Swapping the pitch for finance led to leadership success
As a teenager, Mark Harrington (pictured) thought he was destined for a career as a professional football player. He secured a coveted apprenticeship with Bristol Rovers and his family were hopeful that he would fulfil the dream of millions of children the world over.
When he was dropped after only two years, those hopes came crashing down. “Unfortunately I got released,” Harrington told Mortgage Introducer. “There were eight of us in the year group and two made it through - I wasn’t good enough. I was upset, but I don't think I was as devastated as my parents were, if I'm completely honest. I just thought, what's the next step?”
Harrington’s resilience, even at a young age, marked him out as someone who would cope well with the ups and down of life – and particularly, perhaps, life in the sometimes turbulent world of property finance. This week marks his first anniversary as CEO of L&C Mortgages – and his experience in football arguably prepared him to succeed whatever came his way. “That's probably what's stood me in good stead through a long career in the mortgage industry,” he said.
It will be 22 years this June since Harrington joined L&C Mortgages. He has spent his career with the brokerage, rising through its ranks. “One of my friends worked at L&C and I went for a job,” he explained. “I didn't get accepted first time around, and then, six months later, I managed to get a job. I started as a mortgage and protection advisor - I had no idea what it was, but I was just told it was a brilliant company and I should come and join. The first day I walked through the door, I just fell in love with L&C. It was so much fun, alongside hard work, and I think that's what I loved so much. The people were amazing, and today we've got many, many people who've been here longer than me.”
Could Harrington ever have imagined on that first day that he would one day lead the company? “No, I don't think I'd even have said that 10 years ago, to be honest,” he said. “It's been an unbelievable rise up through the business. I'd always liked the idea of management, so I went into it four years after joining. I went for a team manager job four times at L&C and got it on the fourth occasion. I do an induction call with our new people and use that example all the time. I have always gone for the next role, worked really, really hard, and just found my way to COO and then CEO, 12 months ago. I'm really proud of it and still love it here as much as I did.”
Read more: From snubbing turtles to setting up a post-COVID business – one broker's mortgage journey
How football shaped an approach to management
Harrington believes that what he picked up from football managers has hugely informed the way he runs the business. “I played for Bath City for six years and played for many different managers in a non-league career,” he shared. “I always just loved the psychology of giving someone a cuddle to make them better, versus giving someone a kick up the bottom to make them better. I played non-league football for 10 years, and what I did find is that when I retired from playing football, and went into management at L&C, it replaced the competitive nature that I'd always had from playing football.”
Having started out as a broker, Harrington admits that he missed customer interaction when he became a manager, but he very clearly enjoys his current role. Even though it’s been a while since he advised, he obviously keeps across the market and believes he could still put a deal together for a customer. “We do everything in the best possible way that we can,” he explained, “and what I mean by that is that we don't charge a fee for anything we do. When you've got that as your strap line, that we are fee-free, I think that is a great starting point to drive a culture. That's not disrespecting anyone who charges a fee. I think there's a place for both in the market.”
He continued: “Three years ago, I used to hate the word culture, but what I've definitely learned over the last two years is that the culture and the business are everything. For me, it's pretty simple - it's about getting people to come to work and enjoy working hard, and we need to drive the culture from the top down, where we see everyone at the top working as hard as possible to make it a better place to work. You try to sprinkle that across as many of your colleagues as you possibly can. It's trying to build a culture so that people can trust that they can put their hand up and say, ‘I disagree’, or come up with an idea without fear of victimisation or discrimination. We went through three or four leaders over a three-year period and I think that everyone just really wants stability.”
Harrington is notably optimistic about the way forward for the mortgage market and suggests that his tenure as CEO has started during a relatively calm year. “I've had a good period since I've been in this role over the last 12 months,” he said. “There may be tougher challenges ahead for me as a leader, but I think the market's in a really good place.”
