Tune in as Josh engages in important conversations with Ian Hawkins about mental health among our young people and the significant impact that sport and community can have on them. Josh has firsthand experience working with Ian and witnessing the positive influence he has on both the business and his personal life. We’re excited to see Ian’s business grow and the direct impact he will have on the community. Keep up the incredible work, Ian. It’s so great to see!
Josh: Gidday team, back again with the Saliba Community Series. I’m with my very good friend here, Ian Hawkins. We’ve been friends for a very long time but started off as a business relationship. So tell us a little bit about what you do in the business.
Ian: So I do personal coaching. Mostly for business owners, as we know a lot of people in corporate. But more recently, I’ve been working more in that sporting landscape. I did a fair bit of that before the pandemic, and things sort of changed through that process. But I’m getting myself back into that space, working with some young athletes and working with our local club as well, which I know you’ve got a lot to do with.
Josh: Talking about that, we’ve had the fortunate opportunity to work directly with you, obviously from a personal level, and it changed my life from that perspective. But then we had you in the office and in the business, working with people in that space. What is it you try and focus on when you’re working with people to, you know, inspire growth?
Ian: The most important thing is finding what works for you. So one of the key things is that it’s not about me telling you what to do. It’s not about “here’s a system, let’s plug that in.” It’s finding out what you do really well, how you do it, and let’s find a way to make that even better. Most of the time, as you know, it’s me asking you good questions and you come up with the answer. So a lot of what I do is empowering people to help them realise that everything they need is there. It’s just about pulling it all apart and putting it back together in a little bit of a different way so that they can navigate that much easier.
Josh: It was really amazing working with you because I pretty much worked out the problem, but it was you guiding me down that path and helping me find that out for myself. Anyone can tell you what you need to do, but you have to work it out internally, right?
Ian: Absolutely. And I think that’s, you know, there’s a lot of coaches that are telling people what they need to do. And that annoys me because I’ve been down that path of being coached by people like that. I’ve fallen into the trap of them repeating that process. But ultimately, who am I, or who are you, to tell anyone else what to do? It’s just providing a different perspective and opening up to a different way of doing things. There are always solutions that you haven’t thought of, and there are always paths that will unlock something that you didn’t even know was a thing.
Josh: And so tell us about the next stage, some really exciting growth opportunities for you. Going back to what you are truly passionate about in that sporting space and the Normanhurst Eagles Football Club. That’s a club that we’ve been sponsoring for over four years now. You’re doing some work with them. Talk to us about where you’re taking your business.
Ian: Yeah, so after the pandemic hit and I’d done a stint there with the Bulldogs, you know, I was like, “I’m not going to chase that again, because I’ll just let that come to me.” And it’s just funny. I’ve been having more parents ask me to work with young athletes. At the same time, I was volunteering my time at the club just to fill some of the gaps around how do we actually get the best out of a child in a way that they come back and they’re competitive? But part of it was actually helping the club set up paths so they understand that it’s not about… well, you see it on the sideline all the time, like parents screaming, getting really worked up. And so, like, you can still be really encouraging and really passionate and still be hyper-competitive, but doing so in a way that’s going to work for you. It’s going to work for the child, and it’s going to work for the team. So helping set up values similar to what we did so that everyone knows that this is the direction we’re heading. And then it gives children full control of what they’re doing. And whether it’s a young athlete or an old athlete, people feel in control over their destiny. And that’s when the magic happens.
Josh: Yeah, and for the amount of clubs that we support and have been involved in, I am yet to see something like this. And it’s really exciting to see it coming from the top down. So the club is actually pushing for it, and actually having this conversation filters up through the community, through the parents, and that goes into the kids instead of trying to work from the kids up. Typically, the parents can sometimes be the problem, right?
Ian: Absolutely. So I did some coaching for the coaches around some of these philosophies to help them. It’s a more enjoyable experience for the coach as well. And then that’s the other thing that we’re talking about now in the club is parent education. As parents, we just want the best for our children, right? We want to know that we’re doing the right thing. So it’s not about telling anyone to do a better job as a parent. It’s just maybe some counterintuitive ways that we can change how we approach it that make it far more enjoyable for everyone. And for me personally, we talk about this as a club as well. We want to make sure the child comes back the next year. We all know the value of working in a team environment. Especially in sport, there’s something magical about having a team experience that’s really positive and bringing those kids back to where they can enjoy the benefits of not just the physical well-being, but what that does for community as well.
Josh: Absolutely, knowing what I’ve known about you, you’ve been passionate from day one, but the conversations that I’ve had with you around this particular topic, I can see it’s really deep down exactly what you want to be doing. And I’m so excited to see your business go through this transition. And so excited for the club. And not just Normanhurst Football Club, but any other clubs out there that are starting to consider this as an option. Mental health, well-being, all that sort of stuff is definitely at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds. Instilling that in the kids now becomes really important.
Ian: Yeah, absolutely. And I think if we can start at that younger age group in particular, and have that flow through to really healthy adults. And I’m passionate about this because it’s been my own experience – getting horribly wrong as a sporting parent. Having one child that’s not even into sport and I’ve pushed too much, another one who just absolutely loves it, and learning some of the nuances of actually helping him to enjoy it the most and get the best out of himself, and just seeing how that’s impacted them in the world outside of their sporting life, and how that’s helped them to be successful in other areas. It’s like it’s a holistic approach that works.
Josh: We’re really looking forward to the next phase of growth for you. Thank you so much for what you’ve done for me, the company, and the growth of the business, and looking forward to many more years together.