Listen More and Speak Less: Interview with Al Kingsley, CEO of NetSupport

I recently went one on one with Al Kingsley, CEO of NetSupport.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I'm sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? 

Al: It has been a long journey in many regards but a short one in others. My career started in finance working both with Barclays Bank and Unilever training as an accountant. As part of that process, I happened to be at the crossover where technology and computers became some of the tools we used to manage our organizations and financially report on them. I found computing technology more interesting than accounting – which for many seemed like a terrible sin – but I decided to get more involved in technology.

I left Unilever and went out on my own, providing a business where I would do the accounts for small businesses in the region and at the same time would support them with their IT. That worked well for a few years but then I bumped into a guy, Dave Apsey, who had developed an early DOS-based computer product that offered remote control of PCs. This was to become the very first iteration of what is now NetSupport Manager, a tool that over a modem allowed you to remotely manage another device to save the trip up the motorway to support or fix it. I thought it was cool so I joined him. That became the early focus for how we would sell and market our technology. We learned we could offer commercial remote control in long and short ranges. We could support a device for a user 200 miles away and at the same time, scale to support 30 users two meters away. That was the advent of our instruction technology or classroom management solution, which we launched in 1995.

We grew the business over many years in the UK. Then at the end of the ‘90s, I moved and spent a few years living in Atlanta and we grew our US business.  I came back to the UK base in 2002 and we've continued to grow our technology.

What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Al: I think the biggest one, particularly working in the technology sector, is always the sense of resistance to change. Technology by definition is often new and which means you can’t always evidence the impact of innovation and ideas. There is an element of going with gut instinct and what you see in the world. So from that point of view, the biggest challenge is getting people to understand the implications and opportunities of what you do. 

In the broader sense, I think that plays very heavily into communication skills and the way you talk with rather than to people — that you listen and learn when working with people. That collegiate approach is mirrored probably best within the education sector, in the sense that most things are done by co-production. To use familiar educational terms, I argue that the skill we should most covet is being the guide on the side, rather than the sage on the stage.

In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business? 

Al: This is a key question. It fundamentally links to aspirations and expectations for your business, albeit ironically the concept of rapid growth is not the Holy Grail for every organization.

Within that context, my experience is focused on firstly identifying that there is a need for a technology tool or some other solution to an extant problem. Understand the marketplace and the trajectory of the marketplace. I always argue that when developing technology, whether it is in the commercial or the educational world, it's much like a fairground stall where you are shooting ducks. You've got to aim ahead of the target to deliver at the point where the market needs it and the technology is an appropriate solution. Understanding that, then the biggest issue that comes next is capacity. You need to have a new idea and want to expand, but finding the sweet spot where you have sufficient capacity for that growth can help one manage the cost implications of those aspirations.

From that point of view, I'd say the next thing is to focus on pace of change. I have always been a strong believer in organic growth; that you spend time understanding the marketplace and the needs, then grow and scale in proportional stages. That's not necessarily the model that many will follow. Many will look for a large external injection of funding for rapid growth. I argue that if we are working within the private space, one of the key models is sustainability, not necessarily outright profitability. Sustainability means coming to a belief that the products will make a difference, and will be there for the long term, rather than the driver being solely short-term financial acceleration. 

What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams? 

Al: Listen. Be receptive. Treat everybody the way that you want to be treated yourself.  All those things that you would hope anybody would say being asked the same question, but actions often speak louder than words.

In my twenties my approach was, hey I've got loads of ideas, stop and listen to me. I know what we need to do and how we need to do it. As I got older, I realized, I don't have all the ideas. Sometimes I have the ideas but don't have the skills and tools personally to deliver that concept so the idea of building a team is key. I don't know who the originator of the phrase was, but the advice stands good, which is: “the best thing you can do as a business leader is appoint people that are better than you for each of the roles that you need to fulfill in your organization.”

And, you can't stay still. We have certainly been through periods where I've learned that stability of the same faces around the table is positive, but it comes at a cost to growth. It's healthy to have regular fresh voices joining and challenging and questioning the way you do things.

What are the most important trends in technology that leaders should be aware of and understand? 

Al: The most important one is the role of data. Data has always been there, whether it was on a physical local server in the back office or on your desktop computer, to now where everything we do is about taking the output of our actions and centralizing that data. Now that data has a purpose; business analytics that allow us to shape our business decisions. In the education space, it is the same. Educators see data on where children are performing well and whether there are gaps in a particular cohort's understanding or learning. 

