Interview: Victoria Tomlinson, Northern Lights CEO, on women achieving success in major business roles

Anyone entering the world of business will want to know how to become successful, and of course this takes a lot of dedication, intelligence and persistence, but is it harder for women to achieve such goals?

Well to answer this question, Victoria Tomlinson, a well-established businessman from Harrogate, carried out extensive international research into how more women can achieve senior and board positions.

Throughout the course of her research, Victoria, a chief executive of Northern Lights which also operates in the UAE, interviewed more than 1,000 female leaders to uncover the key ingredients of success for women.

Earlier this month, Victoria and Northern Lights’ vice president in the UAE, Vania Henry, delivered the findings of their research at initiative for female leaders during a lunch for 60 of the UAE’s most senior women, hosted by Lubna Qassim, executive vice-president and group general counsel of Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East.

The duo revealed that successful women need strong personal brands to identify their expertise, make more impact in meetings and to be a recognised thought leader around their expertise.

In response, Northern Lights has now developed a range of services for leaders including personal branding, how to have impact in meetings and presentations and to become a recognised thought leader through blogging and social media.

As Victoria founded Northern Lights 25 years ago and started operating in the UAE three years ago, she is no stranger to finding success in the boardroom, but what prompted the Yorkshire-based businesswoman to conduct such a lengthy investigation now?

“Two years ago, the BBC asked me to become one of their 100 expert women, commenting on social media on TV and radio. I travel between the UK and UAE for business and people in Dubai kept saying ‘we need this here, more women should be in the media’. At the time I was looking to develop a new strand for our business around social media and leadership – for the UK and the UAE. And I saw this as an opportunity, particularly helping women into leadership positions for both countries,” she told me.

“As I listened to women, it wasn’t really the media profile they wanted but to be recognised for their expertise by government bodies, board directors and so on – and to make more impact in meetings. As a result, we have developed an initiative to help leaders – men and women, in the UK and the UAE - focused on three areas. Identifying and packaging their personal brand – do colleagues and their industry know what they are expert in; how to use this brand for impact in meetings and presentations; and promoting their expertise using thought leadership blogging and social media.”

Due to her own position as a female leader in business, Victoria knew exactly who to contact to achieve the most concise results.

“I do a lot of guest speaking and workshops on LinkedIn and social media for businesses. I am also regularly invited to speak at senior women’s events. So I got a lot of feedback at all these events and then I used my network and LinkedIn to meet women on an individual basis,” she explained.

“I focused on senior women who were looking for non-exec positions; directors on boards who wanted to make more impact personally and for their organisation; and directors who were clearly thought leaders but not recognised as such.”

Victoria first founded Northern lights PR in 1989 after working for Ernst & Young as a director, and when she became a woman in a senior business position, Victoria though “being a woman in a man’s world has been a fantastic advantage.”

She said: “You stand out, men are curious to know you. The biggest challenges are the same as those facing men – strategic direction, how do we get our team behind us, what do customers want and how do we deliver that?”

And for anyone trying to become successful in business, regardless of your gender, Victoria would advise you to “focus on your customers and watch your cashflow. Be passionate about your customer, understand what they need and make sure it is niche, deliver great service, motivate your teams, understand and manage the finances.

“We’ve kept many of our clients for years – several have been with us more than 20 years. That is hugely rewarding on all levels, to know you are making a difference.”

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