International sports events intend to bring together nations and people from different walks of life. However, we cannot always converge in a diplomatic and harmonic community. Sometimes we must “agree on disagreeing.”
In cases like this, beautiful and complex abilities such as empathy are not necessarily enough. In a world where different views about competition, power, diversity, inclusion, and social equity are burning issues, we must stick to something even more fundamental and often underrated: respect.
What would happen if we were only civil towards cultural and personal options that we empathize with and validate? Consider that our repertory to project ourselves on different realities is limited and that we need time, a lot of research, listening and questioning our beliefs to expand it.
Since this detailed investigation doesn’t always fit our schedule when delivering a fast-paced international competition, what do we do? Often, consciously or not, we block people and cultures we don’t have time to understand, leaving them “for later” or explicitly rejecting them.
However, empathy cannot be a privilege and a power we use to validate who can be at the table. We must remember that even when dealing with people and realities we don’t connect with, they still deserve our respect.
Respecting a colleague, leader, team, or organizing committee that is very different from us and our culture doesn’t mean agreeing with them. It doesn’t mean we must become friends or comply with their work practices.
It does mean that we lose control of how things should be. Situations may not mirror our wishes and values. The landscape doesn’t have to be pleasant to our eyes constantly.
It also means that we don’t necessarily belong to all spaces. We may choose not to be part of certain groups or jobs, or they may not choose us. But we let them live and exist without attacking them or questioning their validity. We respect them.
However, respect is all-inclusive. Therefore, we don’t need to stand quiet in the face of a person or an organisation that utterly disrespects people and the life around them. We respect, and we call for respect.
That’s the minimum denominator for empathy: we empathize with the need everyone has to be respected. That is our daily ambition at Legacy Sport: to improve our respect at all levels so that we can respect more people and cultures.
That, in our opinion, is the only way to deliver the best sports event anywhere in the world.
What is the level of respect you need from others right now? And who and what should you be respecting more?
TEC – HEART – SPORT is our latest series of articles explaining the mission, vision, and culture that Legacy Sport shares with its community and the world. See below for a summary of each topic we will explore during the series.
Thrill
Expertise
Courage
Humanism
Empathy
Advocacy
Respect
Transparency
Sustainability
People
Olympism
Relationships
Transformation
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