A Programme Shaping the Leaders of Tomorrow
When the applause fades and the stadium lights go out – for many athletes, it’s not the end, but the beginning of an entirely new journey. The Olympic Committees Leadership Programme (OCLP), a pilot initiative launched by four Central and Eastern European National Olympic Committees (Polish, Greek, Croatian, and Ukrainian), has one clear goal: to prove that life after sport doesn’t have to be a solitary search. It can be a conscious step into leadership – equipped with competencies, a support network, and tools for real impact.
From Inspiration to Implementation – Olympic Committees Leadership Programme
Running since January 2024, OCLP combines an educational module, a mentoring process, and impact projects – original initiatives designed by participants to address actual needs in their sports communities. In the first phase, participants gained knowledge in areas such as sports organization management, conflict communication, career planning, and leadership philosophy building. One particularly valuable tool proved to be the DISC assessment (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness), which helped them better understand their own working and communication styles.
The programme is now in a crucial phase – participants are working one-on-one with mentors, developing their own social and organizational projects that will serve as a practical test of their leadership abilities.
Why Do Athletes Have the Potential to Inspire and Lead?
Athletes – especially former Olympians – possess traits that are ideal for modern leadership: the ability to perform under pressure, focus on goals, consistency, and the stamina required for long-term effort.
“An athlete prepares for the Olympics for four years – it requires not only physical strength but also the ability to delay gratification and manage oneself over time,” emphasizes Dr. Grzegorz Botwina, President of the Institute for Sport Governance (ISG) and one of the programme’s mentors.
Athletes also naturally develop coping mechanisms – skills for dealing with failure, unpredictability, and change – which are essential in institutional leadership today. They also enjoy public trust and recognition, making them credible ambassadors of change and authentic opinion leaders.
From Athlete to Leader – A Redefinition of the Role
Throughout the programme, participants not only gained new competencies but also faced profound questions about identity.
Can an athlete be a leader? And if so – what kind?
Research conducted as part of OCLP shows that athletes perceive leadership through the lens of relationships, shared vision, and cooperation. A leader, to them, is not a boss – but a partner in the process: someone who provides tools, creates space to act, and inspires.
“A leader is someone who doesn’t do anything for me – but gives me instructions on how to do it. Together, we implement the vision. They often work behind the scenes, backstage – but without them, the goal can’t be achieved,” says Anna Kiełbasińska, Olympic medalist and one of the programme’s participants.
Impact Projects – Tangible Change, Real Responsibility
The OCLP will culminate in impact projects – participant-led initiatives aimed at supporting local sports organizations. These projects, whether social or developmental, are designed to address real structural needs within the sports communities the participants are connected to.
Each of these projects is intended to leave a lasting legacy – for example, by building organizational competencies, activating local communities, or changing management practices.
Education, Mentoring – and What’s Next?
Unlike many training programmes, OCLP does not end with theory. Its final outputs are tangible tools intended to serve not only participants but sports organizations across Europe:
- Dual Career Guide – a compendium of best practices, methods for integrating education and sport, and models for supporting athletes after retirement.
- Mentoring Research Reports – an analysis of the mentoring process in sport, the role of mentors from outside the sports sector, and the practical effectiveness of leadership support.
- Educational Toolkit for Sports Organizations – a package of materials (videos, PDFs, tools) for independently implementing leadership development programmes at local and national levels.
- Network and Exchange Platform – a community of practitioners from four countries, designed to outlive the duration of the programme itself.
A Shared Goal: A New Model of Leadership in Sport
OCLP is more than a training programme. It is a laboratory for sports leadership – where Olympic experience, expert knowledge, mentoring, and social responsibility intersect.
As PhD Grzegorz Botwina emphasizes:
“We, as a society, have invested significantly in the physical and mental development of athletes. We cannot afford to waste that potential. OCLP is an investment in the transfer of competencies – from the sports field to organizational, social, and educational arenas.”
The programme will conclude in December 2025, but it’s already clear that its true strength lies in people – athletes who, at the end of their careers, are not stepping off the stage. On the contrary – they are stepping into a new role. Ready to transform sport from the inside – this time as leaders.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
