Brave leadership to create change

Last night I attended the Marketing Society Braver Conversation event - Craig Inglis, John Lewis' Customer Director and Chair of the Marketing Society interviewed Paula Nickolds, John Lewis' Managing Director. It’s safe to say I left feeling inspired and with a wealth of ideas.

The Marketing Society provoke the need for brave leadership to create change. They enable and inspire uncomfortable, human, braver conversations. The Bloomsbury Curzon cinema with wine and comfy seats, was the perfect venue.

Paula has been at John Lewis for 25 years and loves the brand and the constitution of the partnership. But she’s leading in the toughest time the organisation has faced. It's a perfect storm of a generational shift in shopping behaviour, the rise of technology, Brexit, etc. 'The burden of responsibility weighs heavy and I’m scared we’re not changing fast enough. But I’m an optimist and know there’s an opportunity to be visible among the disruption. On my watch we have to reinvent to stay relevant, it's my quest to create an amazing offering and experiences that customers want to pay for'.

The UK has the second highest online retail penetration in the world, behind South Korea. That’s tough for an organisation whose DNA is rooted in the partners and how customers connect with people. And yet at Christmas 2018 John Lewis’ online sales were up to 50%. I love her conviction in knowing 'John Lewis can’t out algorithm Amazon. But we can create the perfect blend of personalisation and human touch. If anyone says they know what retail will look like in 10 years they’re either lying or misguided. We have to have the north stars of what we’re all about so we stay relevant as the landscape changes'.

I asked Paula how she sees her marketing team reinventing to be braver. 'I see silos of marketing becoming irrelevant. We'll have squads making awesome experiences for customers'. This is great in theory but I think their marketing needs quite a reinvention for that to be a reality. Transforming mindsets, roles and ways of working are hard and I'm sure this is an area they could move faster.

But John Lewis is becoming a more authentic brand. Authentic leadership coaching is shifting the behaviour of their Chairman and all senior leaders. Partners on the shop floors can wear their own clothes and use their social media channels. It's a big deal to let go of brand control in these ways, so good for them for braving it.

They are committed to representing all ages, races and disabilities in their brand marketing. They don't claim it's special, it's normal and non-negotiable best practice. Paula said the palaver and celebration around her role as the first woman MD of John Lewis in 153 years shouldn’t have been news. 'We’ll only have made progress when a woman as a leader of a major brand isn’t news'.

Paula is a brave, honest, determined and balanced leader. She has a huge dose of humility and a great skill for celebrating success. It’s a scary lonely role and she doesn’t know how to do it in any other way than being herself. Her success and resilience come from dwelling on successes not ruminating on failures. She reflects in the moment on bad decisions, then moves on to make the next good decisions. She's my new hero.

By Maddy Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer and Founding Partner of Brilliant Noise Ltd