In this episode of the ‘Making It Count’ podcast, we sit down with Founder and CEO of Design CEO, Cameron Schwab. Cameron is a CEO, leadership coach and strategist. He works with CEOs and emerging leaders to achieve high levels of trust – personally, culturally, strategically and organisationally – as the basis of high performance. He is a legacy-focused leader who has bounced back from setbacks, taking on the sport’s most challenging leadership roles.
At age 24, Cameron was the youngest CEO and shares some of his experiences from this time. He grew up “the son of” the executive commissioner of the AFL, and followed in his father’s footsteps. ‘I was able to see the game and it’s multiple layers early on – both the good and the bad’ says Cameron. So, if he could tell his younger self one thing what would it be? ‘If you get to understand what truly matters you get to enjoy what seems to matter’ says Cameron, ‘it’s taken me a long time to work out that difference’.
Due to COVID, over the last 2 years priorities globally have changed. ‘The role of any leader at any time is asking what environment do I need to create which gives us the best opportunity for the best outcomes, while helping my team grow and evolve as humans.’ We discuss ‘reflective competency’ and Cameron explains to us this concept. ‘You need to build a practice of reflection. It doesn’t feel productive but it is crucial.’
‘We learn from each other’s learnings and that is one of the critical elements of sport but, it has to be delivered right’ says Cameron. He discusses the productive struggle – the need for deeper reflection in our lives which, all comes back to acknowledging and processing how we feel. ‘It’s about dealing with emotions in a healthy way – and that comes back to the environment we seek to create as leaders’ says Cameron. ‘Therefore, we need to create environments where self-expression and joy prevail’
Stop talking and start teaching is one of Cameron’s mottos. ‘Teaching is unapologetically about how we grow the individual, whereas coaching is about growing the team’ says Cameron, ‘but, in the end, it comes down to my capacity to build a relationship with you.’ Cameron strongly believes this is the most important aspect of leadership.
Cameron concludes, ‘Making it count, for me, is taking important conversations forward. It’s about how we shape the next conversation in a way which is different to how it has always been shaped. Women’s football is a good example of that.’
So, sit back and enjoy this episode as Cameron Schwab Makes It Count.
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