Johann Koss is not like most people.
He's a record-holding, former Olympian and the Founder of the global charitable organization, Right To Play. And if you were to have a conversation with him, you'd realize he's not your typical leader.
So what kind of a leader is he?
"I'm a transparent visionary leader that makes things happen. It's important to be a leader and a manager, as the job requires both. It goes from bouncing back from failures and mistakes, setting goals and directions, correcting behaviour issues and finally leading the culture of achievement," says Johann.
Johann is also one of the greatest winter athletes of all time. A four‐time Olympic gold medalist in speed skating, he won three gold medals at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Johann has broken 10 world records and won three World All‐Round Championships, along with numerous World Cups and National Championships.
If you haven't realized it by now, it's his drive, dreams, vision and ideas that set him apart from others.
He’s an innovator bent on forward progress.
In 2000, Johann created Right To Play, a Canadian-based charitable organization changing the lives of more than one million children around the world by using sport and play as tools for positive childhood development.
And in 2015, he was recognized for it. Johann received an honorary appointment to the Order of Canada—a distinction given for his work with Right To Play and his dedication to change the lives of children in over 20 different countries worldwide. But what makes an innovator like him worthy of such an award?
Well, to understand the present, we'll have to take a look at the past.
It began when Johann traveled to Eritrea as an ambassador for Olympic Aid. As he watched the children kick around knotted-up t-shirts like soccer balls, he realized: children need play.
At that moment, he knew sport could improve lives beyond Olympic dreams. So like a true champion, he chose to lead by example.
After winning three gold medals in Lillehammer, Johann donated his winnings to Olympic Aid and challenged other Norwegian Olympians to donate money for each medal they won. Still referred to as one of the great Olympic moments, his efforts saw $30,000 grow to more than $18 million in 10 days.
When Johann returned to Eritrea, he brought an airplane full of donated sports equipment. That's right: sports equipment! After living in a country torn up from decades of war, he knew these children needed to be treated like normal kids.
The first step was showing them they didn't only have the right to survive, they also had the right to play.
Johann's experience in Eritrea led to
championing behaviour change using sports, games and activities as educational tools, teaching kids how to protect themselves from disease, to encourage them to attend and stay in school and to build peaceful communities.
And it worked!
98% of the children in Right To Play's programs in Liberia reported positive cooperation and communication skills by 2012.
70% of the girls in the charity's programs in Benin scored 3.5/4 for self-esteem and confidence in 2013 and,
82% of the children in programs in Uganda now regularly wash their hands after using the latrine, an imperative action helping decrease cholera-related deaths.
This advocacy has garnered the attention of national governments, too. Johann is actively involved in developing and delivering policy recommendations on how to incorporate play as a tool for development and peace into national and international development policies and programs.
It's become a global movement.
Getting the world involved was only the beginning.
Johann took the simple idea of providing children with the chance to learn through play and helped transform it into a mainstream strategy known as Sport for Development and Peace. But like a true innovator, he still believed he had a lot more to offer.
While Right To Play succeeded at encouraging children to attend school, many of the kids weren't graduating. Teachers also had to be included in the programs!
This led to the creation of the Continuum of Teacher Training program, a methodology to increase teachers' knowledge, change attitudes and improve their skills to create a child-centered, play-based and positive learning environment.
By applying and adapting Right To Play's practices into region-specific and need-based resources, Johann determined this would empower the teachers to tailor their lesson plans and classroom environment to the demands of the students. And by following these practices, the teachers would be able to create a more positive and encouraging experience, enabling Right To Play to reach more children while potentially increasing attendance, classroom participation and higher rates of matriculation.
With the wheels set firmly in motion, Right To Play's Continuum of Teacher Training remains an ongoing, positive work in progress with many great success stories to come in it's near future.
As for Johann, like the great leaders who came before him, he continues to push the boundaries of possibility in his quest to create sustainable change.
"There are several types of leaders that have had an impact on me: visionary leaders, like Mandela and Gandhi and others like them, to great operational business leaders who can successfully implement a vision and make things happen," says Koss. "I am always impressed with people who not only talk a good game, but deliver on its promise and drive change."