The key to growth and moving forward in any setting is having data that has a purpose to shape and inform how we run our businesses or our organizations. It means looking beyond today's data to the future and the role of AI in supporting that. AI for me sits alongside that data conversation. In the case of education, AI’s best use is to improve operational efficiency. AI can supplement the role of the human and make marginal gains in efficiencies in how we operate and where we go.

The final thing to realize that – despite what I’ve just written – it is not actually about the technology. It is about the human. It is the prevalence and need for digital skills, that alongside communication skills, have become probably the two most in-demand traits for the talent we recruit to join our organizations.

What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? 

Al: You would have got a very different answer from the Al of 25 years ago because I have learned from successes and failures over the years.

I believe the most important quality is to consider the fact that you were born with two ears, two eyes, and one mouth and to use them in appropriate quantities. On the listening side, listen to what's happening in the marketplace, what people are saying, reading, and understanding, and what's happening within your organization, so that when you do speak, it's much more likely to resonate with individuals.

Alongside that, I’d also say not to rush to be the first to speak in the room. When you are coordinating a meeting about a project, something you are developing, a strategy, whatever it may be, it is very tempting as the leader to sit down and say, “right this is my idea. This is what I think we should do. Let's discuss it.” In doing so, you've shaped the narrative and expectations for everybody. It is much better to listen to others present their ideas, assimilate the information, and then share a summary of an idea and a wrap-up about how that might align with your own vision and values. 

How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Al: The first step is understanding where you are at in your level of confidence and recognize that as a leader, you are never a finished article. I suspect that for many leaders – whilst that might be said outwardly – inwardly they may feel they are able and capable. In that regard, it's about being receptive to talking to peers. I get most of my professional development from meeting and talking to peers across different sectors, listening to their experiences, reflecting on them and recognizing what I could have or should have done and then acting upon it.

Another big point from a leadership perspective is not setting the expectation that you have to be the most informed and smartest person in the room in every setting. If you think you are the smartest person in the room, you're probably in the wrong room. 

What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Al: First understand the audience, the marketplace, and who you're talking to.  If you want to influence with opinions and advice, or to “shift the dial,” you will need to understand where they are, what their expectations are, and understand their needs. 

The second I've already alluded to which is listen first, speak second. Easier said than done, but absolutely, it's key to it.

And the third is recognizing the different ways to measure impact.  In the educational world, we're very fine-tuned to measure the impact on student academic outcomes. In the commercial world, we tend to measure impact in fiscal terms; profitability, viability, unit production. Instead, measuring impact on staff retention, staff recruitment, well-being, progress, viability, sustainability, and reputation within our commercial space, our customers' space and outside within our community becomes increasingly important if you want longevity as your business matures.

What are your tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Al: Well, as someone that’s been involved in marketing for 30 years, I reflect back now and wonder what on earth I was thinking at the time. The one thing I'd always say is not everybody has all the answers. What is absolutely clear is the way that we deliver marketing is a constantly moving beast. The most effective marketing will always be sharing content that resonates with the audience.  So, understand the audience, understand the marketplace. We've shifted from the idea that marketing is about asking. Will you buy my software? Will you try my product? Marketing is a process that's about building a relationship. Can I share this information with you? Can I share these resources with you? Can I build a sense of trust with you and at the appropriate time, would you be interested in looking at some of the products and services that we offer? That concept of relationship building rather than simply selling, for me is key. Now naturally, different marketplaces have a different set of approaches, whether we're selling on impulse, whether we're selling something on brand reputation, or whether we're selling on functionality meeting needs. That shapes the storytelling and the process of whether we're catching the eye or we're building trust and reputation, but you still need to fundamentally understand the market and the buyer’s needs. Don't be afraid to continue to adapt the way you message your marketing and which channels you send those messages on.

What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Al: It’s a bit repetitive, but the best one is to listen more and speak less. No matter where you are in your journey, no matter how knowledgeable you are on a subject, you will always benefit from listening first before you shape the advice or opinion that you want to share.

The second part is don't be afraid to take risks. There's a risk and there's a RISK in capital letters. The distinction is how far along that line you want to go. Over the last few years during the pandemic, whether we were in schools or businesses, we took risks in a digital sense by trying new technology and adapting to the way our people were physically positioned. But actually, some organizations had taken the risk well before that and were better suited. 

Now we are taking a risk in terms of what the future might look like in the digital world, the environment, how we work with our staff, and how we structure our working week. Your appetite for risk often depends on where you are in your journey as a business. But we need to get back into the mindset that it is okay to take risks because often risks are the accelerators of innovation.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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