Excellence in Business Awards 2011: Leadership lessons learned from the pit to the boardroom

Kevin Whiteman had gone to university but hated his course so returned early to South Wales and, to his parents’ horror, got a job down the pit.

He loved it. He loved the macho environment and he loved the buzz.

He worked his way up and in 1984 became the country’s youngest colliery manager in the time of the strikes that pitted working men against Margaret Thatcher’s Government.

For him, it was a time of great highs and punishing lows. But he survived and prospered and gained some incredibly valuable skills in one of the toughest industries in the world.

He left in 1992 after Michael Heseltine announced the closures of a third of the UK’s remaining deep coal mines and spent a few years in senior management roles at the National Rivers Authority.

Then headhunters came calling for him with a compelling offer: would he be interested in a directorship at Yorkshire Water?

This was an organisation that was going through big change. It had one of the worst reputations of all utilities with water shortages and payouts to its executives that led to a lot of negative publicity.

He became a vital part of a talented team at the top of the organisation that led the turnaround.

He won promotion to managing director and later became chief executive of the Kelda Group, the parent company, a role he held for eight years, during its listing on the FTSE-250 and subsequent sale to a consortium of international investors.

It’s regularly cited as one of the best, if not the best, water companies in the country for customer service, water quality and environmental awareness. He’s now the chairman of Bradford-based Yorkshire Water and Kelda Group Holdings.

In an interview to mark his award, Mr Whiteman, 54, spoke about his philosophy of running a business, the art of the successful turnaround and the impact of his formative years.

Success in business comes from focusing on the top team, how the members work together, the vision they share and how they drive the company forward, he said. “They have to be absolutely aligned,” he added.

“All singing from the same hymnsheet.

“That doesn’t mean all being yes-men because you argue like hell behind closed doors, but once you step outside everybody is saying the same thing, everybody is doing the same thing and everybody is focused and driven to achieve for everybody else.”

Mr Whiteman said: “Do the people in the business look up at the top team and say ‘yeah, wow, they really are driving this business in a direction we want to follow’?”

He added: “Look at any business that’s failed – you can usually trace it back to some sort of disfunctionality or lack of focus at the top.”

The starting point for any successful turnaround is the recognition that everybody wants to work for a successful business; nobody wants to work for a failing organisation.

“If you can tap into that innate desire then it’s a force that’s unstoppable,” he added.

“You have to be out there communicating it. Not just broadcasting but listening as well. If I have any talent, it’s that I can talk to a bunch of guys on a sewage works in Sheffield and I can talk to a bunch of investors in Singapore.

“You have to be able to get down there and connect with them.”

He said Yorkshire Water had been through a very hard time. He said: “Part of the ambition was to never go back there again. Not to be the worst, but to be the absolute best.”

Mr Whiteman added: “The reality is, in some ways the best time to get involved in a new job is when the company is on the floor. There’s only one way then and that’s up.”

His experience in the mining industries of South Wales and South Yorkshire equipped him with skills for life.

He said: “I was the youngest colliery manager in the country. I was pretty good at it and I loved the buzz of managing men and the unions.

“It was just an exciting world to work in. But it was tough. There are not many tougher ways to earn a living than mining.”

A former colleague of Mr Whiteman described the effect he has had on the organisation; the mantra during his era was “in Kevin, we trust”.

He added: “You always found him honest, straight and true, whether he was in a room full of colleagues, or customers or investors.

“People would walk through walls for Kevin, but he never asked anyone to. His leadership was the sort that motivated by his own personal charisma and intellect. He trusted you and you repaid his trust because of it.”

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