Anna Deegan: Becoming a Board Member

In 2020, during the first ever online AGM of an Irish National Governing Body, Anna Deegan joined the Board of Triathlon Ireland in the role of Ordinary Director. Anna’s combination of experience and passion for the sport make her an incredibly valuable member of the Triathlon Ireland Board.

In her own words, she is the “voice of a triathlete, of a club member, of a committee member”. What inspires someone to join the board of a National Governing Body, and what’s involved? We caught up with Anna to find out

The Journey Begins

From Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow, Anna Deegan is a proud member of Athy Triathlon Club. She first took part in triathlon three years ago, and was hooked from the start;

“I suppose my journey really began when I joined the triathlon club. I joined just over three years ago…and it kind of came about really, I suppose, needing to make some drastic changes in my life healthwise. Mental and physical health, and career wise I was going through quite a process of change and found triathlon.”
“After my first triathlon, I then joined the triathlon club and just the welcome that I got, the support, the encouragement was pretty overwhelming to be honest. I had gotten so much out of the sport and out of the club, I knew that I wanted to give back some of what I’ve been given – even though I don’t think I can ever do that. I became very passionate very quickly about the impact that sport has, and can have on people’s lives. Not just on their health but on lots of areas of their life. I very quickly became passionate about that and wanted to get involved more in that area of promoting that.”

The role of Club Secretary became available in Athy TC and Anna took on the position. After a long career in the equine industry, she was also moving into a sporting role with Kildare Sports Partnership at the time.

“I did two years as secretary and loved it! A secretary job, it’s not an easy job, it’s very time consuming, quite time demanding but I loved it and I also learnt an awful lot through it…I was able to upskill and my own personal development was massive. Just about the sport and the Governance of the sport, and about Triathlon Ireland and the ‘behind the scenes’ of triathlon and how it works.”

“Your Comfort Zone is a Beautiful Place, But Nothing ever Grows There”

At this point, Anna held the common misconception that sitting on a board was only for those in senior management positions, with vast years of experience. While professional skills and experience is extremely important at board level, it is not the sole pre-requisite for suitable candidates.

“I became very impressed with Triathlon Ireland, and what they stand for and the work that goes in, and the team behind it – they’re amazing really, you know. But I would never ever have imagined that I could or would be on a board. That was something that to me other people did. That really successful people did, people who were CEO’s and directors of companies and people with a long list of degrees and masters, they were the people that were on boards in my head.”

Through her job as a Sports Development Officer with Kildare Sports Partnership, Anna had the opportunity to work on some projects with Triathlon Ireland Women in Sport Lead Anna Grealish – who first planted the seed with Anna (Deegan) to apply for a board position.

“She (Anna Grealish) planted the seed, and I tend to like a challenge. I’m always trying to push myself a little bit further outside my comfort zone. There’s a saying I love that ‘your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there’. That had been my life for a really long time I suppose, just staying in my comfort zone. So the board was definitely way out of my comfort zone, but the seed was planted and I began to think about it.”

After some research, Anna made the decision to put her name forward for nomination to the board through her Club Chairperson. With the nomination accepted, she then made a brief presentation during the 2020 AGM before Triathlon Ireland’s Clubs voted for the new board members. Deegan was thrilled to be selected.

“We were in online AGM at this stage so I was sitting at home and I couldn’t believe it, I was blown away. Blown away by the level of support I got to be voted in. And obviously still over the moon.”

The Work Begins

When you join a board, where do you start? There is an extensive induction process to bring new board members on board, ensuring that they have the information and tools necessary to carry out their role. In terms of time commitment, the Triathlon Ireland board meets for a half day every six to eight weeks. For each meeting there is a level of pre-reading and preparation required in advance.

“There was a lot of imposter syndrome at the start…but the induction process from TI is really, really brilliant, they don’t leave any stone unturned which is great, and the support is from the get go.”
“I could literally ask any question I wanted. If there something I didn’t understand, it was very clear that ‘We’re here to help you, and if you’ve a question to ask, just ask’. And I did, you know, I asked the questions.”

