Wisdom From The Boardroom - Carl Tomlinson

Carl Tomlinson is five years into building a portfolio career with a handful of advisory FD and NED roles. After qualifying as an accountant with PwC he worked in industry and then spent twenty years as the CEO of a family business. His board roles consist of being a trustee for a charity and a NED of an industrial finishing company that has been through an MBO.

What advice would you have given yourself before you stepped into your first paid NED role?

 Be around people that share your passion and interests. Be willing to volunteer to gain experience. My first role - as a trustee of the charity Creation Theatre - came from being part of an amateur dramatic group. The charity route is a great way to build experience and credibility. Build yourself, and participate generously in,  a network of boardroom contacts who could be potential leads to other roles.

 It is also wise to get some training around governance so that you understand what your duties and responsibilities are. Under UK law you have a legal responsibility as a NED but your power is limited compared to the Executive team, so be very conscious of how to manage that. It is important to develop an ability to uncover what potential risks the executives are missing, what are they not considering, what are their blind spots or what (in the worst case) they are hiding.

How did you make the transition from being an Executive Director to a Non-Executive Director? How did you prepare yourself to be 'ready' for the first paid role?

 Chairing a few trade associations helped me to develop a more elevated perspective or a ‘bird’s eye view’ of what we are here to achieve. It also enabled me to develop my influencing skills alongside the decision-making skills that I use in my Executive role.

 My first NED role in a family SME came out of having been the CEO of the company where I spent 20 years. I’d been away from the business for 5 years before coming back in a boardroom capacity. This break was essential and helped me develop a more independent, clear and strategic perspective.

How do you keep up to date and on top of being in ‘good shape’ as a NED?

 To stay fit in my role as a NED I keep up to date with what is happening in the wider economy,  and follow emerging trends in industry sectors to uncover opportunities and threats that might affect my clients. I also make sure I stay on top of new developments in governance, finance, risk etc through formal CPD.

The variety of businesses that I’ve worked with in the last 5 years has helped me identify trends that affect businesses in general such as energy costs, employment, funding, inflation etc. It is essential to be curious and have an interest in the general business environment with a continuous appetite for learning.

I believe in learning by enquiry and mutual support. Being part of a peer group is a great way to share experiences and wisdom with other NEDs.

What has been the most challenging, rewarding and valuable learning so far?

The most challenging thing was learning to be more patient than I am temperamentally inclined to be. As a CEO when I wanted a report I got it! As a NED I have to respect the reporting cycle and sometimes wait longer for information from the Executive team.

The most rewarding thing is being able to add a new dimension and help people see another angle or wider perspective which informs decision making.

My most valuable learning has been to not underestimate the potential importance of something that seems trivial. It is easy to get lost in thinking you have to bring something big to the board meeting each time to feel valuable. Small things can change a perspective.

NEDs are supposed to bring a strategic mindset and wisdom to the boardroom. What does that mean and how would you describe a wise NED?

To me a strategic mindset in the context of being a NED is being uncluttered and consistently operating in an effective and trusting way.  Someone you don’t need to be on your guard with.

I believe it is important to honour ‘the veil of incorporation’ – the business and the founder are not the same thing, which is why entrepreneurs should probably not be NEDs of businesses they have founded.

I believe wise NEDs are self-aware and understand that they are there for the business and not their self-interest.

What do you do to step out of your ‘echo chamber' to challenge your own thinking and broaden your mindset and perspective?

I am fortunate that the roles that I have are with a group of widely diverse people which means that I am constantly challenged with different perspectives. Also, my children – who are in their 20s - are great teachers of new perspective and changes, in particular within the world of work. My advice to help broaden your mindset is to go and volunteer in a sector where no one looks like you.

What transferrable learnings and different perspective have you taken to the boardroom from other areas outside of your professional life?

Alongside my work with businesses, I write poetry. I have noticed that there are characteristics which make a good writer that are also useful for being a NED. One is being good at observation. It is also helpful to have an ear for language, to hear what’s really being said. Mostly I write to make sense of something that I don’t fully comprehend. It takes persistence to dig deeper, having noticed something that’s different to how we expect it to be. To think creatively is to enquire and deduce, it requires a blend of inspiration and discipline. Rather like business.

What question would you like to ask a peer NED yourself?

 Executives have their performance measured through KPIs, but how do you measure the impact and performance of a NED? How do you demonstrate to yourself and the board what value you bring?