Sometimes, a Change in Coach is what’s needed

I’m a diehard St George Illawarra Dragons fan. I’ve tipped them every single week this season. Every. Single. Week. And every single week, they’ve let me down.  

After 11 straight losses, the Dragons finally did what a lot of us had been waiting for and parted ways with Shane Flanagan. And honestly, as painful as it is to admit, it was the right call. But it got me thinking about something bigger than footy.  

When Flanagan came in, it made complete sense. Premiership-winning coach, experienced players brought in around him, and real optimism that the club was heading somewhere. For a while, it looked like it was working. He even got a contract extension mid-last year. But the results stopped coming, and the club held on longer than they probably should have. Sound familiar?  

Now I want to be upfront here. I am only eight months into my career as a recruitment consultant. I am not going to sit here and pretend I have seen it all, because I haven’t. But in that short time, I have already spoken to a lot of people who are in exactly this spot. Someone who joined a company with a great pitch, backed the plan, committed fully, and somewhere along the way, the results just stopped coming. The job is fine. The pay is okay. Nothing is technically broken. But nothing is growing either. And instead of making a move, they hold on, same as the Dragons board did, hoping the next week is the week it turns around.  

What I can say, even at this early stage of my career, is that the people who tend to land in better roles are not necessarily the most experienced ones in the room. They are the ones who are honest with themselves about where they are at. That takes more guts than most people give it credit for.  

Here is the thing about loyalty. It is a strength, but only when it is pointed in the right direction. Staying in something that is not working because you have already put time into it is not loyalty; it is just fear dressed up as commitment. The years you have put in don’t disappear when you leave; they come with you. What you do not get back is the time you spend staying for the wrong reasons.  

What the Dragons also showed us is that change is uncomfortable even when it is obvious. The press conference on Monday was a mess. No clear plan, no real answers. Because even when everyone knows a decision needs to be made, actually making it is hard. It is the same for anyone sitting in a role that has run its course. You know it and your gut knows it, but pulling the trigger feels massive.  

I am not going to pretend I have all the answers on what your next move should look like. That is something you work through with time, with the right conversations, and sometimes with a bit of outside perspective. What I do think, though, is that being open to change is not a weakness. From what I have seen so far, it is one of the more refreshing things a person can walk into a conversation with. It says you are self-aware, you know where you are at, and you are not going to be the person who waits eleven rounds before making the call.  

Dean Young stepped in as interim coach almost immediately, and he now has a genuine shot at the permanent role. That is not a consolation prize. The best move does not always look like the obvious one on paper. A contract role, a step into a different sector, a stretch into something unfamiliar. Sometimes the door you were actually looking for is sitting just behind the one you almost didn’t open.  

I am still learning a lot about this industry, and I will be the first to admit that. But if there is one thing that seems clear pretty early on, it is that the people who move forward are the ones willing to have the honest conversation with themselves first.  

The Dragons have finally had theirs. Maybe it is time you had yours, too. 

Jack Challinor

Technical Services Consultant