Regional Perspectives
#alburywodongachange
Change Leader: When leadership really needs to be at the front and centre of change.
Regional businesses have experienced their fair share of disruptive change over the past 2 years. In a series of profiles, Albury Wodonga business owners reflect on some of the impacts they faced and what they did to steer their businesses through disruptive change. In our third profile, we meet local change leader, Craig Cleary from MP Training & Recruitment in Wodonga.
March 11, 2022
Whether it’s welcome or not, change is hard at the best of times, People trust and rely on leaders to guide them through change - even more so in times of highly disruptive change such as Covid. That’s why good change leaders are precious resources.
In addition to people leadership, change leaders in regional businesses are likely to be wearing many hats. When we interviewed Craig Cleary for this article, we found him at the reception desk plugging a key staff absence.
Craig is the General Manager of MP Training + Recruitment, a business with a recruitment arm that assists employers to find executive, permanent and temporary staff, as well as a training arm that offers nationally recognised training programs to help people gain work or extra skills. “It’s a diverse business, and the two sides work hand in hand, often placing people who have gone through our training programs into jobs.”
Craig came to the training and recruitment sector with a strong track record in sales management and leadership roles. His first role was as a stock and station agent auctioneer. He then managed a sports store, and after almost 20 years, sold it and became a Sales Rep for the local newspaper.
“I enjoyed working with less pressure and responsibility, but the management and leadership abilities I’d acquired in my previous roles still came through, and then I found myself being moved up the line again to Advertising Manager, which I did for 4 years before my current role.”
Over the past 2 years, Craig’s natural disposition and talent for supporting and developing people has come to the foreground yet again to help him steer his business and people through the difficulties and disruptions of Covid.
Can you tell me a little bit about the impact of disruptive change on your business and how you've managed it?
When Covid first emerged, Craig said the priority was to give people as much information as possible and help them stay calm. “We assured them the business was fine and that we felt confident we could get through it. We also asked them what they could do to help, acknowledging things may get rough, and pretty much everyone adjusted their hours or used up leave entitlements to help the business.”
Once everyone transitioned to work from home, and Job keeper kicked in, most employees reverted to their original working hours, and “we discovered they were just as productive working at home as they were in the office. This was a huge revelation. Three years ago I would have said no-way. Now, it’s part of our standard ways of working and some people continue to work a few days in the office and a few days at home.”
As a manager, Craig had to adjust how he manage people who weren’t in the office – learn to trust they were doing what they are supposed to be doing and get used to the fact that he couldn’t simply look over and say, ‘can you do this or that’. “It’s taken some time but it’s working.”
Keeping the team together was challenging. “Initially our fortnightly Zoom catchups focussed on connecting socially to make up for the interactions people were missing at work.”
Craig’s always had one on one’s with everyone and continued these on Zoom. “Initially I made sure everyone was okay and coping with working from home. Gradually as things settled, the conversations moved to work and what input and support they needed to get tasks done. Now, we’re re-introducing more in-person connections – going out for a drink after work and other get-togethers.”
From a customer perspective, in the early days of Covid a lot of people who had commenced one of the company’s face-to-face training programs pushed back quite hard when informed they would have to complete their course online. Craig said it was difficult to reset their expectations, and also hard keeping students motivated and focussed during long learning stints on Zoom. “Now, everyone expects to be able to learn online.”
Delivering the recruitment services also had its challenges. “Even though we moved our candidate interviews online, early on, our recruiters were even meeting and interviewing candidates in the local supermarket carpark!”
What was the hardest to manage, and did you ever feel like “it’s too much”?
Craig said the hardest thing was getting his head around how to manage people remotely. “I’d never done it before, and there was no-one to ask - most businesses here didn’t have much experience with flexible work arrangements.”
“We aimed to make things as normal as possible for everyone. For me, this meant staying in the office and making sure the team got the things they needed from the office. In the end, I didn’t do too badly - the business kept running, we delivered on our commitments, and were able to keep most of our employees productively employed the whole time.“
Often business owners experience thoughts and feelings that lead to negativity and a self-defeating mindset. Have you ever experienced this, and how did you manage it?
“I like having a cohesive workplace and am troubled when I’m don’t feel like I’ve managed a situation/problem in the workplace in the right way. When I was younger, my leadership style was more reactive and instinctive, which often made things worse, and caused me to lose confidence and question my ability to lead and manage people.”
