IOD SCOTLAND WINTER 2022

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In conversation with... Catherine McWilliam Continued from page 17 Best of all, the course earned her a year’s placement with the Scottish Government where a young Nicola Sturgeon was in charge of the health department. “The strangest thing was that Scotland was in the middle of the swine flu epidemic at the time, so there I was, still a student, sitting in on briefings from Scotland’s chief scientific adviser about this mysterious virus. I remember thinking I should really take this all in as it was likely I’d never experience anything like it again… ” Famous last words. Her first real job was with Dumfries Council, helping the community access local services. “It was very varied and I loved it: I was helping the long-term unemployed access services to help them get back to work, and finding support for young mums. It got me out on the street and close to local community activists; I got a real kick out of helping local people help themselves.” This was followed by a six-month PR internship in San Francisco at the time the iPhone 5 was coming out. “The firm I was with had links with all the Silicon Valley tech firms. It was such a brilliant experience to be at the heart of a game-changing technological invention. I was tempted to stay but to be honest, I missed Scotland too much.” A lengthy period at Orbit Communications followed. Her first job “toughened me up a lot. I was – literally – knocking on doors, talking to people about their thoughts about wind farms being developed near their communities. I’ll tell you one thing about wind farms; no-one’s a ‘don’t know’. At the time we were working in some quite deprived areas, former coalfields with high unemployment, and the community funding that followed the wind farms could be transformational, boosting the local economy, so a lot of people were really positive about them. “But at the same time you had a lot of people who were dead set against them, claiming they were destroying the countryside, hitting the bird population or they were just eyesores. I never got a ‘not sure’… it was either a big yes, or a really big no!” It was while at Orbit that she first came across the Young Scot organisation and its then chief executive, Louise Macdonald, her future predecessor as Nations Director at the IoD. “Louise is a really inspirational woman. In truth, she’s one of the reasons why I joined the IoD last year.” Catherine’s next step was to move to Development Trusts “We’ve done a lot to change our demographics in recent years but we need to press on. I want to lead an IoD that reflects Scotland in every way.” Association Scotland (DTAS), a small charity that works with and supports community-led enterprises and projects. “There were distinct echoes of my work at Dumfries Council, helping charities access support and empowering local community projects. I was helping groups obtain funding and building projects and their capacity to manage them to scale. It was very rewarding work as you could see results all round you.” Leaving was a wrench: “I had a great six-and-a-half years but I realised I needed to expand my horizons and broaden my network. My sector experience was quite defined.” She didn’t choose the IoD to join, however; rather, it chose her. “I got the job as a senior branch manager through an agency but they didn’t tell me who I was applying to join. I was given an outline of the role, its aims and goals. I was really excited about what I learnt. “The key thing was raising awareness and building relationships with members, local groups and stakeholders. It suited me down to the ground.” Whether the IoD would have attracted her attention in the first place is a difficult question to answer. “I’d heard of the IoD but I’ll be honest – and here is one of my goals as Nations Director – I thought of it as an outdated gentleman’s club. As soon as I sat down with the IoD team I realised 18 WINTER 2022
how wrong my perceptions were; its membership is far more diverse than the ‘old guys’ I envisaged, but I know that perception is still out there. “One of my goals is to open people’s eyes as to exactly what the IoD offers, who joins and why all business leaders should be a part of it. In recent years we’ve made great strides in broadening our demographics: we’re attracting far more women, more younger members and more people from ethnically diverse communities and from different socio-economic backgrounds. But we need to press on with this. I want to lead an IoD that perfectly reflects Scotland in every way.” But what Catherine won’t do is leave behind its more established members in a race to change. “My vision is that we need to drive change, yes, but remain loyal to those members whose knowledge and experience have been so useful for many years. “The job is moulding together the experience of those who have done