Leadership in the Real World...

Deb Clark
Nov 25
4 min read

Guest Writer - Deb Clark

Leadership isn’t something I learned from a textbook - it’s something I learned the hard way, often late at night, with a phone in my hand and my stomach in knots.

One of the toughest leadership moments of my life happened at 10pm on a Thursday. We were about 12 years into owning and running our engineering business in Karratha when the phone rang.

A client on night shift told me,

“One of your utes is smashed at the bottom of the Dampier rail bridge.”

Moments later, the police called to confirm it.

Our worker - one of our FIFO tradesmen - was in Karratha Hospital. Bruised, drunk, distressed… but alive. Thank goodness.

At that time, the Pilbara was in full mining-boom chaos mode. Good, reliable tradesmen were unbelievably hard to find. We were flying people in from all over Australia because local talent was near impossible to secure.

And the man involved in the accident?

He was one of our best.

Skilled. Likeable. Solid worker.

A “good bloke,” as people say.

But that night, lonely and far from home, he stopped at the Dampier Mermaid Hotel, had more than “a few,” and attempted to drive back to the accommodation we provided.

His blood alcohol level was off the charts.

And our ute - with our very large, very public signwriting - sat crumpled under a rail bridge for everyone to see until we could recover it the next afternoon.

Letting Him Go Was One of the Hardest Things I’ve Ever Done

He cried when we told him.

He begged to stay.

He feared his wife would divorce him.

And we really didn’t want to lose him - not as a human, and not as a skilled tradesman.

But we had no choice.

To make matters even more painful, our insurance refused to cover the $45,000 vehicle because he had acted outside of regulations. The insurer eventually sued him directly.

It was gut-wrenching for everyone.

But here’s the truth:

If we hadn’t taken the hard line, our entire business could have been at risk.

All of our clients knew about the incident.

Our staff knew.

And we held a hard-earned Category 3 Contractor Safety Qualification - audited every six months. That qualification meant we could work with big mining companies. Losing it would have meant losing everything.

Leadership isn’t about being liked.

Sometimes it’s about doing the thing you absolutely hate doing - because the survival of your business, reputation, and team depends on it.

But Here's What Surprised Me Most…

It’s not the extreme things that break your business - it’s the little ones.

The quiet behaviours you let slide.

The “not a big deal” stuff that slowly becomes the culture.

Things like:

Taking an extra 15 minutes for lunch every now and again… then more often
Scrolling on a personal phone because it’s a quiet moment
Gossiping within earshot of customers
“Joking” snide comments to or about another staff member
Little acts of laziness, disrespect, or entitlement

It’s these small things that eat away at your happiness and the fabric of your business.

Suddenly one person becomes the centre of your mental load - and everything starts to revolve around their behaviour.

So how do you stop the small things from becoming big problems?

Over the years, I’ve learned it comes down to two key questions...

1. What Are My Expectations — and Does Everyone Actually Know Them?

As business owners, we often assume people “just know” what the expectations are.

They don’t.

And honestly, sometimes we don’t either - not clearly, not in writing, not in a way that is mutually understood.

I asked myself:

Do I know exactly what I expect from my employees?
Are those expectations written down?
Do I go through them properly when someone starts?
Do I review them every 6 or 12 months?
Do I update them as roles change?
Do I have a system for addressing things early?
Am I willing to have uncomfortable conversations?

Because let’s be honest - those conversations are awful.

But avoiding them chips away at the business and the relationship. If you can’t discuss expectations clearly when things go sideways, the issue only grows.

And no - you don’t need a HR degree to hire a casual worker for your food van.

But you do need clarity… for them and for yourself.

2. What Are My Values — The Ones I Actually Live By?

Expectations are rules.

Values are beliefs.

And they matter more than most people realise.

I had to ask myself:

What does my business stand for?
What behaviours support those values?
Are my values real… or just nice words?
Do my team understand them?
Do I actually enforce them?

I now work for a multinational company that uses just three values. At first I thought they were too simple - almost naïve.

But over time, I’ve realised their simplicity is their power. They guide decisions, behaviour, and culture across thousands of people.

Your values only matter if they are lived.

My Biggest Leadership Lesson: Silence Is Acceptance

If I ignore a behaviour, I’m agreeing to it.

If I don’t speak up, I’m saying,

“This is okay.”

And it’s not.

Yes, raising issues is uncomfortable.

Yes, the response might not be perfect.

Yes, it might feel awkward or scary.

But I promise you this:

Speaking up early prevents resentment.

It preserves trust.

It upholds your values.

And it keeps your business - and your sanity - intact.

If My Story Has Sparked Something in You…

Take a moment.

Think about your expectations.

Think about your values.

Think about where you’ve let things slide.

Think about which conversations you’ve been avoiding.

You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight.

Start with one expectation.

Then one value.

Then one brave conversation.

And slowly, you will feel your business become lighter, clearer, stronger.

I’d love to hear your stories - the unexpected employee challenges you’ve had to navigate, the lessons you’ve learned, and the moments that shaped you as a leader.

Let’s keep the conversation going.

Let’s support each other.

Let’s be brave in business - together.