Kiersten's driven ahead by a Common Purpose

Mar 13 2007 By Sarah Judd, The Journal

Kiersten Wasson, who was recently appointed regional director North-East and Humber for Common Purpose, has gone from studying animal behaviour at university to encouraging individuals to come together and lead the pack towards a brighter future for the region. Sarah Judd reports.

**********

Kiersten Wasson is seeing the region from a completely different perspective, after spending 13 years working in sales, marketing and corporate communications for the Tees Valley's burgeoning chemicals sector. Her latest role at leadership development organisation Common Purpose is a complete change of culture for the zoology graduate, who previously worked at ICI and DuPont Teijin Films.

"Working at Common Purpose gives you a different set of eyes. In my old job, I would drive to work and speak to clients in Europe and Japan, without seeing what I was driving past, and what was going on in my own local area," she said.

"The key difference is, in this role, the world in which I work is now also the world in which I live - I am connected to this area in ways that I could not have imagined - and I love it!"

Common Purpose aims to improve the way other organisations and society work by expanding the vision, decision-making ability and influence of all kinds of leaders.

This is achieved through the delivery of a wide range of programmes, including Matrix, for experienced leaders who want to extend their knowledge and understanding of the area in which they work, and the Navigator programme, for those showing the potential to become the effective leaders of the future.

The organisation also runs Profile, which provides a fast behind the scenes briefing of a locality, and Your Turn, aimed at young people who want to make a positive contribution as active citizens in society.

Kiersten works with the organisation's regional teams in Newcastle, Sunderland, Tees Valley and Hull, to deliver Common Purpose programmes. Another large part of the job is to meet key leaders, and gain their understanding of what's going on in the region, before bringing different strands of the community together.

Kiersten said: "It is very easy for people to sit back and think positive changes will happen because someone else will deliver it for them.

"But if we don't have individuals in the community who feel it is their job to do that, with the leaders who are already there encouraging them, it won't happen."

Kiersten is very keen to point out that Common Purpose works with a cross section of the community, from local leaders in big business, to public sector organisations, as well as local residents.

The organisation believes that all these groups need to work together to give the region a competitive edge.

"There is a common misconception that because we are a voluntary organisation, we work at a grassroots level, but we work with a whole cross section of the community.

"For example, many public sector organisations such as hospitals need the business acumen to manage their accounts, and an organisation like Common Purpose brings the public and private sector together.

"At Common Purpose, we believe that decision-makers can't afford to operate in isolation and that too often people inhabit bubbles - knowing only their organisation or their part of the community.

"What we do is take leaders of all ages out of their usual environments and encourage them to engage with diversity in all its forms and work together to find a common purpose. Bursting the bubbles if you like!"

Kiersten is married to Alan, a senior operations manager for chemical company Sabic on Teesside, and a mum of two boys, aged eight and five. As a result, she spends much of her spare time den-building, and playing with Lego.

Kiersten also admits she was very lucky to have the chance to study zoology at Oxford University.

She says: "I was passionate about having the opportunity to explore animals, but was aware it was unlikely I would be able to carve out any sort of career in zoology."

However, Kirsten says she refers to her knowledge of animals with "alarming regularity" in her role at Common Purpose.

"Elements of group dynamics and behaviour are an important part of my thinking in delivering our programmes," she explains.

"The understanding of how we learn, how we create memory and how we use our brains differently is also very useful."