With the eyes of the world on Italy for the 25th edition of the Winter Olympics, which events are you looking forward to? In the spirit of previous leadership series here on my blog, I've asked a dozen leadership and marketing experts to respond to five questions with the hope that both the questions and answers lead you to think about leadership, personal branding, and the Olympics in new and interesting ways.
For today's post, I'd like to introduce Ian Buckingham. Ian is the author of what has become known as the brand trilogy: Brand Engagement, Brand Champions, and now Sustainable Brand Leadership, three books that explore the influence that employees have on the brands they represent, at the interface of marketing, communication, and human resources. The last in the series was published in December 2025 and was co-authored with Kate Hargreaves, his partner and co-owner of Mosaic Partners, a multiple award-winning leadership development and change agency based in the North of England.
SHARE THIS: The Olympic Games have the power to unite us because we can all find something inspirational or something we can relate to in each athlete’s story, whether it’s a story of success or of disappointment. –Tatjana Schoenmaker (South Africa’s most decorated Olympian) #OlympicsLeadershipSeries2026 #DebbieLaskeysBlog
QUESTION: What is your favorite WINTER Olympics sport, and why?
IAN BUCKINGHAM: I enjoy watching most sports and have a particular respect and awe for Winter Olympic sports as I grew up in Africa where the conditions hardly favour those disciplines, and the UK, where I was born and have lived most of my life, doesn't have quite the climate or infrastructure to encourage many Winter Olympics Champions. I would love to have played ice hockey, as a former rugby player, and greatly admire the downhill skiers and Nordic and Biathlon Olympians. But on balance, my favourite is a relatively recent addition, downhill snowboard racing, which combines speed, strength, agility, acrobatics, and luck, and is seldom determined until the final line is crossed. I don't snowboard, I ski, but I do look forward to watching the snowboarding.
QUESTION: What WINTER Olympics sport most “visually” demonstrates teamwork, and why?
IAN BUCKINGHAM: It has to be either hockey or the Bobsleigh, where there are clearly differentiated roles, yet each member of the team is needed, and all have to act with one mind, competing largely against their own PB (personal best) first, in perfect synchronisation in pursuit of a joint vision with a large dose of jeopardy introduced for good measure.
SHARE THIS: In hockey (like in business), there are clearly differentiated roles, yet each member of the team is needed, and all have to act in pursuit of a joint vision. ~Ian Buckingham #OlympicsLeadershipSeries2026 #DebbieLaskeysBlog
QUESTION: According to Suzanne Robb, COO of Alloy, “Define what victory means to you, and keep that vision in mind. You’re the one who gets to determine when you’re making progress, what success means, and what your focus should be. When you get a win, take time to celebrate. In business as if life, you’ve got to run your own race.” With this quote in mind, which Winter Olympics event or result stands out in your memory, and why?
IAN BUCKINGHAM: I love that quote ("In business as in life, you’ve got to run your own race.") so much as it applies to business and aiming to lead a balanced life. There are so many examples of Olympians who match this quote from GB's Eddie the Eagle through to the Jamaican bobsleigh team.
But the first that came to mind was Steven Bradbury - the Australian athlete who won the 1,000m speed skating event at the 2002 Winter Olympics against all odds. Despite being behind his competitors in the quarter-finals, he strategically chose to sit back and wait for others to make mistakes under pressure, which they did, allowing him to advance to the end. Bradbury's victory was marked by another dramatic pile-up in the race, where he was the only one left standing at the finish line, earning him the nickname "the accidental hero." This remarkable achievement not only secured Australia its first Winter Olympic gold medal but also became a symbol of perseverance and determination in sports.
QUESTION: During the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, entertainer and businessman Snoop Dogg used the hashtag #FollowTheDogg and shared his Olympic experiences on social media. My favorite story and related photos were when he and friend Martha Stewart dressed in equestrian clothing and attended the dressage competition. According to reports, Snoop’s involvement was intended to attract a new audience to the Olympics. If you were in charge of the Winter Olympics, who would you invite to attract a new audience, and why?
IAN BUCKINGHAM: This is a tough question, as the obvious answer would be a so-called Gen Z "influencer," like one of the Pauls who have used their online presence to attract millions of young people to boxing. But to my mind, it has ruined the ethos of the sporting context and has rendered it a pantomime like the WWF, where outcomes are choreographed for buzz. I would prefer someone with true authenticity, someone who backs up the words and has genuine respect for their craft. Perhaps, the Obamas for the adults - encouraging a very different demographic. Or Taylor Swift and her fiancee Travis Kelce who seem, between them, to have bolstered interest in NFL exponentially, gaining legions of female and teenage fans. It would be a massive win/win - they could even collaborate to write the soundtrack.
QUESTION: The 2026 Winter Olympics will be the first Olympic Games under the leadership of International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry. She is a former Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator, and former Olympic swimmer and world record holder. She is also the first woman, first Zimbabwean, and the first African to serve as IOC President. According to Reuters, “Kirsty Coventry smashed through the IOC’s glass ceiling in March 2025 to become the organization’s first female President in its 130-year history.” What are your thoughts about this development for the world’s biggest multi-sport organization – and its future?
IAN BUCKINGHAM: It's fair to say that the leadership of the governing bodies of many of the world's richest sports have suffered in recent decades, including the Olympic movement. This leadership malaise isn't confined to sport, it's blighting politics the world over as well, but for some reason, sport has suffered more than its share of corrupt and unsavoury scandals. With this in mind, radical change will be something many of the viewing and paying public will favour, provided, of course, Kirsty is up to the job. She certainly hails from a country that has had more than its fair share of difficulty in this regard. Let's hope that she brings the wisdom, insights, emotional intelligence, resilience, objectivity, and tenacity to put a really positive stamp on the premium Winter sports tournament during her tenure and that she has the support of a great team to back her up. I'm excited to see what she will add to the Olympic legacy, cultivating the values we all should hold dear at such a complex and trying time for the global community.
A final reminder, as you watch the competitions, make a note on your calendar to swing by #DebbieLaskeysBlog each day through February 22nd for leadership and marketing inspiration. A small interruption to the series will take place on February 20th to celebrate "National Leadership Day," then the Olympics series returns on February 21st. A series recap will be featured on February 22nd. Enjoy the Olympics!
Image Credit: Olympics.
Meet Ian at this link:
http://www.mosaicpartners.co.uk
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