Why Great Leaders Don't Need to Control People with Gen Dohrmann

Gen Dohrmann, CEO of Table Tennis Victoria, shares her journey into sports leadership, explaining how a background in communications and marketing across multiple sports led her to her current role. She describes the recent overhaul of table tennis membership structures in Australia, expanding beyond simple “social” and “competitive” categories to better reflect different levels of play and introducing a free “fan and fun” membership to capture the many informal players outside the formal system. Gen emphasizes that influence for her is rooted in clear communication and getting genuine buy‑in so others come on the journey with her, especially when balancing the needs of traditional members and new participants. She highlights key influencers in her own career, particularly former CEO Jamie Parsons, mentor Carol from Women’s Sport Australia, and her parents, and how they encouraged her leadership aspirations and board involvement at a relatively young age. Now, Gen is focused on “handing the ladder down” by mentoring younger professionals (especially women in sport), sharing her story publicly, modeling flexible leadership as a part‑time job‑share CEO and mother, and contributing to the Global Institute of Sport advisory board to help grow pathways into sports careers.

Takeaways:

Influence is built on clear, honest communication. Gen sees influence as getting genuine buy‑in by communicating the vision, strategy, and reasoning behind decisions so people feel part of the journey, even when changes are unpopular.

Female leadership in sport needs visibility and pathways. Her drive to lead was sparked by seeing too few women applying for CEO roles in female‑dominant sports, and mentors like Jamie and Carol helped her step into board and executive positions earlier than she thought possible.

Quotes:

On influence and communication

"Influence is so important to be able to do what you do and do it well. You need to have the buy-in of others, and I think that communication plays such a key role in this."

On women stepping into leadership

"That for me was like a lightning bolt of like, okay, well that's not good enough; like, females can do this job, and a female sport should be represented by a female at the helm."

Timeline:

0:00 Updated membership model at Table Tennis Victoria 1:25 Leaders of Influence podcast intro 2:15 Introducing CEO Gen Dohrmann 3:54 Gen reacts to her bio and sets the scene 4:40 What influence means to Jen as a leader 6:14 Gen’s career journey into sports administration 8:55 Deciding to pursue CEO roles and female leadership 10:25 Balancing traditional members and new participants 11:14 Detailed breakdown of the new membership categories 17:00 How Gen pays it forward and supports her team 19:46 Being a mum, job-share CEO, and female leader in sport 20:06 Never saying no to a coffee and helping early‑career talent 24:19 Building pathways into sports careers 25:42 The most important character trait of a good leader 26:02 Empathetic leadership versus old-school authoritarian styles 27:18 Leading by example at tournaments and “all hands on deck” 28:18 Communicating hard decisions with transparency 29:18 Real-life example: cutting and reinstating prize money 31:14 Making prize money fair and equitable for women 32:14 Call for sponsors and supporting community table tennis 32:31 Wrapping Gen’s impact on women’s sport 33:19 Can you make a living playing table tennis? 34:35 Pathways, overseas competition, and Brisbane 2032 34:51 Role of Table Tennis Australia and home Olympics opportunity 35:38 Future talent and excitement for a home Games 36:14 Host’s recap of Gen’s leadership and influence 38:05 Gen’s closing quote: “Those that need to know, know” 39:04 Podcast outro and call to action for listeners

Conclusions: Gen Dohrmann’s story is a powerful example of how modern leadership in sport is built on empathy, clarity, and a genuine commitment to lifting others. From reshaping Table Tennis Victoria’s membership model to better reflect how Australians actually play, to challenging the status quo on female leadership and board representation, she shows that influence is less about titles and more about how effectively you communicate, include, and develop people. Guided by mentors and now mentoring others, Gen “hands the ladder down” to the next generation of women in sport while proving that flexible, family-friendly leadership at CEO level is not only possible but highly effective. Her journey underscores that when leaders are transparent in tough calls, willing to get hands-on with their teams, and intentional about creating pathways, they don’t just grow a sport—they change its culture.