Nicola and I had the exciting job of visiting the world famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in Nottinghamshire. We spoke to Nottinghamshire Men’s Fast Bowler Luke Fletcher, and coach Paul Franks.
As a cricket fan living in Nottingham, it’s hard not to know the history of Trent Bridge. It’s one of the oldest cricket grounds in the world. And Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the most successful. Nicola and I wanted to hear and see how culture helps one of England’s top sports clubs find success.
As you’ll hear in the podcast, Nottinghamshire Cricket Club places a lot of emphasis on building a positive culture.
A Place Where People Enjoy Coming to Work
As soon as Nicola and I stepped through the gates at Trent Bridge, you could feel and see that staff were happy in their work. The person working on the gate gave Nicola a brief history of the ground. We could tell that he enjoyed coming to work.
Luke came to greet us with a box of new kit, excited about his new stash for the upcoming season. After 15 years, ‘Fletch’ could be forgiven for taking his stunning work surroundings for granted. But we could feel his excitement as he walked down the steps of the pavilion to the pitch. He stopped briefly to see how the ground staff were before talking us through what a good cricket pitch looks and feels like.
The impromptu tour continued to the kitchens. Fletch and the chef had a light-hearted exchange about what was on the lunch menu for the upcoming pre-season friendly. We could sense a culture based on mutual respect, where everyone was comfortable and appeared happy in their work.
What Makes a Safer Culture?
As we discuss in the podcast, a good culture means encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves and to have fun in their work. But, if anyone sees, hears, or feels anything isn’t right, they call out the poor practice early so that it doesn’t become “the norm”.
Thanks to Luke, Paul and Nottinghamshire Cricket Club for their wonderful welcome and openness to sharing with us what a safe culture means for them. Good luck for the season ahead!
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Building Safer Cultures in Sport and Activity
- Learn more about our #SaferCultureSaferSport campaign.
- Make your commitment to building a safer culture in your club or group.
In this podcast, Nicola used some of our “conversation starters”. These are simple questions you can use to learn more about how your staff, volunteers, and participants experience your club or organisation. Read more about our conversation starters here.