“Fortunately, I got good advice from some leaders I respected and trusted. They were able to give me a perspective I hadn’t considered because I was too close to the situation and couldn’t see the problem clearly.”
“After this, I learnt to step back, slow down, remove myself from the situation for a while, think through alternative perspectives, and reflect on the situation – all these things increased my confidence in dealing with such issues and has also enabled me to walk the talk of expected standards.”
What specific things have you done to manage yourself through challenging times?
“Getting a good night’s sleep, eating reasonably well, and keeping to my exercise regime is the key for me.”
Craig says keeping clear boundaries between work and home is also very important but not as easy as it sounds. He also tries to switch off completely when he’s not at work. “Before I might have looked at emails or taken calls from people on weekends. Where possible, I do that less and go back to work feeling much more refreshed.”
When he’s at work, Craig says he makes sure to take a break, get out of the office, go for a walk. “It’s important to lead by example so others take a break too. You can’t tell people to take a break when you’re eating lunch at your desk.”
What new skills and competencies have you had to introduce into your business?
Although finances were a top priority at the start of Covid, leadership was at the front and centre more than anything else throughout 2020/21. This involved ensuring things were getting done, services were being delivered, the business was functioning properly, and employees felt supported through all the unknowns and uncertainties about whether they would be able to keep delivering, keep their jobs, and stay healthy.
“Most of the time, I tried to lead by example by remaining calm and focussed so that the team was calm and comfortable enough to stay on task and focus on what was important for them in their personal lives. I relied – more than ever - on soft skills like listening, coaching, mentoring, motivation, empathy etc. Sometimes it was hard – often taxing – especially with the team working remotely.”
“Even though leading feels quite natural, staying fit and healthy and clear-headed really helped me move with the change and deal with problems effectively. Making the time to take care of yourself portrays strong leadership.”
What has it been like for your employees, and how did you support them?
“The impacts of Covid and lockdowns – though tough - were softened somewhat for the team in Wodonga – we weren’t locked down as much as Melbourne and we were able to maintain work and social connections.”
“For our small Melbourne based team, lockdowns were much harder, and the effects of extended isolation and lack of social connections on health, wellbeing and motivation were more pronounced.”
Given restrictions on movement, Craig said it was hard to support their Melbourne colleagues remotely, but “we put in extra resources, provided practical help to take off pressure wherever possible, and supported with empathy and understanding. We also gave them time off and space when they needed it, and kept checking in, re-assuring, and letting them know we were there for them.”
With everything that was going on for them, Craig said he would have understood if they had wanted to give up and pull the pin. “But to their great credit, they pulled through and the team there has stayed together.”
In terms of future needs, “I’m generally mindful of what people want to be doing and where they want to be and am happy when someone puts their hand up for development – leadership or other.”
“We are also very committed ensuring work-life balance, so our people are happy and want to stay.”
What have you learned about yourself or had some key insights around?
“That I can lead a team remotely, and that staying calm and focussed, and ensuring I’m healthy and happy, is the best way to keep everyone else healthy and happy.”
I also know now that we can change and cope with impacts when we need to.
Although he had a very different position before Covid, Craig also now believes that working from home/remotely has had been very positive – for work-life balance and retention -and is here to stay.
With the benefit of hindsight, is there anything you would do differently?
“We would transition everyone to work from home much earlier. We didn’t think lock downs would last as long as they did, so we held back setting people up at home properly. It was a valuable lesson.”
Craig Cleary, MD MP Training + Recruitment
Finally, do you have any tips for other business owners & leaders navigating change?
Craig's tips:
Make sure you are healthy, both physically and mentally – this is essential to help you deal with whatever life throws your way and is particularly important for leaders because people look to leaders for cues on how they are coping, so it helps if you are clear headed and not weighed down by your own issues.
Support team members that work from home without directing and controlling them – empowering people to work on their own and expressing confidence in their unique ways of working will make them happier and they will be more productive.
What are your top tips for managing disruptive change?
Craig Cleary has shared his top tips, and we'd love to know your best tips for navigating disruptive change.
Please share your tips by completing our survey.
Once the survey is closed, we'll consolidate the responses and report back in an upcoming blog.