Leading diversity: The rugby playbook
Rugby is a masterclass in teamwork and leading diversity, strategy and leadership, where success comes from recognising and using each player’s unique strengths. The same applies to business; great leaders understand how individuals think, process information, and contribute to a shared goal. Cognitive diversity, like in rugby, means every team member brings a different strength to the table.
Lewis Moody sums it up best:
“I love this blog. Rugby gave me a wonderful start in life, helping me understand how diverse we all are as individuals and how those diversities if celebrated and nurtured in the right environment, can deliver remarkable results. Nathan has combined his 2 passions, Rugby and coaching for neurodiversity, to shine a light on the importance of understanding our people and celebrating our diversity to be able to harness and drive personal and team performance within organisations. Knowing Nathan as a coach, I wouldn’t hesitate to jump on a discovery call with him to explore new possibilities for my own team.”
Lewis Moody MBE (Former England Rugby Captain)
Success in rugby hinges on understanding how players think and process information. A prop forward’s mindset differs vastly from a fly-half’s, just as your finance director’s approach contrasts with your head of innovation. This cognitive diversity isn’t just natural, it’s crucial for building high-performing leadership teams. This blog explores how the principles of rugby coaching can be applied to maximise the potential of neurodiverse leadership, creating a competitive advantage in your organisation.
Reading the game: leading diversity with different thinking styles
Consider a rugby backline: the scrum half needs lightning-fast decision-making, the fly-half requires strategic vision and the centres balance analytical and intuitive thinking. Each position demands a unique cognitive approach but must function in harmony. This mirrors your organisation. Some leaders excel at detailed, sequential processing (your methodical problem-solvers), others thrive on pattern recognition and intuitive leaps (your innovators), while some shine in crisis management (your operational leaders).
The scrum: structured support for neurodiverse leadership
A scrum provides a structured environment where diverse players contribute effectively. Similarly, coaching neurodiverse leadership teams creates a framework for success. As rugby coaches adapt to different positions, corporate coaching helps build inclusive cultures where diverse thinking styles can flourish.
Key coaching strategies for leading diversity:
- Position-specific training:
- Rugby: Props require different coaching from wingers.
- Business: Adapt communication to individual processing needs. Use visual aids for visual thinkers, structured instructions for sequential processors and auditory methods for those who process information best by listening.
- Outcome: Enhanced understanding and improved performance.
- Creating protected space:
- Rugby: The scrum provides a protected space for specialised roles.
- Business: Establish work environments that adjust to different sensory needs and different focus styles. Offer quiet spaces, flexible working arrangements and minimise distractions.
- Outcome: Increased productivity and engagement.
- Clear signals and communication:
- Rugby: Distinct calls and signals for different plays.
- Business: Experiment with multiple communication channels (email, instant messaging, face-to-face) to suit diverse processing styles. Ensure clear and concise messaging once you know what works.
- Benefit: Improved information retention, team coordination and reduced misunderstandings.
Open play: Adapting to different processing speeds
In open play, players process information and react at different speeds, and this unpredictability can be a powerful advantage. The same applies to leadership, understanding and leveraging different thinking styles can make teams stronger. Some leaders are quick intuitive decision-makers who excel in high-pressure situations, while others are methodical analysts who thrive in detailed planning. Some have a natural ability to spot patterns and identify opportunities, while others bring innovative problem-solving skills, finding unexpected solutions. Coaching helps leaders recognise both their own and their team’s diverse strengths, enabling them to harness these abilities effectively and build a more adaptable, high-performing team.
The line-out: Leadin diversity to building on individual strengths
A successful line-out relies on players with different cognitive approaches to timing and coordination. Similarly, strong leadership comes from recognising and integrating diverse thinking styles. Effective coaching helps organisations identify these strengths, build well-balanced teams, develop inclusive communication and create support systems that enable everyone to contribute to success.
Training ground: creating safe spaces for growth
Just as rugby teams need a supportive training environment to grow, organisations must create spaces where neurodivergent leaders can develop their skills with confidence. They need opportunities to practice new approaches without fear of judgment, receive feedback that aligns with their thinking style and refine strategies that suit their natural way of processing information. By creating this kind of environment, leaders can build confidence in their unique problem-solving abilities. Creating safe spaces isn’t just about support, it’s about unlocking potential, encouraging innovation and helping team members thrive.
Match day: putting it all together
On match day, every player knows their role and how they contribute to the team’s success. The same clarity is essential in organisations. Effective coaching ensures clear procedures that adapt to different thinking styles, flexible systems that allow for varied approaches and support structures that bring out the best in each individual. When diverse contributions are recognised and valued, teams operate at their highest level. Match day is where all the hard work comes together to deliver a winning result.
The championship mindset: leading for cognitive diversity
Championship rugby teams succeed by embracing diverse playing styles, and the best organisations do the same by embracing cognitive diversity. Coaching provides a framework to identify and develop different thinking styles, create inclusive environments and build teams that thrive on complementary strengths. By adopting leadership strategies that accept neurodiversity, organisations can unlock innovation, improve decision-making and drive long-term success.
The final whistle: building your winning team by leading diversity
The best rugby teams actively seek out diverse playing styles. Through targeted coaching, your organisation can create an environment where diverse thinking isn’t just accepted, it’s celebrated as a strength.
Ready to build your championship leadership team?
Just as every excellent rugby team needs a skilled coach, your organisation needs support to unlock its full potential. Whether you want to enhance team performance, create inclusive leadership strategies, develop structures that support diverse thinking or build a more resilient organisation, contact me for a discussion about how we can help your organisation transform cognitive diversity into your competitive advantage.
