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Member Success Story: Naomi Coxwell

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Hayley Stephenson
Hayley Stephenson

Naomi Coxwell has been a member of In Touch Networks since 2016 and recently appeared on our webinar ‘Networking, Connecting and Communicating your way to a Non-Executive Career’.

Soon after joining the network, she secured a non-executive role with Citizens Advice, and went on to gain a further two board roles, with an NHS Trust and latterly with international engineering firm, James Walker.

Read our latest success story to hear how Naomi’s time with In Touch helped her to build an impressive portfolio of board roles and the advice she’d give to others looking to move in to the non-executive world.

Why did you join the network?

I saw an advert for In Touch in The Sunday Times in October of 2016 and it really wasn’t a difficult decision to get on board the network, as you were offering a great deal. The decision was made even easier as I’d already been thinking of pursuing a non-exec career after being inspired by my former boss at BP.

Straight away, I wanted to make the best use of my membership and take all the available benefits so I joined the first ever Ahead of the Curve (AOTC) course. I have to say, going on the AOTC development course was a pivotal moment and it really helped me in so many ways.

How valuable did you find the Ahead of the Curve course?

Having been overseas for 15 years, I had no real network here in the UK – friends, neighbours and relatives had largely moved away – and I was feeling slightly adrift, trying to reconnect with my own culture, not just locally but also nationally. AOTC filled a big gap; once a week I was connecting with like-minded individuals who were on the same pathway, all of whom I am still in contact with and consider a really important part of my wider network. I’d feel totally comfortable reaching out to anyone from my AOTC group, asking a question, bouncing ideas off them, tapping into their particular expertise. The uncomplicated, generous nature of our relationships when on the course means that it wouldn’t feel at all awkward if I contacted them now.

Towards the end of the Ahead of the Curve course I started actively searching and applying for roles, keeping in mind what had been said during the course about good options for your first NED role. Anne Watson, the course facilitator, had highlighted the prevalence of NHS and Academy Ambassador roles and also suggested that voluntary work could be a great start to a portfolio career.

In Touch gave me the confidence, courage and conviction to go for a job outside my sector and I secured a non-executive position with Citizens Advice Bureau, followed by one with an NHS Trust and a further role with a commercial manufacturing company. During AOTC, Anne gave great advice on how to change sector – what to point out in interview, what to highlight in a cover letter and how to adapt a CV to make it relevant to different sectors. Similarly, the course signposted lots of information about job searches and networking which totally changed the way I use social networking and sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.

How would you rate other aspects of the network?

On the member portal there are so many useful resources, such as on demand training, podcasts and webinars. It’s no exaggeration to say I took something away from every single aspect I’d engaged with and used them in some capacity in my successful interviews.

I also went to a number of In Touch networking events in the first year-and-a-half on the network which were invaluable. I’m the kind of person who enjoys talking to other people, comparing notes and making connections. Similarly, If I can talk something through with like-minded professionals, I feel much more confident and convinced of a pathway.

In Touch also made me realise that it doesn’t matter how successful your executive career was, you are not going to walk into a NED job. Avoid the pitfalls of approaching your job search with arrogance or entitlement, be humble, open-minded and willing to learn. That message kept being delivered in a strong and empowering way across the network.

What advice do you have for any aspiring portfolio professionals?

To anybody thinking about being a non-executive director: be patient! It will take time to see success but don’t get disheartened.

Remember, being a non-executive will require a new skill set and you will have to operate under new rules.

Be prepared to wake up to what the non-executive world looks like; I thank In Touch for helping with this. The network allowed me to understand what I needed to be a good non-executive director and the environment I would be working in. So much of what In Touch has given me, the tools it’s provided, and the confidence it’s instilled have allowed my portfolio career to take off. The network would be really valuable to anyone looking to be a non-executive.

When you apply for an executive role you have a really good idea of what the job is going to entail. By contrast, the non-executive world is steeped in mystery. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for becoming a non-executive as companies want different things from independent directors.

Speak to other non-executive directors – this is a great way to get a grasp of the expectations and challenges of such roles. Keep learning. Don’t be fearful. Most importantly, make each small success into a bigger one.