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Donall Farmer/INPHO

What I learned: Keith Wood on leadership in rugby and business

Taking lessons from the pitch to the boardroom.

TAKING TO THE pitch in front of 50,000 fans might not seem like it has too much in common with small business, but Keith Wood doesn’t agree.

The one-time Ireland captain has turned his domed head to business since retiring in 2003, and runs two medium sized enterprises. One, Tagwood, is focused on corporate events and the second, W2 events, on strategy marketing.

But the lessons he learned on the field about organisation, leadership and delegation stand to him now.

“For me, it’s funny because rugby is all aggression, and everything that goes with that.”

Keith Wood tries to break through the defence A young Wood in action Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

Which isn’t to suggest that you should try and dump tackle a customer the next time they pay late, or rake a member of staff who misses a target.

Leadership in business and in rugby aren’t that different, according to Wood.

“It’s people, and it’s understanding people. For me as captain, it was trying to get the best out of people who reacted in entirely different ways.”

Delegation

Like Brian O’Driscoll, coming to the captaincy early was an indication of Wood’s importance to the team at a young age. While he was able to impact games with his work rate and dynamism, he said he sometimes took on too much.

The Irish pack INPHO INPHO

“I became captain of Ireland as a 24 year old. I made so many mistakes, so many errors. It was quite stark and frightening, and I was thinking ‘I’m the leader, I have to do everything’, and I was doing every job.

It took a period of time before I got my head around it, that I really needed to rely on the other leaders to do the job. There’s no point in giving them a job and then trying to do their job for them.

However, delegating isn’t as simple as telling someone to work on a task and washing your hands of it. Wood argued that the right structures and supports have to be in place to give a chance of success.

“There’s a huge amount of companies that delegate, and then are put under huge pressure because the delegation that they’ve given hasn’t got the right parameters to be able to deliver on it”

“They haven’t been given the scope to do their job, or they haven’t been given a brief that’s good enough to cover all aspects of that job.”

Positive reinforcement

On the rugby pitch and in an SME, Wood says that the power of disciplining or giving out to a junior is best used sparingly to avoid negative results.

Recounting a time when he was playing with English club Harlequins, he brought a dictaphone into the changing room and recorded his coach’s half time speech.

“Our coach made 21 comments at half time. It’s very hard to take in 21 comments at any time, but in ten minutes? And twenty of them were negative.”

“You can give someone a bollicking from time to time, but you can’t do it all the time, and it can’t be constant.”

Keith Wood was speaking at the annual conference of the Small Firms Association held in Dublin last week. 

‘Just because things were amateur, doesn’t mean they were wrong’>

Government supports for SMEs ‘designed not to be used’ -SFA>

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16 Comments
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    Mute Wombleman
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:16 PM

    Snow clouds are full of unvetted ice crystals of fighting age.

    Our clouds are full. Close the skies!

    326
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    Mute Alan Kennedy
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:31 PM

    @Wombleman: And whatabout the ice-cream? Where are you going to get that when they cut the herd!

    57
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    Mute Joe Meade
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:47 PM

    @Wombleman:
    SNOWMAN……Only Free Now’s preferred customers got a heap of €20 vouchers for all over the Chrimbo…. Harpy Hamüũkaaahhh….Allah-u-Akbar!! ;@}

    11
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    Mute Mick Hanna
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:12 PM

    Only the “Snowflakes” don’t want it to snow! ; – ) …. I’ll get my coat!!!

    150
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    Mute Peter
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:15 PM

    @Mick Hanna:

    It’s snow joke

    101
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    Mute Shane O Mac
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:50 PM

    @Peter: just wokeknowing it might actually snow, how will the under 30s handle this.

    49
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    Mute brendan hackett
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:19 PM

    2 days of snow will do. The novelty soon wears off.

    93
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    Mute J M
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:18 PM

    Back in 2004 for about 3 years prior I was living in South Africa I came home for Christmas and with snow it was truly very magical.

    82
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    Mute Marcella Treacy
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:37 PM

    If I didn’t have to go anywhere I’d say but otherwise no way! Hate driving in snow and ice..

