“Courage is the root of change.” That’s a quote from the best-selling novel by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry. A favourite book of Drayton’s new London Managing Director, Nicola Wensley.
A specialist in retail and ecommerce recruitment, Wensley has just joined the company’s London HQ after spending seventeen years at a global search firm , where she made over 350 leadership appointments.
“ In my previous business, I was responsible for executive appointments within the retail & direct-to-consumer businesses, both within the UK and internationally. What excites me about the MD role here at Drayton is the opportunity to support their business growth in the consumer sector with a focus on my retail and ecommerce specialisms. As well as the additional strategic input I can deliver. I get to look at the longer-term growth of the business. And that’s exciting.”
In Garmus’s novel, the heroine, Elizabeth Zott, a PhD chemist, becomes a TV chef in 1950s California. And is always ready to embrace the change she champions. “I like to cook, it’s just chemistry,” says Zott.
The same thing can also be said of senior-level executive search. It, too, depends on an instinctive grasp of chemistry. The emotional kind. So, what are the main things Wensley’s seventeen years in the business have taught her about it? Under her own forensic microscope, what makes the truly exceptional candidate shine?
“I think, for senior level search, EQ outstrips IQ, in ecommerce particularly, because you can get some leaders that have an exceptionally high level of digital skills but fail to have good communication skills, or identifiable people leadership skills.”
Wensley smiles as she warms to her theme. “In my experience of interviewing people that are at the top of their game in the sector, at CEO level, in brilliant businesses and hugely scaling businesses, often they don't necessarily come from the highest pedigree universities or have the best education. Some of the best people that I've ever interviewed have started on the shop floor. And the reason they’ve been the best is because they’ve just got an instinctive understanding of how to deal with people, both customers and teams, and have a brilliant EQ.”
“In ecommerce, really?” I ask. Having difficulty envisaging the kingdom of clicks and conversions as being ruled by anyone other than the relentlessly rational. She laughs. “Yes, in ecommerce, especially. It’s true, you do get a lot of IQ over EQ, but the exceptionally good leaders, the ones who can transform a business, have the emotional intelligence that others in the sector don’t. And it's an absolute pleasure when you're dealing with them. And you can see why people follow them. At Drayton, we even have our own in-house psychometric testing process – DraytonAssess – to help identify this winning character trait.”
Wensley grew up in Wales and talks fondly of a childhood surrounded by music. She learned to play different instruments and ended up studying music at Royal Holloway University. These days she works as a volunteer Trustee for George’s Rockstars, a charity which brings musical therapy into children’s hospitals.
Her demeanour is positive, outgoing, and optimistic. Her voice full of enthusiasm for the task ahead. Just like Elizabeth Zott, she’s clearly determined to make the most of her own career change.
“It's very down to earth here at Drayton. They're very humble. Especially when you consider the level of clients they’re dealing with,” she says. “But, essentially, people, clients, and candidates, trust them – with their careers, with huge decisions about their business. That’s what struck me most about the business and made me want to join – how trusted they are. I can’t wait to be a key part of all that.”
A lesson in chemistry, then, from Nicola Wensley. Because – when it comes to EQ – isn’t trust the most fundamental component of all?