Meet the leader with Jane Wilson
Jane is an exceptional leader who currently holds the position of Consultant Chief Executive of William Lamb which she has held since 2018. In 2022 Jane was appointed Chair of the British Footwear Association.
She commenced her career as a Graduate Management trainee with Clarks International. Her first post was working in Eldon Square and then held various Leadership positions within retail before joining the head off ice team at their headquarters in Somerset. Jane left Clarks to pursue a career with Start-rite shoes starting as marketing director before being promoted to Chief Executive. Jane then returned to Clarks holding various roles as Group Product Director & Chief Product Officer. Following this Jane joined Ecco Denmark as a consultant.
We asked Jane some questions about her Leadership style and experience…
Q: What is your definition of Leadership?
A: Leadership is an expression of purpose and behaviour which galvanises a group of people to collectively achieve an aim or purpose. This can be monetary, physical, attitudinal or all three.
Q: In one sentence, who is Jane?
A: A northeast girl who was taught to work hard and everything would be ok!
Q: Tell us a bit about your leadership style…
A: My leadership style incorporates a number of behaviours and beliefs:
- I always stick to my values, being open and honest, always acting with integrity and treat everyone the same.
- I am committed to leading by example, I’m not work-shy, and am prompt and responsive.
- Enthusiasm! I always look for the positives in people and situations and strive to create reasons to be positive. This ties in with my optimism, and belief, I believe things are possible and encourage others to do so.
- I am committed and determined to make things happen.
- All the above drives me to be successful and to always achieve results.
Q: How do you influence change
A: I ensure that I share the vision of the business, making sure it’s tangible, and achievable and the objectives are SMART. I make sure that I lead. I ensure I stay constant and persistent at times and understand where others are in the transition to lead them effectively.
Q: What are some of your greatest achievements?
A: Some of my highlights include:
- Leading the team at Clarks – spirited and bold thoroughbreds in a large organisation, creating £800m margin from a blank piece of paper.
- Leading the team at Start-rite, a team which were committed, loyal and determined, and still are today.
- Created Yotoys (2010), set the creative vision of the Yotoy generation, every child of school age in the country would wear these shoes. Added £14m profit in a year onto the children’s business. Unwavering resilience was needed in this role.
- Young Managers Awards (Pattenmakers), for 15 years I have run this scheme bringing new people into the industry, identifying the highfliers and supporting them in their development. Most recent success is as the Creative Director of Dr Martens.
- Launching my own product, Pinpoint, into the market in 2018 to measure feet and selling it to Marks and Spencer. Unfortunately, we then had a pandemic, and it all went wrong!
Q: Is there anything you would have done differently in your career?
A: You make decisions based on the information and opportunities you have at the time, I have no regrets and wouldn’t change anything. The only think I might consider doing differently would be working harder at school! Looking back my only frustration is it’s taken me 40 years to learn all this, why isn’t there a shortcut?!
Q: Finally, what are some of your top leadership tips?
A: My top tips in leadership are…
- Be open and honest about the business (as much as you reasonably can). Share information and be transparent about the good and the bad.
- Be visible and show genuine concern for others and what’s important to your team. always
- Have a plan and communicate it clearly. This is a touchstone for all that you do.
- Communication, having the ability to listen as well as talk to people and ask questions and be curious!
- As well as communicating, seek to understand others and all perspectives. Approach problems from a full picture, full circle perspective and look for what’s not being said!
- Use your intuition, question yourself and hold yourself accountable, if it feels wrong, it usually is wrong.
- Believe in yourself and your beliefs and push through with determination.
- Understand the responsibility you carry, act responsibly and with humility. Beware the amplification factor!
- Finally, keep a cool head – if in doubt, think hard.
Redworth Associates has worked with Jane and William Lamb since 2019 and previously with Start-rite & Clarks Shoes. Their partnership goes back over 20 years.
For more information on how we can support your business contact us, or find out more about our courses.