it all before with our up-and-coming directors. “I want to make the IoD the WINTER 2022 organisation of choice, not only for current directors but for business leaders and future business leaders.” If broadening that demographic is one goal, getting the IoD message out to a wider audience is another. “We don’t shout about ourselves enough. The IoD has been instrumental in key policy initiatives over the years, whether it’s helping governments formulate tax policies, export initiatives or the support for businesses during Covid. Yet people still think we’re that old-fashioned men’s club. That perception needs to change.” Catherine is also aware that at times, IoD policy can be a little narrow and focused on themes that aren’t always in keeping with Scotland’s priorities. “The IoD has looked at the way it works and reformed its processes, with a goal of moving the institute closer to its members. This has to be true for policy, too.” She cites the food sector as an example: “This is far more important to Scotland per se than it is to the UK as a whole, so IoD Scotland’s policy initiatives should reflect what this vital sector needs. Policy must be broader and tackle the issues that matter to local IoD members. “I think in the past we’ve been too focused on big ticket items such as tax and finance, or what is being talked about in the corridors of power.” Success in her new role would be driving through these changes. “We need to make IoD membership something more than a ‘nice to have’ into a ‘must’, something people will automatically seek out when they become a business leader.” Improving engagement is another goal. “Like most membership organisations, we’ve got three kinds of members. First you’ve got those who are genuinely involved – on the committees, contributing to Policy Voice, attending events, using services. Second, you’ve got those who are more passive; they might attend an event or get involved on a local level, but that’s it. The third group is, they’re just members. They join because they think it’s a nice thing to do, but don’t get involved. If you asked them what the benefits of membership are, they’d be vague and not use them often. The goal is to love the 1s, convert ‘2s’ into 1s and turn the 3s into 2s.” One of the best ways of creating converts is by highlighting the Chartered Director qualification. Catherine is fully behind this. “Our Chartered Director programme is simply one of the best qualifications out there, of any kind. It delivers real-life benefits that I know recipients refer back to again and again in their business career. “I was speaking to the team behind our fast-track course recently, and was struck by the global nature of the cohort for the week; there were people there from China, USA, Europe, Scotland, England. It creates a peer group that you can rely on in the future. “It’s rare to say this about anything nowadays but I’ve never heard “I’m here to help make those connections between members that really make a difference” anyone who’s taken the course have a single negative thing to say about it.” What else is on Catherine’s ‘to do’ list in 2023. “I’m meeting as many members as I can, and I’ll be taking this up a notch next year. I’m here to help make those connections between members that matter, signposting where help is available, or advice can be obtained. That’s where the IoD thrives. ” Catherine cites a recent event as a classic example. “We held a roundtable event on Talent and Skills, bringing in people from different sectors, from education and the world of work, to look at the problems Scotland has on the talent pipeline – why aren’t we getting the right kind of students through that businesses need, where are the work-ready youngsters? Does our curriculum reflect modern needs? “It was a great event and some brilliant conversations were started. The education sector and businesses cannot exist in isolation; their work has to be interlinked. “At this event the IoD was the cog that linked the two sides of the equation, designing a holistic approach to what I feel is Scotland’s biggest challenge in the years to come.” Continued on page 20 19
Page 1: The official membership magazine fo
Page 4 and 5: News Edinburgh & Lothians Behind th
Page 6 and 7: News Aberdeen and Grampian Driving
Page 8: News South of Scotland New Chair to
Page 12 and 13: Downtime AA’s The Restaurant Guid
Page 14 and 15: News Our awards are back - and you
Page 16 and 17: In conversation with... Catherine M
Page 20 and 21: In conversation with... Catherine M
Page 22 and 23: Technical briefing: HR To navigate
Page 24 and 25: Membership offers IoD membership We
Page 26 and 27: Technical briefing: IT matters Esto
Page 28 and 29: Technical briefing: Education Quali
Page 30: Professional Development
Page 33: Introducing ... the Chartered Direc

IOD SCOTLAND WINTER 2022

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