We worked with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games to run and support the training venues. The majority of the workforce joined with just seven weeks to go before the opening ceremony and joined a culture that had some clearly defined values:

• We are all aiming for the same outcome. These are friendly games!
• Great ideas can come from anyone and anywhere
• There is no blame, only the energy to do the right things
• it’s about leaving behind a legacy that continues to support and help other

This is learning one – your values set the culture, which determines how people engage

At the athletics training venue, some 238 athletes and their coaches turned up for an open training session. This included sprinters, hurdlers, middle and long-distance runners, relay teams (4 x 100 metres & 4 x 400 metres), javelin throwers, pole vaulters, high jumpers, long jumpers and triple jumpers. The games also integrated able-bodied and para-athletes which led to the first three lanes of the 400-metre track being conned off for para-athlete wheelchair use.

The athletes and coaches are from different cultures and backgrounds. There are also current world and Olympic champions along with competitors at their first major games. The volume of people at the track, the mix of different abilities, different sporting requirements and many cultures was a cocktail that could have been challenging for our team that managed the venue.

But, something magical happened. Some coaches knew others from previous events and shared various parts of the track, throwing and jumping facilities. all able-bodied runners moved out of the first three track lanes when the para-athletes were using the track and helped moved the marker cones in and out of the lanes. The hurdlers moved into the inner grass area to practice their hurdle technique, Javelin throwers waited when the pole vaulters took a jump, and the long jumpers and triple jumpers shared the two sand pits

This approach turned what could have become a challenging session to manage into the most straightforward of the entire games. With music sounding from the athletes’ beatboxes all around the venue, coaches shouting instructions, the gentle thud of running spikes and laughter between the nationalities it was a sight hard to find anywhere else. These are indeed friendly games!

Whilst hammer, shotput, discus and javelin throwers are not allowed to use their own equipment in competition, pole vaulters do use their own poles. They are varying lengths and

Learning two – given the opportunity, people can work things out together without management input