Interview with Toni Grimshaw - Chief People Officer and Wellbeing Lead at All Blacks Rugby.
Updated: Sep 4
As the chief of people and as a safety and wellbeing officer, Toni Grimshaw's role spans across both the corporate and the governance side of the sports industry. Grimshaw strives to “make sure people are in the right career to get as much success as possible for the team”.
Photo of me on the left and Toni on the right both holding the Webb Ellis rugby World Cup at the All Black offices in Wellington, New Zealand.
In her position, she supports New Zealand rugby using the '3C's' - connection; clarity and courage. She aims to connect everyone to each other which overall improves collaboration between departments, whilst maintaining clarity around the organisation's purpose. New Zealand rugby is going through a period of change, and by being courageous, she's helping the employees transition smoothly as the executive leadership team continues to be rebuilt. Her role ensures everyone is performing at their maximum capabilities to produce success for not only the team but also the organisation.
Her background prior to the All Blacks
Before working for a sporting team, Toni worked across large, complex organisations in New Zealand and in the UK. Her experience in HR roles at New Zealand's Ministry of Justice and as the chief of people at Crown Law (Te Tari Ture o te Karauna) has developed a range of transferrable skills including strategic leadership; communication; team work; decision making; problem solving; adaptability and confidentiality. Her previous jobs have developed fundamental skills which is enabling her to contribute effectively to organisational performance.
Culture at the All Blacks
Culture is a fundamental part of the All Blacks and is a stand-out feature, as the belief in the culture is so prominent. The value of their culture influences the identity of the team and influences how players behave, perform and represent the team. The haka (a cultural chant and dance) is a traditional ancestral war dance from the indigenious Māori culture, and is used to show strength, and unity and challenge opponents before a match. For the team this builds their unity, and connection to each other; whilst further establishing the pride and identity of their culture. When talking about the culture at the All Blacks, Toni said “The Māori word 'kaitiaki' translates to 'guardian', 'care taker' and 'protector' in English and at the club they believe that no player owns the jersey, its borrowed, and that we do this to prevent ego and individualism”. It also helps to instil pride into their culture by believing that “wearing the jersey is a privilege.” It creates a sense of responsibility and legacy amongst the players.
These values influence how the All Blacks manage their relationships with media and commercial partners. At the All Blacks, they don't support when commercial companies try to promote and advertise one player as it goes against their ideologies and they think it brings individualism and goes against their unity motto. When commercial companies do want to advertise players, they spend time with the squad to build a connection which builds the culture between the organisation and commercial partners.
Safety and Wellbeing
As a safety and wellbeing officer, Toni oversees the physical, emotional and mental health of staff and players throughout the organisation. At the All Blacks, injury prevention is a key priority, they constantly monitor player load – “whether it's training, travel or game time, we consistently monitor the number of games they have so we can estimate how long players should play the whole season / tournament.” They also educate about safe practices, rules and regulations to try prevent injury. At the core of it all is the clinical psychologist and physiotherapists. The physiotherapists do baseline testing each year, as well as cardiac and brain testing. Toni shares that they pair modern-day rugby with developing technology, “gumshields have impact sensors which flash if players receive an impact above a certain level - this reduces players from playing with potential head injuries or concussions".
At the All Blacks they believe its significant to support the players, as they actively study up-to-date player health and reports, which helps to adapt the care and support the athletes receive which is particularly important because rugby is challenging on both the body and mind.
Challenges of the role
Grimshaw’s role may not focus directly on tactics or on-field-coaching, her impact is extensive, she builds a high-performance culture; she develops “player and staff wellbeing”; development and governance, and supports coaches and staff. Toni majorly supports the players off the field, this can improve focus, resilience, and long-term team performance on the field. This allows everyone to perform at their best and her leadership has played a central part in rebuilding the executive leadership team and implementing new organisational strategies, Grimshaw's work helps attract, develop and retain talented coaches, medical staff, analysts and support personnel who contribute directly to the All Blacks success.
Grimshaw is so critical because modern day sport recognises that sustained success comes from more than technical coaching. She's helping to maintain the foundations of the All Black's strong culture, continuous improvement and leadership by ensuring the people, systems and organisational environments support excellence.
Advice from Toni
Listening to Toni's inspiring story, I learnt that success does not always happen on the pitch. Behind every great team are passionate people working hard on creating the environment, culture and support systems that allow athletes to thrive.
