Kiwi Business Story – Mel Buckley at Wallace & Stratton Developments

Mel Buckley is the General Manager of Wallace & Stratton Developments and a Leadership Development Programme alumni.

This Kiwi Business Story is based on a podcast from 27 July 2023, and all figures quoted are from that time. You can enjoy the complete podcast here.



Tell us about your career journey?

Relationships have led me on the path that I've gone. I trained as a teacher. So I've got a whole past life that's in education, and then doing some things at an adult level. Their relationships became so important, and people's success and their belief in themselves, and their own futures, as well as mine. It was all tied into; if they didn't succeed, I didn't succeed. I felt like if I wasn't succeeding, then where was that leaving them? 

I met a mum at school who said, ‘What about real estate?’ And that was a real eye-opener into being a contractor and having my own business after being in the private and public education systems.

That lit a fire in me in that sales side. I sold for a few years and I went into a BDM role, Ops Manager, People and Culture, and now GM. 

Tell us a little bit about what that GM journey looks like?

It’s an interesting one, and one that I'm only just starting out exploring. It’s probably a little bit more challenging than I thought it would be – for the fact that I have to have the biggest picture with everything that's going on. 

It's not just about what's right for the people, but also looking at things like profit and loss and all those extra bits that get thrown in the mix. Even though you're aware of those, and they’re a part of your strategic plan, to actually know that that's what you're held accountable for sits on the back of your brain in the mornings when you get out of bed. How can we be better than yesterday? How can we drive forward with more sales?

And I actually have to credit The Icehouse and the Leadership Development Programme (LDP). I don't think I would have been ready had I not done the LDP. 

How did you hear about The Icehouse?

Ben Macky, the owner of Walllace & Stratton, went through the Owner Manager Programme, and when we made a commitment to change the culture within the company, he said, ‘I'd like you to go and do this.’ He signed me up and then said, ‘Oh, by the way, you're going to do this on this date!’

Describe your LDP experience?

I rocked up actually not knowing a lot. Aaron Jay [owner of Hortus and another OMP alumni], who is on our board, said, ‘it's either going make or break you’ and ‘you will either love it or hate it’. And, you know, it was great. I loved it. 

I really loved that feeling of, ‘you're a team all in the same spot’. We all came from so many different industries, walks of life and ages. Yet 18 months down the track, I can pick up the phone and call those people now. I can talk to them about stuff I'm going through. They might not even be in the same role as me, but they can just listen and provide a different perspective than my work colleagues could.

LDP is like a soundproof room, and I found that really valuable – apart from the skill set that it gave me, it gave me back the passion I have for learning. 

What were your other takeaways?

Having worked in education, I was always trying to learn more and more. When you move into something such as a sales role in real estate, that learning kind of changed, and it wasn't the same, but The Icehouse lit that fire back under me and made me go, ‘I really enjoy learning new things’. And I got a lot out of that.

Somebody asked me, ‘Do you think everyone should do it?’ It's an interesting question, because I didn't know I was in the right space when Ben signed me up. It was great initiative on his behalf to go ‘yes, she needs this.’ I think those who do [LDP] benefit way more than they ever, ever, thought!