    89
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    Mute honey badger
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:20 PM

    13 years since the big freeze kicked off.

    69
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    Mute Fiona Wyse
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:31 PM

    @honey badger: let us never speak of that incident ever again….

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    Mute Thesaltyurchin
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:37 PM

    Anything that slows the pace is welcome.

    64
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    Mute Rafa C
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    Dec 1st 2023, 1:06 PM

    Snow. The only thing worse than Christmas.

    62
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    Mute no no no
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:48 PM

    Based on recent experiences snow is bad for Ireland. Everything comes to a standstill so vote no snow

    51
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    Mute h5kFhdYI
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    Dec 1st 2023, 1:57 PM

    Yes of course!
    For grandchildren to have fun.
    Why not let them enjoy themselves.

    41
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    Mute Luka Roche
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    Dec 1st 2023, 1:07 PM

    I’d like it to snow but NOT with Ice/frost on top of it

    38
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    Mute Colm Corcoran
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    Dec 1st 2023, 2:05 PM

    BUY BREAD AND TOILET ROLLS!!!!

    40
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    Mute KTH
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:04 PM

    I’m not sure.

    32
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    Mute Seanfhear míshásta
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    Dec 1st 2023, 6:22 PM

    Spare a thought for homeless people or people sleeping rough or displaced people in tents etc.

    28
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    Mute Shane O Mac
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:52 PM

    It’s a snow flake world every day we live in.

    27
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    Mute Martin Mongan
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    Dec 1st 2023, 6:15 PM

    @Shane O Mac: I heard your da was up to no good Shane

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    Mute Shane O Mac
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    Dec 1st 2023, 7:00 PM

    @Martin Mongan: just like your ma

    8
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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:32 PM

    In Chinese culture snow or no snow would be termed the Will of Heaven.

    20
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    Mute The Firestarter
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    Dec 1st 2023, 6:19 PM

    Are you for real, we can’t even handle rain in this country, so snow is the last thing we need. December 2010 put me off snow for life, brought this country to a standstill for almost three weeks.

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    Mute Sam Son
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:59 PM

    Will a No vote really influence the weather
    What’s the point

    16
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    Mute Rafa C
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    Dec 1st 2023, 1:08 PM

    @Sam Son: You didn’t even try.

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    Mute Martin Mongan
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    Dec 1st 2023, 6:18 PM

    @Sam Son: I’m not really sure the intention of the poll was to control the weather but sure there’s been stranger things claimed in this comments section

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    Mute Allo Allo
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    Dec 1st 2023, 12:50 PM

    Aldi are praying for no snow again this year

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    Mute Regular John
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    Dec 1st 2023, 3:35 PM

    @Allo Allo:
    The Tallaght incident? That was a Lidl.

    26
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    Mute Maniac 2000
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    Dec 1st 2023, 3:55 PM

    Those clouds coming over our country cooling our weather. I won’t stand for this

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    Mute Sean O'Dhubhghaill
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    Dec 1st 2023, 4:08 PM

    @Maniac 2000: Our coldest weather occurs in cloudless weather.

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    Mute 2gW5NvBs
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    Dec 1st 2023, 4:52 PM

    Yes !! I’m a Breadman , Ka Ching !!

    11
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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Dec 1st 2023, 6:44 PM

    @2gW5NvBs: Are you on about earning a crust? A bigger slice of the profits for you then.

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    Mute Tony G
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    Dec 1st 2023, 8:22 PM

    No snow for me thanks, I like my sliced bread best

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    Mute Richard Barrett
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    Dec 1st 2023, 8:44 PM

    Horrible white stuff. If the EU were any good they would ban it.

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    Mute Charlie O Connell
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    Dec 1st 2023, 7:49 PM

    Its a yes or no poll,

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    Mute Padraig O'Brien
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    Dec 2nd 2023, 7:21 AM

    What’s the difference between a snowman and a snow woman?
    With apologises to any trans who might be offended snowballs!

    2
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