Chief executive shares honest and insightful account of her career

“The job of a chief executive is increasing entrepreneurial,” Kersten England told the delegates of TheBusinessDesk.com’s Women in Business lunch on Friday.

As the main speaker at the event, England shared a very honest account of her career and personal life; which she said had given her the determination to succeed. England has held several senior roles in public and private businesses; as well as time campaigning, lecturing and time during her career in Zimbabwe. She described herself as a passionate activist who, as a young child, was bright but didn’t always have confidence. Often she would put herself under too much pressure, to be told by her mum that she should stop trying to prove herself.

However, she has driven her career by standing by her integrity and resilience. Her mum was an author and of  reading her books, England said: “They taught me about identify, respect and conflict.

“It is a tough old world out there. But you have to learn to navigate the turbulence.”

England entered the public sector in a way that made her make a decision between two very different roles. She had been offered two job interviews on the same day – one as a lecturer and another as a gender equality lead at Kirklees Council. Her decision to head to the council interview saw her now 27-year career in the public sector begin.

“I’m not sure why I made that decision. In some ways, you read your life backwards. But I am an activist who wants to see things change and happen,” she explained.

England said that much of her career she had experienced great managers, good support and often the time and space to put her energy into concentrating on fantastic projects which made a difference to people’s lives.

However, as a female in senior positions, she has had times when her gender had been an issue – in both small and large ways. This included “nasty trolling” when she was first announced in one of her roles. Of how to overcome such issues, she said: “It’s important to have networks and alliances; people who you can trust and can also be your critical friends. I have had a coach throughout my career.”

England  said she always made sure she had time to exercise and that a good sleep pattern was critical “otherwise you can lose perspective and then make poor judgements.

“You also need to know when you have given all that you can give. You have to value yourself; even this means you have to step away from something. ”

England said in her current role, she was tasked with leading an an organisation with more than 1,800 staff across 35-40 business sectors. “It has to be driven by a business model and by revenue. The skills and knowledge needed, I think, are comparable to running a private sector company.”

However, due to cuts, she has led the council through major changes in order to reduce operating costs by 40%. She said the council now was more efficient and that she remained driven  by ensuring prosperity for people. She added: “The bottom line is what quality of life we can deliver for people living in Bradford.

“I am here to ensure that those people in work and the young people coming into work have the skills to live long and happy lives. Then we just might have enough money to be help the people who are not able to work and that’s the basis and values I work towards.”

Now, one of her focuses is to ensure the very best prosperity for both Bradford and the wider Leeds City Region –  specifically in inspiring the next generation of talent. “It’s really about them and the huge, significant contribution they can make with the opportunities that come their way,” she added.