Transformation – the rise of an underdog
GB Snowsport’s Chief Executive Vicky Gosling OBE has led the organisation towards an ambitious target of transforming the country from a sporting underdog to a top five winter sports nation by 2030. Drawing on lessons from her role as Chief Executive of the 2016 Invictus Games and her 21 years in the RAF (including in her role as Base Support Commander for a helicopter base with 2,000 personnel), she is spearheading rapid and decisive change. Here she answers questions about her approach to leadership.
How are you transforming GB Snowsport?
We’ve built a single high-performance system across all 12 disciplines, replacing silos with one shared culture and one standard of excellence. We brought in world-class coaches, embedded data and performance analytics, and created clear pathways so every athlete knows how to reach the top.
We’ve also tackled the financial and cultural foundations, diversifying funding beyond public sources and making athlete wellbeing and professionalism core to how we operate. That combination of belief, structure and accountability has turned us from a team hoping to surprise people into a programme expected to deliver.
Today, we’re no longer the underdog. We’re respected as a growing force in global winter sport, producing world champions, setting new benchmarks and showing that British athletes can win anywhere in the world.
What key leadership principles have you applied?
At GB Snowsport, I’ve built a culture of trust, discipline and purpose: one team, one mission. The military taught me adaptability; you learn to think fast and lead through uncertainty, which is essential in a sport that’s constantly evolving.
It’s not about control. It’s about creating the conditions for others to perform at their best. That’s exactly how I lead our athletes, coaches and staff – with clarity, courage, and collective purpose.
How does your military experience shape your approach to strategic change?
My military experience taught me that strategic change isn’t about words on a plan. It’s about clarity, discipline, and bringing people with you. In the RAF, you learn to operate under pressure, make decisions with limited information and stay focused on the mission when the environment keeps shifting.
At GB Snowsport, I’ve applied that same mindset through setting a clear vision, aligning people around it and executing with precision. Change can be uncomfortable, but when you communicate purpose clearly and lead with consistency, people move from resistance to belief. That’s how we’ve turned transformation into progress.
What strategies have you used to drive a high-performance culture?
To build a high-performance culture across 12 very different disciplines, I focused on unity, clarity and accountability. We created a single performance system, one vision and one standard of excellence, while still respecting the individuality of each sport.
We embedded shared values, data-driven goals, and open communication so everyone understands what success looks like and how their role contributes to it. Most importantly, we built trust between athletes, coaches, and staff, because high performance only happens when people believe in the system and in each other.
Have you changed the way GB Snowsport finds the best talent?
We’ve recruited world-class coaches and performance staff from around the globe – people who know what it takes to win – and paired them with British athletes who have the hunger to learn. It’s that mix of global expertise and homegrown drive that’s helping us turn potential into podiums.
GB Snowsport athletes competing in a snowboarding race
What cultural changes have been necessary to support transformation?
The biggest cultural shift has been moving from a mindset of participation to one of performance; from hoping to compete to expecting to win. That’s meant creating a culture built on accountability, trust, and shared ambition across all 12 disciplines.
We’ve broken down silos, encouraged honest conversations, and made wellbeing part of performance rather than separate from it. Everyone now understands that standards matter and that includes how we prepare, communicate, and represent GB Snowsport. It’s a culture where excellence is not the exception – it’s expected.
How have you fostered resilience and adaptability during rapid change?
Resilience and adaptability have been central to our journey. We’ve faced funding uncertainty, shifting priorities and the constant pressure of delivering elite performance. But, instead of resisting change, we’ve built the capacity to thrive within it.
I’ve encouraged open communication and psychological safety, so people feel able to speak up, experiment and learn fast. We focus on what we can control such as preparation, mindset and teamwork and we adapt quickly when circumstances shift.
That’s how we’ve built a culture that doesn’t just survive disruption but uses it to get stronger.
What role does collaboration with partners and stakeholders play?
Collaboration has been absolutely fundamental to driving transformational change. GB Snowsport’s progress depends on partnerships, because none of this can be done alone.
What are the biggest obstacles you’ve faced on your transformational journey and how have you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges has been operating within a system heavily reliant on public funding and the bureaucracy that naturally comes with it. Public investment is vital, but it also brings layers of process, compliance and decision-making that can slow momentum and make innovation harder to deliver at pace.
To overcome that, we are working hard to build financial resilience and independence, securing commercial partnerships and alternative income streams so we’re not defined by funding cycles. That flexibility will allow us to move faster, take smart risks and invest strategically where it matters most.
Culturally, another obstacle was shifting mindsets: from simply being grateful to be at the start line to believing we can win. Changing that narrative took time, consistency, and proof through results.
What’s helped us overcome these challenges is clarity of vision, transparency with our partners, and a relentless focus on purpose. We’ve turned constraint into creativity, and that’s been key to driving transformation.
How do you align the entire organisation behind a bold vision like becoming a Top five winter sports nation?
Alignment starts with clarity. Everyone needs to understand why the goal matters and how their role contributes to it. When we set the ambition to become a top five winter sports nation by 2030, we made sure it wasn’t just a slogan; it became a shared mission.
What advice would you give other leaders looking to drive transformational change?
My advice to any leader driving transformational change is to start with clarity – know exactly where you’re going and why it matters. Then ensure everyone is aligned and understands, not just the goal, but their role in achieving it.
You also need courage and consistency. Change brings resistance, and people watch closely to see if you’ll hold your nerve. Stay transparent, make decisions based on values and build trust through your actions, not words.
Finally, don’t try to do it alone. Surround yourself with great people, listen and create the conditions for others to lead. Transformation isn’t about one person’s vision – it’s about collective belief and disciplined execution.
Vicky Gosling OBE
Chief Executive, GB Snowsport
© McGill and Partners | GB Snowsport 2025-2026
