Wendy Tomlinson

Wendy Tomlinson has over 25 years of experience in talent, learning and organisational development within the legal sector. Her expertise spans the full employee lifecycle, from talent acquisition and business partnering to cultural integration and sustainability.

Understanding Culture through People

Wendy joined Winston Taylor—formerly Taylor Wessing—in 2015 and quickly moved from leading talent development and advisory into a position on the executive board in 2018.

She notes that being a responsible business and achieving commercial success are ultimately the same, simply expressed over different time horizons. Culture sits at the centre of business performance. Accountability for culture and responsible business must be built into goals across every level of leadership.

People strategy must be business-minded and data-driven. Regular engagement surveys, talent metrics and board reporting provide the evidence to measure progress. Equally important is listening to people across the organisation and putting their ideas into practice. Leaders may not have all the answers. Often, it is junior colleagues who identify the areas that need attention, and people notice when their feedback leads to meaningful change.

According to Wendy, genuine engagement cannot always be measured through surveys alone. During the merger with Winston & Strawn, a due diligence exercise helped the organisation better understand how its people experienced culture and values. The exercise reinforced many of the qualities leaders believed defined the culture. People consistently described an environment built on accessibility, humility and a ‘no ego’ leadership style, alongside a shared ambition to keep evolving.

Culture can sometimes feel intangible, but people recognise it when they experience it. Wendy highlights that the exercise held up a mirror to the organisation and confirmed that both organisations shared many cultural characteristics, providing a strong foundation for the merger.

Accelerating Leadership Growth

Wendy sees a strong connection between how leaders serve their people and how they serve their clients. The qualities that define outstanding leaders often underpin solid people leadership.

“ Strategic leadership can only be developed through exposure to strategic responsibilities. ”

Leadership development begins with continuous performance conversations. Regular check-ins and a data-driven view of the talent pipeline help identify where individuals can be supported to accelerate their careers. It should also be inclusive, with opportunities that help women and colleagues from minority backgrounds.

Strategic leadership can only be developed through exposure to strategic responsibilities. Sponsorship, coaching, mentorship and the opportunity to work on live business projects allow leaders to apply their learning in practice and accelerate their development.

The Value of Human Judgment

Wendy emphasises that AI will transform the legal profession, but it cannot replace human capabilities. Legal work involves ambiguity, competing priorities and novel situations, making human judgment indispensable.

Relational intelligence will become equally important. Trust, empathy, influence and the ability to read a room define the strongest client relationships. AI may accelerate the transactional aspects of client service, but the relationship side of advice will become an even greater differentiator.

Creativity, lateral thinking and the ability to connect unrelated ideas will remain distinctly human. In a global environment, cultural sensitivity, understanding nuance and recognising what remains unsaid are equally important.

Advice for Emerging Leaders

Wendy advises people leaders to position themselves at the centre of strategic business conversations. She encourages making the people’s agenda the business agenda. Embed it into governance structures, link it to leadership accountability and measure it with the same rigour applied to financial performance.

This is what drives business success while creating a culture where people and performance reinforce one another. People leaders should not be afraid to put themselves in the rooms where it matters. Wendy notes that turning intention into measurable business impact creates a virtuous circle between people, culture and commercial success.