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Home Blog Becoming a better CEO, not a born CEO
24Apr

Becoming a better CEO, not a born CEO
By Sonia Goss | Blog, Podcast, Real Talk With Outperformers, Matthew Holloway, Culture, People | 24 Apr 2023 |
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Matthew Holloway, CEO of Holloway Group, joins Brad in our latest episode of Real Talk With Outperformers and talks about the amazing business that came out of innovation. They unpack how Matt’s strategy of asking better questions, leveraging the business strengths, know how and marketing opportunities has helped to achieve the greatest rate of return and highest probability of success. And, in doing that, built a culture that brings it to life… not easy, mistakes made, but progress!

Taking on leadership and evolving the business
At the time when Matt took on the role of CEO at Holloway Group, the business wasn’t growing and the culture of the company was horrid hindering vision of potential which was there and ultimately, the company was not in control of their destiny. The starting point for Matthew, was to rally his sales team to hit up the established business channels. The next step, was assessing and updating the infrastructure using tax incentives from the federal government during the GFC of 2009/2010 resulting in an automated site using labour more efficiently.

Strategy to Execution & innovation
Matthew explains his thoughts on innovation as setting out to solve problems – this is the foundation of the culture within the business. A case study, Matthew provides is the business’ Geohex products – commercial sized Erosion Control system created from a residential application – a 2 year process of trial and error but which now sees this business unit as one of the most successful for Holloway Group and one of which they are currently franchising globally. The key message Matthew touches on in this segment of the podcast is that being innovative in a saturate market allows you to dictate your own margin

Connecting people and culture to strategy
When discussing the cascading of innovative strategy from an executive and leadership level down to the ‘floor’ operational teams, Matthew says this is a work in progress at the moment at Holloway Group. He recognises in congruence with other business owners, that change is always a tricky process to navigate. Tapping into the talent that people in the business have and providing a platform for them to express their ideas and feedback on strategy, is key to managing change “there is talent in every business, that I would unequivocally say is untapped….some of our best ideas come from our floor team”. This philosophy is also important in the recruitment phase as well.

Enthusiasm to succeed – The evolution of a CEO
In of many moments of raw vulnerability, Matthew mentions that early on in his career, he was a ‘spoilt brat’ and wanted everything his way. Although there wasn’t significant event which made him change his ways, his desire to succeed and enthusiasm to win, made him aware of the importance to harness the talent of those around him. He admits that he has worked hard to surround himself with people who are more talented than him, which has empowered him to lead the business more strategically and innovatively. Treating the people of the company well and renumerating them well, has resulted in them adding value to the business.

“if you’re really passionate about something and you’re committed to it, I think you’re just primed for success”.

Adding Value as a CEO by empowering the rest of the organisation
Matthew believes the most important role as the CEO of Holloway Group and where he adds most value, is by empowering leaders and team members in the varying departments to work independently from him so that he can focus more on product development and scaling businesses that are still their infancy.

Managing through the chaos
Matthew recognises through his own leadership experience that owning and managing a business “is tough” and it’s about “managing through the chaos”. His acknowledgement of the huge responsibility business owners have, including the livelihood dependency of the people who work in the business.

“If you’re a business owner, you should be really proud of having a crack because business ownership is not easy, mate. It’s tough”

To learn more about Matt’s evolution as a CEO, his and Holloway’s Group commitment to sustainability and Australian Manufacturing, check out the podcast - out now! Links below.

Listen on Spotify 🎧

Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎙️

Watch on YouTube👁️‍🗨️

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