Repairing Culture Through Transparency: Rugby Canada’s Courageous Example

Amateur sports organizations everywhere are making headlines for the wrong reasons. Whether it is human rights abuses casting a shadow over the Winter Olympics, less than desired performances in a long-delayed Summer Olympics, or calls for resignation by the athletes, sports organizations are under fire. Amateur sports are facing unprecedented pressure to clean up their act.

It’s refreshing to see a sports organization, anywhere, show authentic leadership and do exactly that.

Rugby Canada was no exception, knowing it had concerns. An encouraging bronze medal performance in Women’s Sevens in Rio did not repeat itself in Tokyo. The Men’s Fifteens team didn’t qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Athletes and others have been taking to social media, with complaints about the lack of results and a poor culture.

Too many organizations, both in and out of sports, would have struggled along – making excuses, applying band-aids, and suppressing facts. After all, it’s easy to blame lack of funding or a pandemic. Rugby Canada showed bravery, transparency, and publicly committed to examine what was going on.

Rather than hide the truth, Rugby Canada commissioned an independent study. An organization called STRAAD, that helps companies manage organizational effectiveness, conducted an exhaustive, independent review. I was tapped to serve as a co-Chair of the Independent Review Committee. Being from the States and having no ties to Rugby made me truly independent. My experience has shown me it is not enough to change people or paper over gaps. This is true in all organizations but especially so in sport organizations where the safety, trust, and confidence of athletes is easily lost and hard to regain.

The report was raw. Nationwide media have been describing the report as “damning” and painting a “dysfunctional,” portrait of Rugby Canada’s high-performance programs, culture, and strategy.

While the report is critical, what has been refreshing is the courage Rugby Canada have demonstrated with this level of transparency. In large part, this is due to Board Chair Sally Dennis’ and the organization’s resolve to diagnose a complex range of underlying issues. In a test of leadership, and as proof that sunshine is the best disinfectant, the report was released publicly – unvarnished, painful, and without redaction.

While the news wasn’t good, thankfully it wasn’t awful. There were no allegations of sexual violence or abuse, or youth protection issues. But there was clearly a loss of faith and trust in the organization. In a sport where victory is won by a team, Rugby Canada wasn’t acting as an effective team.

Athletes are human beings who need to be heard, valued, and protected. When any group or organization fails to do this, real change must always begin with a full and transparent accounting of what has happened and an organizational commitment to change it.

Rugby Canada – like any organization – may have preferred to gloss over inconvenient facts and put on a happy face. It’s easy to communicate a grand vision for the future. But what Rugby Canada released was a far more elemental, “walk before you run” assessment of its culture. This act – of publicly acknowledging and releasing a critical report, warts and all – has achieved a level of candor and transparency that will allow it to rebuild trust.

Every sports organization would benefit from a similar level of candor and courage to hold up such a truthful mirror to itself. Crises and scandals come faster and grow more numerous with each passing year in sports. Rugby Canada is not unique in needing to repair relationships. By displaying this level of transparency, they are leading the way.

Dennis – new to the role – showed the kind of resolve a leader must. When she asked me to serve on the review committee, she said she was “committed to implementing what came out of this review, even if it indicated Rugby Canada should cease to exist as it presently does.”

Dennis and her board chose to take that hard look and share the results. This transparency has come at personal cost – she’s received ugly letters, indignant social media posts and angry voicemails. But rather than simply hide, she’s shown incredible leadership. She will help change her sport’s culture because of her attitude, her leadership, and her bravery.

We all too often treat success on the field (or the ice, or the pitch) as the only indicator of a healthy athletic culture. But success has prerequisites. It’s very rare that an organization has the bravery to seek them out and implement them.