Finding Your Voice

Anna shares some real insight into something that many find a challenge, finding your voice;

“As time goes on I find I’m finding my voice, and finding my feet and getting a bit more settled into it. And that’s great, and your confidence grows with it.”
“When I put myself forward for the board I very much wanted to be a voice of a triathlete, of a club member, of a committee member and that triathlon be available from the ground up, from the grassroots up because I really feel like triathlon has a place. I’m very passionate about that it has a place for everybody. It particularly has a place for people who may not be comfortable in team sports but yet love having the support of other people. So, you’re doing your own individual thing but you have the support of clubs and other club members.”
“So when I went in, I knew that was what I wanted the voice to be and yes, I feel like I’m staying true to that which is very important to me…And that voice matters, you know, being a voice for those people matters. I’m happy that that’s my voice.”

Let’s Talk Skills

When a board position is opened, there is a specific skillset that is required to fill the role. But, as Anna outlines, those tangible skills aren’t the only ones that matter when selecting a board member;

“My skills are that I’m very motivated, I’m very driven, I’m not afraid to ask difficult questions, I’m not afraid to be the devil’s advocate in a room…I think when people talk about skills, people tend to think ‘Oh that’s my education, that’s my degree’ and that, I think, can turn people off. When you talk about a skillset and people think ‘oh well I’m not educated enough’ or ‘I don’t have enough of a degree’ or ‘I haven’t a high enough position in a body to have the skills’. Whereas maybe my skill is my voice and my passion for triathlon and my passion for developing triathlon from the grassroots up.
“My work as a Sports Development Officer does feed a lot into this because I’m trying to engage with people who don’t engage with sport already. So I’m always having to think outside the box a little bit of ‘how to we engage with people who aren’t already engaged’, ‘how do we show them the benefits’. Not just the physical benefits…sport can enhance your life in so many ways. Even down to upskilling yourself, pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Sport has given me all of that. Yes, I’m physically fitter and I’m healthier and my mental health is better. But I’ve also upskilled myself to my job that I have, triathlon brought to that, it brought me to the board. So a lot of my skill is my passion for it. Having ideas of how to engage with people we don’t already engage with and to bring more people into sport and into triathlon, particularly from a board point of view.”
“I tend to get a little bit nervous in getting too caught up in the words ‘what’s your skills?’, then I think if people can’t exactly pinpoint a skill that they associate with being a board skill, then they won’t put themselves forward.”

Seize The Opportunity

Applying for a board position can be daunting, and is certainly something that requires research and consideration. There is a huge amount of support available and it presents a great opportunity for both personal and professional development. Anna and her fellow board member Emma Killian recently completed the Women in Sport Leadership Programme organised by Swim Ireland. The course covered the areas of leadership, governance, networking, dealing with crisis as well as a host of experienced guest speakers.

What is Anna’s advice for those interested in taking on a leadership role, like a board position?

“Go for it! If you’re waiting for the perfect time, it never comes. Opportunities are like the sunrise, if you wait too long, they’re gone! You do have to take a deep breath sometimes and just jump, take the leap.”
“Seek out people to take advice from. I’m very happy and willing to talk to anybody who would like to just speak to somebody, I’m very happy to speak to anybody one on one. Talk to TI, talk to Bernard (Hanratty) and Lochlann (Walsh). Reach out to people, you know, don’t just leave it as a little thought in there…Face the fear, and go for it!”

Did you know that Triathlon Ireland currently have a number of board vacancies, which will be decided at our upcoming AGM? Triathlon Ireland President Lochlann Walsh explains;

“It is critical that the board of TI represents and reflects our members and has the skills required to run an organisation of our size and complexity. Anna has explained what this means in reality much better than I ever could. We believe passionately that to reflect our membership we need to have more women in leadership in triathlon.”
“We’ve worked really hard over the past four years to build our female leaders with really great results, 42% of club chairs are now female, up from 9% four years ago. We have a nine person board and a requirement to have at least three from each gender. Currently we have two women on the board and I’d really love to see a 5/4 gender split. I really hope that Anna’s story will encourage more women to consider giving their time for what is a really exciting and fulfilling role.”