Dave Hembrough, positively affecting lives in Sheffield City Region and beyond

Dave Hembrough is Founder and Head Coach at Sports Club Hallam Barbell, Sports Personality of the Year 2020 Unsung Hero for the BBC Yorkshire Region, and Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach at Sheffield Hallam University.

Hallam Barbell is a weightlifting and strength training club, affiliated to British Weightlifting. Dave set up Hallam Barbell just over 10 years ago. At the time, he confesses, he didn’t know what he was getting into. He had to embark on a learning journey to equip himself for leadership.

Dave has had roles in strength and conditioning at national level for volleyball, table tennis, and diving as well as weightlifting, but none of that prepared him to run a club and to manage people. What he did learn from his time in performance sport was that helping people to beat an opponent didn’t motivate him as much as helping people to be better, and healthier, and enjoy life more.

At an early stage in the development of the club, Dave had the opportunity of a place on a leadership course run by Richard Field (http://www.integralleadership.com/prof-richard-field-obe.php), based on the ‘Integral Leaders Programme’ (http://www.integralleadership.com). This was a formative experience for him. One outcome of the course was that he developed a purpose statement that grounds him and helps him steer in the right direction: “To find happiness and commitment, for me, and those around me as best as I can, through being positive and future focused, supportive, caring, and compassionate, and by making a difference through action.”

Hallam Barbell is a small, relatively new, and growing organisation that relies heavily on its team of volunteers. He recognises the need to support that team and for them to be enjoying the journey, contributing, and active. Where you arrive is “not always where you set out to go but that’s part of the fun of the adventure as well.”

Developing people is a priority for Dave. Development is part of what the volunteers rightfully expect in return for participation in the club. He runs a strength and conditioning mentorship programme at Sheffield Hallam University. During Covid he has run a mentoring programme for coaches, involving a monthly meeting, a buddy system providing for regular one-to-ones (for which Dave provided a framework), and also a one-to-one with Dave every two to three weeks.

One of Dave’s proudest achievements is that when he stepped back from Hallam Barbell for a couple of months following the birth of his daughter, the programme he had developed ran in his absence. He thinks great leaders make themselves dispensable. Similarly, when the club is hosting a competition he organises it so that he is a “spare part” and everyone else is doing the doing. He sums it up by saying the thing he is proud of is the people who have taken and run with the opportunities the club has offered them.

The biggest challenge for Dave has been managing individuals. He uses the term ‘coaching tightrope’ to describe the balance that needs to be struck between support and challenge, which in turn requires listening, and understanding. He is still working at this.

During Covid Hallam Barbell were unable to use their original gym, and a company called Kitlocker (https://www.kitlocker.com) stepped forward to provide space. Between Covid lockdowns the club has had more sessions, and more participants. “It just shows that we’ve got the right traction, the right momentum, the right people.” They’re currently going through a rebranding process that will position them for what’s next. The end goal is to coach more people throughout the city region and beyond and positively affect more lives.

Previously Professor Rob Copeland of Sheffield’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre has featured on the Compassionate Leadership Interview (episode 15). In 2021 the AWRC will launch a Leading Health and Wellbeing Programme lead by Dave and aimed at enabling organisational leaders to prioritise the health and wellbeing of their colleagues and family.

Dave’s self-care regime involves eating well, drinking in moderation, cycling, rowing, running, walking his greyhounds, and walking with his daughter. But he admits that he is not great at it because he is so driven to work on the programmes he leads. “I review and reflect, accept where I’m at, and then try to go again.”

Richard Field has been significant in Dave’s journey for his wisdom, experience, and knowledge, and how he shares and presents it. He has supported and believed in Dave.

Dave recommends the website Brain Pickings (https://www.brainpickings.org/) by Maria Popova. He says “It’s not on leadership particularly, but I think a good leader learns lessons from all over the place.” He also admires the School of Life founded by Alain de Botton, which features philosophy and life lessons (https://www.theschooloflife.com/). He is currently enjoying ‘Great Thinkers’, which is the canon of the School of Life and features the ideas of 60 of the great thinkers of our time.

The advice Dave would give his 20-year-old self is “be quiet, listen, watch, and be consistent with your effort.” He says that there is something to be said for not always being the centre of attention.