Adriano Del Monte talks to Joseph Ghaly and Victor Perton about Australian Leadership. Adriano Del Monte is an international television presenter, event host & sports journalist from Melbourne: The first Australian to present for the beIN Sports network. Adriano has worked on some of the world’s biggest sporting events and enjoyed interviewing global sports stars.
Joseph Ghaly: Adriano, what are the qualities of the leaders you have met and admire?
 |
| Adriano Del Monte |
Adriano Del Monte: I like a quote I heard from BCG’s Roselinde Torres, “Great leaders are not head down. They see around corners. They have the ability to shape their future, not just react to it.”
In the 21st century, great leaders are forward thinkers, who own their decisions and inspire others to do likewise. For me, this stems from having a strong sense of belief, decisiveness & courage – key qualities engrained into natural leaders.
While the world remains a big place in size, the digital age means that anyone can express an opinion at the click of a button. It is imperative that leaders are able to handle criticism, while also having a strong understanding of people from different walks of life.
The great leaders of today ultimately place the greater good ahead of their own individual objectives.
Victor Perton: Adriano, what do you see as unique qualities of Australian leaders and Australian Leadership?
Adriano Del Monte: Optimism, pride & a strong sense of cultural understanding are the strengths of our great Australian leaders. Fortunate to live in a wonderfully diverse and prosperous nation, we are all given the opportunity to diversify our knowledge and understanding of the world we live in.
In a nation that is much smaller in comparison to the Asian, European and American heavyweights, fewer positions of leadership require a higher quality of leadership.
Generally very good at owning our decisions, our leaders rarely shy away from a difficult situation. For an example closer to my field of work, our athletes continually over-performing on the international sporting arena is a great example of this.
Joseph Ghaly: Adriano, what are we seeking from our leaders?
Adriano Del Monte: I know for myself personally, I thrive under leaders who show faith and have a strong sense of belief in me.
As a society, we are seeking confident and decisive leaders, who are able to adapt to change. Trust & belief are two other key factors, as if our leaders don’t fully trust themselves, then how are their people supposed to trust them.
In Australia I would encourage our leaders and everyone for that fact to take more risks, have the confidence to move away from conventional ideas, and ultimately challenge ourselves to think outside the square a little more.
We have a tendency to belittle individuals who have beliefs or ambitions that aren’t the norm, an area we can certainly improve in collectively.
Again, Roselinde Torres has expressed it well, “Leaders who dare to be different and actually risk take, will best prepare us for the realities of today and unknown possibilities of tomorrow.”
Joseph Ghaly: Adriano, I am intrigued by your story and your ambitions. Tell us more about the influences on your career and leadership opportunities.
Adriano Del Monte: I’ve always felt very lucky to have the upbringing I had. Born & raised in the best city on Earth, combined with the cultural experience of being raised by a family born and bred in Italy. I’m constantly inspired by the struggles faced that came with moving to Australia.
I’ve had the opportunity to dream big with little to lose.
My grandparents led the charge & are the true inspiration behind everything I do. The leadership required to bring a young family over from Europe, to a country they knew little about is inspiring. Still to this day I’m questioned why I bother with my unrelenting desire to make a name for myself internationally, when they did the hard work for me to have a wonderful life in Australia. I have to remind them that while appreciative, the courage shown on their part to not only move to a country where they had no concept of the language or anything, but to actually make it work, is something that has motivated me to do likewise.
We are so fortunate to live in Australia. We have nothing to worry about in comparison. At times though, I’ve felt that this can work against us as a society. Our high quality of life here can lead to complacency, which I feel can also prevent belief that in turn puts a cap on what one can achieve.
My pathway in media has been very abnormal to the so-called norm in this country, with a no caps and no limits approach. Despite some wonderful experiences though, things haven’t always worked in my favour.
At the age of 16, I started writing for a major football (soccer) dedicated website and publication Goal.com. The company are now one of the leaders in world football, and my three years there set me up for what was to come.
Football was in my blood, as it was for so many European immigrants in that period. It was the sport that my family connected over, supporting our beloved homeland from afar, unlike anything else. To pursue a career in this space was my objective, and to have my grandfather seeing a product of his courage and determination doing so was my dream. Unfortunately he is no longer with us, but I’m sure he was watching on from above as that dream was fulfilled a few years ago.
I completed a degree at the University of Melbourne, before spending 2010 in South Africa reporting from the FIFA World Cup as a 21-year-old, and later accepted into multiple internships in the United Kingdom, where I had the good fortune of spending time with ESPN, Sky Sports, The Guardian and others.
Taking my future into my own hands, I decided to set up my own football media company (a lot less common in those days), which resulted in me acquiring time as a radio host and football pundit on two of Australia’s top sports stations. Ultimately though the dream was television, and after catching wind that a new international network was being launched in the Middle East, I was invited to test at their US headquarters in Miami. My only television experience to that point was one screen test (recorded news read) that I had done while interning at FOX Sports in Sydney. When doing so, the director of that particular test told me that while I had potential, I needed to obtain experience and lots of it. On the other hand, Miami was, somewhat surprisingly, very impressed, and suggested they would be in touch soon.
The norm in Australian media is to ply your trade in the countryside until you get your big break. That didn’t appeal to me. It was nothing personal towards the Victorian countryside, but I decided to trade that in to test my luck in Miami instead. I certainly made the most of life on South Beach, and ultimately it proved to be the right call. Off the back of relationships made there, an opportunity presented itself to be the first Australian to work for the network at its international HQ in Doha, Qatar. A life-changing experience.
If you haven’t been to Miami or Doha, I can assure you that while both are beautiful & unique in their own ways, they are two contrasting cities. Nevertheless, both were challenging, culturally different from Australia and both a long way from the comforts of my family & friends. Despite these obstacles, I maintained my strong sense of belief and focus to maximise the opportunities on offer. I spent a memorable 2015 in Qatar, which has led to bigger and better things all over the world since.
Still in the very early stages of my journey, when I look back on what my first decade in the industry has consisted of, I mainly remember the monumental amount of knock backs and “unfortunately we’ve gone with someone else” messages I’ve received.
Then again, I also think about being one of two people in a studio, the other being Serena Williams, minutes after winning a record-breaking grand slam. I think about being sat beside Brazilian great Roberto Carlos and exchanging my fish main for his steak, at an event I was brought over to host on a 5-star yacht in Gibraltar. I also think about the many inspiring athletes I’ve had the chance to interview (Serena, Luis Figo, Paolo Maldini, Valentino Rossi – just to name a few). The wonderful events, including two FIFA World Cups, the beautiful places & people I’ve met along the way. I remind myself that while it’s healthy to question myself, I’m certainly on the right track.
The sky is the limit, but only if you truly believe that’s the case. It’s the foundation for everything I’ve done. I don’t like to live life knowing there is a limit to what I can achieve or learn – a point I constantly stress to younger individuals I mentor. Remain curious about all possibilities, explore them and always seek to improve.
Belief is the cornerstone of my ambition. Challenging myself is what I will forever do. There are no guarantees in life, but I guarantee that I’ll do all I can to maximise my potential. If not, I will die trying.
