence because she had a hard upbringing and had to look after four of us kids on her own,” he says.

“But she wasn’t looking at it saying, ‘Geez, what have I done to deserve this?’; it was, ‘How good is this? I have four kids, and I’m going to teach them some really strong values’.”

When you meet Leon, it’s easy to see how important he considers these strong values to be, some of which he learnt from his coaches and not all of them football-related.

Care, respect, punctuality and genuine empathy resonate as Leon talks about the coaches he has had, and the leader he wants to be. His role as head coach, he explains, isn’t just about shaping footballers but about moulding better men.

“I think the one thing that is constant through all your coaches is they have a genuine interest in making you a better person, they think ‘If I can get everything out of this person off the field, then on the field his performances should naturally take care of themselves’,” he says.

In a Giant’s footsteps

Leon joined the Giants in 2013 to serve a final year as an assistant coach under AFL legend Kevin Sheedy. For many, taking the reins from such a formidable character would be intimidating, but for Leon it was an opportunity to learn.

“I wanted to learn his footy knowledge… I wanted to pick his brains about how he deals with the running of an AFL club, not just the 46 players but the media, the board, supporters, selling the game in general and how does he deal with a balanced life outside of that as well,” he says.

And for every problem he has had, Sheedy has had a story to show what should be done.

“All those experiences he gave me, all those life experiences... they prepare you for so much. When you are confronted by a situation you think, well, Kevin dealt with it this way, I’m going to try that,” Leon says.

That said, it is Sheedy’s passion he most admires. “He is passionate about AFL football, but he is also passionate about helping people have better lives and be better people – that was a massive thing I took from Sheeds,” says Leon.

A leader in the community

As a new club playing AFL in a rugby league heartland, the Giants have always faced a tough task to win over fans.

They haven’t been able to rely on their on-field performance alone; instead, they have become part of the community in other ways.

In recent years, many sporting organisations have taken on a leadership role within the community to address a range of issues, from the responsible consumption of alcohol to violence and driver safety – and the Giants see this leadership as a huge part of their role in western Sydney.

“We are not just here to grow a side that’s going to win AFL football games; we are here to grow a side and a football club that is firmly placed in the community,” says Leon.

“It’s important for us to be reaching out to the community to make sure that we are not just sportspeople; we are actually real people that want to get to know our community.”

One program of which he is particularly proud is the Gentle Giants initiative. This involves the entire playing group, coaching staff and support staff taking the time to go into hospitals to visit, to get to know the sick and to form real relationships with disadvantaged members of their community.

“It’s a relationship-building opportunity for us to see if we can help them in their day-to-day struggles in life,” Leon says.

While the program provides a huge lift for the community, it also has great benefits for the players themselves.

“The players become more rounded people in dealing with the day-to-day things in life,” he continues, adding that “if we are part of the community then the community will follow us – and that’s our role to play”.

The key difference

Whether it’s on the football field, in the community or in business, good leadership can make the difference between winning and losing, between profit and loss. But in the final analysis, what is it?

“It comes in all different forms but I’m a big believer in leading by example,” says Leon.

“You lead by example with your work rate, you lead by example with your energy, you lead by example by doing all the little things well, over and over and over again. You lead by example by having sheer passion, you lead by example by showing respect and punctuality, genuine manners,” he says.

Guiding your team – whether they’re football players or employees – with true leadership and good values is the key to success, according to Leon.

“I think if all of our staff and all of our players genuinely have a lot of these values or behaviours that I’m talking about, it holds us in great stead,” he says.