Episode 7 and the final show in our first season of charity leaders podcasts, we were delighted to welcome the leader of the largest charity so far, Chris Sherwood, CEO of the RSPCA. The RSPCA does not need any introduction but maybe some people are not aware of how historical they are, even have acts of parliament named because of them!
Chris has been in the charity sector for his whole career and knew from an early age this was the route for him - maybe that’s why he became a CEO aged 34 and at just 37 was put in charge of the oldest animal charity in the world.
Chris is an incredibly humble man, he has achieved amazing success at such a young age but is so focused on the next leaders in both his own charity but in the sector as a while, it is truly inspiring to talk to him and I’m confident everyone will take a lot from our chat with him.
From Humble Beginning to Quick Success
Growing up in Corby was tough at times but Chris learned the importance of education at an early age and having seen the struggles in the local area, he very quickly set his mind on a career in charity and his trajectory has only gone in one direction from day one.
He has been in the charity sector for around 18 years (and is still only just 40!) starting out with Scope, before moving to Relate, where he became CEO halfway through his six years at the charity, before being asked to take on the role of CEO at one of the largest charities in the UK - as he says himself
“I’m privileged to sit in this role, it’s an amazing organisation”
It’s certainly unusual to have achieved this so early in his career, particularly in a sector that is famous for being risk-averse, traditionally charity boards appoint older leaders because they like years of experience.
Challenging Times
It is fair to say that before his arrival, the RSPCA had been through a few different CEOs in recent years, so much so that many of his close friends in the industry actually questioned if he really wanted to take the challenge on, but the thought never crossed his mind.
Chris embraced the challenge and believes in the idea that a leader of such a distinguished organisation is ‘passing the baton’, he was determined to pass it over to his successor in a better place than he found it. But he wasn’t going to come in and smash everything up, taking a very level-headed approach to the job.
“For me, it's about what's great about this organisation and what can we do differently”
He certainly knew the seriousness of what he was taking on, walking into a boardroom and seeing a massive wooden board with the names of all the previous CEOs - most of them with a ‘Lord’ in front of their name or several letters after it.
A big part of what he’s introduced and proof of his philosophy of passing the baton is the leadership and management training that he has instigated since arriving. He wants to bring through the next great leaders for RSPCA and is also helping mentor future leaders in other charities.
The Job Of The CEO
Chris was incredibly honest when asked the question what was it like to be a CEO of a charity - if you asked him when he started there would be a lot of ‘me’ in his answer but now it would be full of ‘we’. His list of what he see’s as key
Set the direction of where you want to go as an organisation
Appointments - recruitment is a big challenge. Anyone coming in has to be aligned to your values and the culture
Resource allocation. Where to spend your money and place your people
Being a role model. What are you spending your time on and how do you interact with the business
He talks about being careful about what you say to others and the impact it can have, part of which comes from an experience from early in his career.
“One boss once told me that he didn't want a team of stars because he was the star! It was a terrible thing to say”
As he’s evolved in his career he has got calmer and more practical but he does like to make change. He sees it as his responsibility to set the pace. He’s careful not to rush too fast and everything falls over but he ensures things are always moving forward.
The Importance of Mentors
It is fair to say that mentors are important in his career. As a subject, it came up multiple times in relation to different stages of his career. His advice on finding a mentor is useful.
Think about what you want to talk about. Different people will be able to offer different advice.
Are looking for a short term or long term mentor? He has benefited from both during his career
Trade bodies are a good source of finding mentors, many have formal mentoring programmes in them
These mentors are especially important when you make big steps up in your career. Chris explained to us the two biggest steps that an individual can make during the journey to the top.
The first is department head to director level, where you move from subject matter expert to running teams where you are no longer an expert. In this scenario, it takes time to settle and realise that it is ok not to be the smartest person in the room!
The other big leap is from director to CEO. It’s a cliche for a reason - it is lonely at the top and that is why you need a support network outside of the charity. Everyone thinks you know the answer to everything at this point but the key is making it seem that way - the swan analogy fits this perfectly.
The Business Of Running a Charity
The first point from Chris on this subject is similar to many we have interviewed - profit vs. surplus. You think about things so differently as a charity. It’s about having a surplus for security but not having it too big because it should be going to your beneficiaries.
But understanding the commercial side is important to Chris, so much so he has made a conscious effort to bring in people with a for-profit background so his team has a nice balance. Ultimately as a charity, all their funding comes from donations (no government funding) so they need sales and marketing to get the populations attention.
This means understanding your customer and beneficiaries. One end customer are the animals they support and this is something that can never be forgotten. Then you have those that donate and also the members of RSPCA. But he can never forget the network of branches all over the country that they must support.
Chris’ great skill in his time at RSPCA has been pulling together both sides of the charity - the business and the mission. It was important they improved the governance without losing what they were there to do - make life better for animals around the world.
Three Big Takeaways
Throughout this podcast series, we have asked our leaders to supply their top three tips for aspiring leaders. Chris struggled for just three, so we allowed him a little bonus one!
Seek out a mentor. Don't be afraid to reach out to people
What sure you do stuff you enjoy. What motivates you? Remember this and do more of it
Be kind to yourself. Get a better work/life balance
Bonus tip - Humility is critical. You cannot always be right, so listening to others is a vital part of leading.
I can honestly say after listening to Chris talk for 45 minutes, you’ll all see he gets humility better than most in charge of such a prestigious and historical organisation.
If you want to help this amazing charity, and frankly why wouldn't you, then please look at their latest campaign for Christmas, such an important time for animals as well as us humans!