The Leaders: Lessons from Carlton Cards president Paul Werynski
What is your leadership story?
I was studying economics and financial management and working [part-time] at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. and at one point I decided, “You know what? I’d like to leverage what I’m learning at school with my passion for the golf business and make a career of that.” So, when I graduated, I went to work at Glen Abbey. I was one of the golf professionals there for about a year or so and realized it really wasn’t for me. I made the decision that, OK, I’ve given this a try, now I need to go find something else and that’s what led me to the package goods business.
So, I’ve been in the Canadian CPG industry since 1998 and it’s been a fascinating journey. I started off with, I don’t want to say mediocre success, but uneven success—let’s call it that. And then, in 2005, I joined Kimberly-Clark (KC). I made a commitment to myself when I joined KC that I was going to be myself, because I had found in previous roles that I was holding back a little bit or maybe not speaking up or I hadn’t found my confidence yet. Then things started to happen for me. I don’t know if you need confidence to have success or success gives you confidence, but one way or the other, it happened for me. I spent about 11 years there in various roles in sales and sales strategy and joined Carlton Cards eight-and-a-half years ago. I’m very, very happy with the decision I made to join Carlton—the people are great and it’s been an excellent learning experience and journey, thus far.
You stepped into the role of president on March 1. Any big surprises?
No surprises yet, but what I am learning quickly is that my words matter. So, when I’m making comments, giving feedback or asking questions, I have to be careful I’m delivering those words or comments in the way they’re intended to be, because they now have a little bit more impact than before.
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As the leader of a CPG company, what are the challenges right now?
I think there’s probably two. The macroeconomic environment in Canada continues to be difficult, especially the impact all those pressures are having on Canadian shoppers. And we have to be honest with ourselves, our category is quite discretionary, so it leads to a different set of challenges versus my prior life [at KC] where I was selling diapers and other essential categories.
And then, on the people side of things, even though we’re now removed from COVID, we’re still learning how to navigate this hybrid work environment and how to provide a robust culture and career and talent development when three days a week we’re in the office and two days a week people are working remotely. We’re still learning things like, how do you mentor and how do you develop that next wave of talent in the organization when you’re not always in the same place at the same time? It’s not impossible, but it’s something that is going to take time to find the proper balance.
What are some crucial traits you think leaders today should possess?
First of all, humility. Also, authenticity is a big one for me. You also have to have flexibility and you have to show empathy and resolve.
Have you had a mentor/role model in your career? If so, what did you learn from them?
Formally, for a period, I worked with an executive coach and that was extremely helpful for me. He was independent, unbiased and I would bring real-world, real-life scenarios to him—both personally and professionally—and he was very good at asking the tough questions to get me to be really honest with myself and find the right answer. I learned a lot from that experience.
Informally, I learn from everybody around me. I’m an observer of people, and whether you’re on my team, you’re a customer or anybody in a public forum, I’m always watching and trying to pick up things from the people I interact with. And I’ve got a network— internal, external and on both sides of the border—of people I can reach out to whenever I’ve got a scenario that I want to talk through. They can be friends, they can be colleagues, but having a network of people you trust and you know have your best interests in mind, is really good for everybody.
Can you share a pivotal moment in your leadership journey?
This one’s a good question, because there actually was a moment. I was at a national sales meeting, probably 11 or so years ago, and the keynote speaker was a gentleman by the name of Roy M. Spence. He had written a book called It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For and created a purpose-driven marketing agency, and the whole point of his presentation was about understanding your purpose. It couldn’t have been better timing for me as I was relatively new in my role and my default as a team leader, at the time, was to continue to do more of the things I was doing as an individual contributor and not making that pivot to being a leader.
So, when he was talking about purpose, it got me thinking about my purpose. And without being too dramatic, it basically changed my life because I started to understand what it means to be a purpose-driven leader and what it means to use strengths-based leadership as a way of providing and creating a culture that allows people to be the best version of themselves. After that day, I started to understand it was no longer about me, it was about the people on my team. And my purpose is to help people be great at what they want to achieve. So, on the plane ride home I really started to think about what purpose means to me and how I could start leveraging it in my career.
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How do you build trust with teams?
I try to be as honest and transparent with people as I possibly can and then, that way, everybody knows where you stand and where you’re coming from on a topic or an issue. And, of course, say what you’re going to do and do it! If you can tell somebody you’re going to do something and you deliver on it and you’re honest and you’re transparent with them with your feedback, then you start to build that trusting relationship.
What’s the hardest decision you’ve had to make?
Anytime you have to make a decision that impacts people and their lives and their families, it’s difficult. It’s never easy. All you can do is make the best and most informed decision possible and treat people with respect.
What advice do you give to up-and-coming leaders?
Be the best version of yourself and don’t ever try to be someone or something that you’re not. That means finding out what your strengths are and then leveraging them as best you possibly can and understand the strengths of those around you and leverage those. You also have to be humble enough to know you don’t always have the answers, so surround yourself with the best people possible and help them shine.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This article was first published in Canadian Grocer’s August issue.
