McAullay reaches for the sky in the car sales world

General sales manager of Rockingham Toyotaways Graham McAullay tells JACQUI O’LEARY why he loves where he works.

Q: What does leadership mean to you?

A: Being humble amongst your colleagues and clients as nobody likes to hear about who you are, they need to see what you do. You can’t expect somebody to do something you would never do yourself.

Q: How has your leadership style changed over time?

A: It’s all about past experience, what has gone wrong, what has gone right and applying this to any situation that can arise. There is nothing wrong with making a mistake as long as you can learn from it and teach others.

Q: Which business leader do you most admire?

A: Richard Branson with his laid back style, can-do attitude and his engagement with his staff at all levels in his business.

Q: What’s the best advice you were ever given?

A: You will never know everything and you will always be learning something new. No two people are ever the same so never be too judgemental.

Q: What do you wish someone had told you when you first started out?

A: Probably the idea of working for a dealership rather than an independent car yard. The training, customer service and quality products available would have helped me settle into the industry much more easily 18 years ago.

Q: Tell me the biggest business challenge you’ve ever faced.

A: The tsunami in Japan a couple of years ago affected our stock for many months, which along with the devastation and loss of life made it a very tough time. People probably don’t realise how many other businesses rely on their local dealership to survive, for example, tyre stores, paint shops, local newspapers are all affected.

Q: What’s the most important moment in your career so far?

A: It has to be getting promoted from Melville Toyota to this position in April last year. It’s a fantastic place to work with great staff and fantastic customers.

Q: Which technology can you not live without?

A: Email. Far less intrusive than answering your phone every two minutes, it gives you time to read and reply at your leisure and in most cases you will get the right outcome without any miscommunication.

Q: What are your interests outside of business?

A: AFL, I am a West Coast Eagles supporter. I mostly enjoy spending time with my two sons.

Q: How do you relax when you get time off ?

A: Going to Bali on family holidays is always good value for money and lazing by the pool for 10 or so days helps me to recharge.

Q: What do you hope Rockingham will be like in five years’ time?

A: For us, as a dealership, we hope to rebuild a new facility, but as an area I would love for it to keep growing, offering more opportunities for business growth at all levels and a tighter community.

Q: What would you do to improve Rockingham or WA?

A: I think all local business should network amongst each other and we are proud to say that in almost everything we do, we do locally. There is not much you can’t do or get in Rockingham, so to support each other’s business would be a priority.