When I told Hayley Lever that she's probably had one of the biggest influences on how I conduct myself in the world of sport, physical activity, leadership, and work, I meant it. The opportunities I have had to listen to her speak, observe her behaviours and engage with members of her team has shaped how I think about leadership and creating environments where people can thrive.
Now, as Hayley has recently published her first book on leadership 'Leading from the balcony', I finally had the chance to sit down with her and explore the ideas that have guided her career and her work as one of the leaders of 'Greater Manchester Moving' (GM Moving) for the past eight years.
Finding Purpose Through People
Hayley's journey began in Coventry, where teachers, youth workers, and community leaders opened possibilities she never knew existed. "It's absolutely down to key individuals at certain sliding doors moments in my life," she explains. These were people who taught her about sport; but they were also people who unlocked something within her that wasn't inevitable given her background.
That experience planted the seeds for everything that followed—thirty years of work in physical activity and sport development, increasingly focused on addressing inactivity and inequalities. It forged a deep understanding of how powerful it is when people create the right conditions for others to thrive.
The Challenge of Being Taken Seriously
Like many of us who work in sport and physical activity, Hayley has navigated the tension between passion and professionalism. In the early 2000s, there was significant work done to professionalise sports development—to give it credibility and gravity. That often meant cultural assimilation: wearing suits to meetings with the County Council, carrying shoes across town to change into for different contexts, conforming to traditional workplace norms.
But something shifted when Rachel Allen, working in the NHS team alongside Hayley, got frustrated with having to change from her trainers into heels for meetings. She wrote a blog about it. That blog landed on the Mayor's desk. Andy Burnham then sent out a mandate to the entire organisation: you're allowed to wear trainers to work if it helps you to be active during the work day.
This became the Active Soles movement—a microcosm of what movement building actually looks like. It started with resistance, evolved into a case for change, and rippled out in ways that were impossible to track.
Redefining Leadership
For Hayley, leadership isn't about hierarchy or positional power. She quotes Brené Brown's definition: "I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and who has the courage to develop that potential."
This understanding is fundamental to the work. "If you're trying to grow a movement for movement, then you need to unlock contribution, participation, leadership in every bit of our system, in every community," she explains. "Leadership is a trait in every single person."
Her father, a lorry driver who never held a formal leadership role, still teaches her about leadership through their conversations.
But recognising that everyone can lead means creating the conditions where people feel safe to step into that role. Hayley recalls a pivotal moment from her school days when her PE teacher and a youth worker pulled her into the office after she got into trouble. They didn't just discipline her—they held her to account because they knew she could do better. "It's not about living in fear or threats," she says. "It's about knowing that you are valued and supported as an individual but that you will be taken to task when you don't meet expectations."
The 'Daily Act of Resistance'
Creating meaningful change requires challenging entrenched norms, and that's exhausting work. When Greater Manchester Moving was in its early stages, there was pressure to produce traditional business cases and PRINCE2 project plans. But early evaluation work produced something different: pointers for leadership practice, including the powerful phrase "laying the road as we travel together."
These pointers became tools to resist the pressure to conform. "The evidence says we've got to lay the road as we travel together," Hayley explains. "So let's make that a principle and stop telling me to write a PRINCE2 project plan, because that will just get us what we've always got."
This approach extends to how the organisation she leads works with communities. Majid Hussain, a community leader in Gorton, once challenged a visiting funder about the burden of reporting requirements. His message was clear: "Don't try to make us more like you." That phrase became a rallying cry for a different way of working—one that values organic, human, relational approaches rather than forcing communities into systems designed to relieve institutional anxieties.
But this work takes its toll. "It's a daily act of resistance," Hayley admits. "There have been times where I've just thought, I don't know if I've got it in me to keep doing this. It would just be easier to go with the flow than to go against the grain sometimes."
The Importance of Integrity
One of the most striking examples of how Hayley's leadership is supported came from her relationship with her chair, Mike. Her key performance indicator wasn't about traditional metrics—it was about "****** annoying integrity." It's a brilliant phrase that captures something essential: the more you live out your values in practice, the closer you get to meaningful change. Being tenacious with your integrity means people can't work around things or hedge their commitments—they have to keep dismantling barriers and cutting through.
But integrity also means being honest about limitations. Hayley has learned to tell people explicitly when she probably won't be able to go as far as they'd like, with something because of the constraints that sometimes limit the scope on innovation. "There's something about being honest with people about that...," she says. "I'm probably not going to be able to go as far as you want with this..., but I'm going to try anyway."
Creating the Conditions for Others
Perhaps the most powerful insight Hayley offered is about the nested nature of leadership. She recognises that her ability to lead authentically has been enabled by the environment created by others— who provided the protection and inspiration to work differently.
"I don't think I could have cultivated my own leadership in the last eight years without the 'air cover' of the Mayor, my chair and other key people," Hayley reflected. Prompting me to suggest that this supportive system enabled her to create similar conditions for her team, who in turn create those conditions for the communities they serve.
It reminded me that we can't simply tell people to "be better leaders" whilst they are still constrained with processes, governance structures, power dynamics and cultural norms that work against those aspirations.
Impactful, authentic leadership doesn't happen in isolation—it either flourishes or withers within environments that either enable or constrain it.
The Vulnerability of Visibility
Writing and publishing a book has been an act of courage for Hayley. She admitted to hesitating many times before clicking publish on blogs over the years, fearing that by making statements about what she values and believes in might leave her vulnerable to attack if she doesn't live up to those ideals at any point. "If I've published something that describes the world I want to see and how I want to be, I have to sit with that discomfort of just knowing that I am going to fail," she admits.
But making things explicit and visible serves a purpose beyond sharing ideas—it creates accountability. When you're known for doing things differently, when communities hold you to account for the principles you espouse, "you've got to be in that wholeheartedly. You're either all in with that and you hold yourself to account for it every day, or you probably quit and go and get an easier job."
Leadership as Practice
Throughout our conversation, what strikes me most is Hayley's understanding that leadership is a practice, not a destination. It's something you aspire to, something you're always trying to be better at. It's a process riddled with mistakes and missteps, and that's actually part of the journey.
"Leadership happens in micro moments of every day in conversations," she says. "That is what we're trying to nurture and grow."
This isn't about having all the answers or never making mistakes. It's about creating cultures where people can speak truth to power, where difficult conversations happen with candour and care, where people feel valued enough to challenge norms and contribute their full selves to the work.
As Hayley works on her second book, I'm grateful she overcame her resistance to make this first one a reality. For anyone working in sport, physical activity, coaching, or any field where you're trying to create environments where people can thrive, this conversation offers both inspiration and practical wisdom about what authentic leadership really requires.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reflections
I took a lot away from this discussion...I'm really grateful to Hayley for taking the time to have this conversation with me. I'm reflecting how present I am in those 'micro-moments' and whether I am living up to my own ideals, especially when the pressure is on. I also reflect on how open and vulnerable I am as a coach. Do I offer my weaknesses, uncertainties or vulnerabilities to those I work to support or am I too often retreating behind a façade of being 'all knowing'. - That's a tough habit to break....especially when that façade has been your shield for shield for such a long time.
Finally, I'm left thinking about how I have lost sight of one of my most prized approaches... that of building an environment where others recognise their role to lead and take steps to practice their own leadership abilities.
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