High profile CEO shares the keys to great leadership

The Group CEO of multinational logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and consultancy company Unipart has claimed that great leadership is about creating a culture where people want to stay, develop and continually improve.

Speaking to Linda Walmsley of Lancashire based executive recruitment specialists Walmsley Wilkinson as part of its Inspiring Leaders series, Darren Leigh, Group Chief Executive Officer of Unipart, reflected on his own journey from leaving school at 16 and joining a Youth Training Scheme to becoming CEO of a major UK manufacturing, logistics and supply chain organisation.

Darren says he always knew he wanted a career in business but did not follow a traditional route into senior leadership.

He said: “I grew up in a working-class home in an old mining market town in Ilkeston, Derbyshire and did OK at school, but I honestly just wanted to get out into the world and start working.

“I wouldn’t say that I had a grand master plan, other than I just knew that my career was going to be in business.”

That early experience has shaped Darren's approach to leadership, particularly his belief that businesses should recognise potential in people from a wide range of backgrounds.

A central theme of Darren's leadership philosophy is the relationship between culture and performance.

He says Unipart's culture was one of the key reasons he wanted to join the business and remains one of its greatest strengths.

He said: “I would say when thinking about the ‘what’ has inspired me, one of the reasons that I joined Unipart was due to its unique ethos.

“We call it The Unipart Way. It’s unlike anything else that I’ve ever experienced in other companies.”

He describes 'The Unipart Way' as a framework that helps employees think, work and behave in ways that empower them to deliver continuous improvement for customers, the company and themselves.

“I think I must come back to the topic of culture. For me, the working environment and performance are inseparable.”

Darren believes that long-term investment in workplace culture can become a genuine business asset.

“If we consider The Unipart Way, I would describe that as our greatest asset. It’s an intangible asset, but it’s still our greatest asset.”

The approach is reflected in Unipart's focus on employee development, engagement, apprenticeships, graduate programmes and internal progression.

The company has a significant long-service record, with more than 900 active members of its 25-Year Club, recognising colleagues who have spent at least 25 years with Unipart.

Darren also credits periods of significant economic disruption with helping shape his approach to leadership.

His career has included navigating the dot-com crash, the Great Recession and major periods of business transformation.

He added: “My time at Marconi taught me a lot about personal resilience. I experienced an entire economic cycle from the sort of exponential growth of the dot-com boom to a market crash within just a few years.”

Those experiences reinforced the importance of maintaining strategic focus during uncertainty.

“I think the lessons for me through those experiences that I’d share with others are that it’s really important to develop a clear strategy and to execute that strategy with focus and discipline.”

“If you do that in the right way, no matter what the circumstances are, you can emerge the other side of those challenges as a business even leaner and stronger than you were before.”

For Darren, investing in people is fundamental to commercial performance.

At Unipart, the company's People function plays a central role in helping employees and managers develop, perform and grow.

Darren said: “At Unipart, I spend just as much time, if not more time, with my Chief People Officer as I do with my Chief Financial Officer.”

For Linda Walmsley of Walmsley Wilkinson Executive Recruitment this reflects a wider shift in the expectations of senior candidates.

Linda said: “Candidates are increasingly looking beyond salary and benefits. They want to understand an organisation's culture, values, leadership style and whether there is a genuine opportunity to develop their career.

“The organisations that can demonstrate those qualities are increasingly well placed to attract and retain exceptional talent.”

Darren's own career demonstrates the potential for leadership talent to emerge from non-traditional backgrounds, while his experience of economic disruption underlines the importance of resilience and disciplined execution.

His message to other leaders is that businesses which invest in their people, develop their culture and embrace continuous improvement are better positioned to adapt and succeed.

Darren Leigh's interview forms part of Walmsley Wilkinson Executive Recruitment's Inspiring Leaders series, which explores the career journeys, experiences and leadership philosophies of senior executives across UK business.