The Heart of the Business: Leadership and Allyship combined?

Its always tempting to think of the good old days! No Internet and therefore no TV streaming, no smart phones, children could play safely in the street and the sun always shined. At Centrica (or British Gas as it was then) we had thousands of employees, the meter readers (almost all male) greeted their customers with a smile and received a cup of tea in return. In our offices the senior management had their own executive floor, accessible only with a pass, with marble lined toilets, linen towels and Molton Brown toiletries.

Things moved on of course. Some people called it progress. There were fewer personal assistants as even managers were expected to know how to use a keyboard and manage their workload and timetables, and smart meters reduced the requirement for the number of meter readers. Leaders hung on to the old ways cloistered in their ivory towers clinging on to the last vestiges of power and privilege with the executive washroom being the last symbol to be flushed away.

A normal man

With the new egalitarian world, a new style of leader began to emerge. One of these was the Centrica CFO who came into the office wearing fluorescent orange trousers, trainers and a blue top and said hello to people on the floor as he walked on to meet with his peers in our HQ building (none of whom normal colleagues saw or even knew). Colleagues were amazed that this dishevelled leader always called them by name even though they had only ever seen this face on company material. This was our first experience of Chris O’Shea and what stood out was that he seemed normal.

On 14 April 2020, Chris became the Group Chief Executive Officer of Centrica, having been interim CEO for four weeks prior to that and CFO between November 2018 and March 2020. He faced a baptism of fire as CEO as Centrica along with the rest of the world had to navigate its way through the volatility caused by the Coronavirus pandemic that had sent oil prices plunging, left customers struggling to pay bills and employees fearful about the future.

As a result, some of the key messages during those early days were about restating priorities to protect the welfare of both employees and customers particularly the vulnerable and focusing on “structural simplification, improving efficiency and growing the customer-facing businesses’’. This was the start of one of the toughest re-organisations the company had been through for a very long time.

The Crucible

The melting pot of emotions, economics, expectations, anxieties and fear had to be managed and taking charge of this crucible at such a chaotic time was a challenge like no other. What is remarkable is that a year on, the company lore about Chris and his leadership style is positive. It is said that one of the tests of a leader is how they adapt to a shifting environment. The global pandemic has been a seismic shift and so far, the view of many colleagues is that we have a leader who is guiding us through it effectively and humanely. Although this article represents the views of many it does not purport to reflect the views of all - there are of course ongoing industrial disputes and dissatisfaction, but those will be the subject for a different debate.

Authenticity and Allyship

‘Bring your whole self to work’ and ‘Be your authentic self’ have become the common mantra in our work environments over the last few years. Often we struggle to apply this to ourselves and of course interpretations vary. In relation to Chris, (and it may well be the Glaswegian in him) his forthrightness, integrity and strong sense of values shine through and together with a compelling and believable personality and the ability to bring others with him on the journey mark him out as an authentic leader. We were repeatedly struck by his remarkable ability to give an open and honest response to questions and admitting when he gets things wrong. 

From the outset, Chris communicated a powerful narrative and created conditions so colleagues could thrive. He also made a number of commitments one of which was :-

“We are going to continue talking about how we make Centrica a truly inclusive place to work that reflects the world we live in and the customers we serve – and one where anyone can succeed. That will not only make Centrica a nicer place to work, but it will also be one where colleagues are happier, working in an environment where we all feel included... welcome... at home.”

BUT he didn’t just say these things he made sure that Town Halls included a variety of perspectives and not just the leadership voices - young graduates talking about initiatives they had spearheaded, colleagues speaking up about topics that were previously taboo such as race, gender, sexual harassment and workplace equality.

Customer, Cash and Colleagues

All leaders should recognise that it’s not just about customers or shareholders or employees, it’s about all these constituencies, simultaneously and indivisibly. The issues are not neatly compartmentalised and whilst the focus in Centrica is rightly on outcomes, our key objectives in achieving those outcomes have been simplified so there is absolute clarity that our attention must be directed to Customer, Cash and Colleagues. Chris understands that a wonderful list of values doesn’t move the culture needle unless leadership brings it to life so he has been tireless, consistent and persistent about communicating the core messages Town hall after Town Hall. Inclusivity was paramount in his design and when feedback showed that front-line staff were missing some of the briefings this prompted a change to 2 1hr sessions to allow all colleagues to benefit.

Chris viscerally understands that strategy cannot be divorced from what people think and feel so in his first 5 months as CEO, he invited a broad range of colleagues to give feedback on anything at all. He was keen to uncover the invisible fears and insecurities that if left hidden would mean certain constituencies would not feel included, so those taboo subjects were included. Chris exposed his own vulnerabilities openly discussing possible blind spots and fears and challenging his comfort zone. Having listened, he then acted on what he had heard. The manifestation of this was that in Global Gatherings Chris talked about mental health challenges, women’s issues such as menopause, menstruation, issues that affected the LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented groups, fertility, men’s health and other difficult subjects. Support was also given to carers and carer friendly policies designed to enable our carers to balance work and caring commitments were implemented and publicised.   There were those who thought those matters trivial or not appropriate for Global gatherings but of course they were not trivial to the people concerned. Chris was clear in his justification. Colleagues are normal people so whatever afflicts and affects them should be discussed openly. Part of being an inclusive company is celebrating who we are rather than presenting a sanitised version.

Superhero

There are numerous stories to pick from but one I read this week on our internal Yammer feed was about 8-year-old Ashton. As part of the Comic Relief efforts, his school opted for a Superhero theme. Ashton wanted to go as a British Gas Engineer so he wrote to the CEO on behalf of his dad saying, “My Dad is my superhero and worked all through the pandemic and deserves a pay rise” – I am not sure if the pay rise was achieved but Ashton was sent a full uniform, tools and a tool belt. His dad (Tom) got a real surprise when Ashton got dressed up on the day. Both Ashton and Tom were thrilled to bits.

One of us

It has been said, you are an Ally when someone or a group that you advocate for says you are. Whilst I agree with this in part, I also believe that thinking of yourself as an Ally and working towards being an active Ally is also part of the equation. Chris meets the definition on both counts. He is a different type of leader, one who is willing to model behaviours and communicate with others authentically and persuasively. There was a time when everyone believed that the CEO should be a charismatic larger than life figure with a gargantuan ego. Chris has the charisma but otherwise doesn’t seem to have read the manual and as a result we have an unpretentious leader with a persistent resolve who demonstrates unwavering determination to do whatever is necessary to transform Centrica from good to great.

So, it’s fitting on his first-year anniversary to say - Thank You Chris for being normal and occasionally dishevelled, for being a role model and an Ally, for avoiding the executive washroom and ultimately for being one of us.

Not by Resolve Alone

There always has to be a proviso. It’s been an encouraging first year, the conversations have been started and commitments stated but in year two the words need to be followed through into actions. The gender pay gap must be addressed, equality must be moved on from aspiration to reality, our sustainability agenda needs to make significant leaps and that small matter of Centrica not only surviving but thriving. Resolve without results is a paper tiger.