“The easiest thing in the world, is to arrive at the correct position and announce it.”
In March 2026, Cranlana ran Ethical Edge in partnership with the Australian Sports Commission. Ethical Edge is a two-day program designed for leaders navigating the complex terrain of sport.
Facilitated by Associate Professor Leslie Cannold and Anna Box, this cohort comprised CEOs, GMs, directors and executives from organisations spanning cricket, hockey, gymnastics, athletics, cycling, baseball, softball, water polo, skating, diving and more.
Day one of the program concluded with a fireside chat with Cranlana CEO Matt Finnis and Cranlana alum Brendan Schwab AM. This article summarises the most thought-provoking takeaways and compelling teaching moments from the discussion, providing an insight into Brendan’s philosophy for a meaningful, human-centric leadership career in sport.
Sport occupies a unique place in Australian life.
It is followed passionately, often funded publicly and held to account in ways few other sectors are. The ethical demands on those who lead it are real and rarely simple.
Brendan Schwab AM is a renowned advocate for athletes’ and human rights in sport, for a searching, honest dialogue about what ethical leadership really demands in practice, in the national and global sporting arena.
Brendan drew on decades at the frontline: from the landmark campaign to free Bahraini footballer Hakeem al-Araibi from detention in Thailand, the global effort to reform working conditions around the Qatar World Cup, to the push for Australian law to properly recognise athletes as workers.
Image: Hakeem al-Araibi, Centre for Sport and Human Rights
Brendan’s takeaways and teaching moments included:
First, do no harm
Before taking on a case or a cause, Brendan’s first test is always to ask: “can I be confident I won’t make this worse?” Principle matters, but so does capacity, network, and timing.
Engagement over purity
“The easiest thing in the world is to arrive at the correct position and announce it.” Real change comes from staying in the room, building leverage, and accepting that reform is rarely won in one move. Compromise isn’t a dirty word, unless you violate principles in the process.
To uphold the purpose of a representative organisation you can't protect people selectively
A collective that doesn’t organise around rights will eventually face a moment it isn’t ready for, so the groundwork has to be laid long before the hard conversation arrives.
System change is required to protect invisible victims
In the case of Hakeem, he was saved, in part, because he was visible and became a symbolic case the world could rally around. Brendan’s sobering reflection was that most people in his situation aren’t as lucky, for want of a better word. Building the system that protects those people, not just the campaigns, is the unfinished work.
Walking away is a last resort
Whether it’s a sponsorship that conflicts with your values or a governing body you disagree with, once you walk away, you give up a seat at the table and the ability to influence outcomes. The framework of business and human rights asks organisations to exhaust every avenue before terminating the relationship.
The conversation was a masterclass in what it looks like to hold firm to principles while remaining an effective leader.
It provided a powerful, living provocation to its audience of ASC leaders who carry real institutional power in Australian sport.
Image: ASC's Ethical Edge
Thank you to Brendan Schwab for his generosity and candour in sharing this work with our group and our partners at the Australian Sports Commission for making Ethical Edge possible.
Cranlana’s work with the Australian Sports Commission is just one example of how we work with partners to deliver specific and impactful ethical leadership strategies to organisations. If you’d like to explore how this might look in your workplace, find out more here:
