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Leadership is crucial for maintaining the ongoing strategic and cultural development of the Australian nut industry.

Last year, the Australian Nut Industry Council (ANIC) received funding via the Federal government’s Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund to assist with leadership support and mentoring in the nut sector.

There are around a dozen participants across the sector who signed up for ANIC’s leadership development program, including seven representatives from the Australian macadamia industry: growers Eleanor Revell, Aimee Thomas and Mel Caccianiga, grower liaison officers Megan Boote and Emma Fuss, agronomist Brigette Ryan and sales executive Steve Mackinlay.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, what was originally planned as a face-to-face program had to revert to 14 x 2.5-hour online e-workshops from September 2020 to April 2021.

The course aims to equip participants with the skills to effectively communicate the industry’s strategic direction, to develop future foresight, and to encourage collaboration, innovation and creative thinking within the industry. Participants are also taught how to solve complicated problems and take wise action amidst complex, rapidly changing conditions.

We caught up with three macadamia women who are about to complete the program – grower Eleanor Revell, grower liaison officer Emma Fuss and agronomist Brigette Ryan – to talk about the course and their ambitions for the future.

Eleanor Revell, macadamia grower/farm manager

Macadamia grower Eleanor Revell of Revell Farms in Alstonville is enjoying the ANIC leadership program.

“At the start I was very excited to get invited as a great networking opportunity,” Eleanor said.

“Being new to the industry this is always welcome and there is so much I have to learn in all aspects.”

A switch to online learning over Zoom due to COVID caused some apprehension at first, but Eleanor said when everyone got used to the new format, there were some great conversations.

“We have great facilitators and teachers in Steven McInnis and Peter Follet who are full of wisdom, interesting stories and who are great at getting us back on track after we go off on one of our wild tangents,” Eleanor said.

“I have also made some great friends through the course some of which I was lucky enough to see at the AMS end of year lunch and other industry events.”

Eleanor’s parents bought their farm two years ago and she is now the manager. It is the first time she has been in a position of leading a team and making decisions for the business.

“I hope the course will provide me with skills and tools for better communication with my team,” Eleanor said.

“We did a section on communicating better and I think now I pay extra attention to listening to the people I work with and really understanding their input. I am also learning the skill of not needing to please everyone and the right way to go about listening to advice but then politely going in my own direction which I think is very important.”

Communication at an industry level is also important to Eleanor and the course has helped her follow the right paths to be heard.

“I have learnt that we don’t have to be in a prescribed hierarchical role to be a leader - we can lead from behind or from the middle,” she said.

“For example, one of our values for the macadamia industry is that it is sustainable and doesn’t degrade the environment, so to be a leader towards this goal, I can join like-minded industry groups and also form my own groups of neighbours and experts who feel the same. We can then lead by example and do everything we can so that our farm meets those expectations.”

Emma Fuss, grower liaison officer

Emma Fuss is the Grower Liaison for Macadamias Direct, located at Dunoon near Lismore and is attending the e-workshops each fortnight with definite goals in mind.

“I am looking for a better understanding of positive leadership strategies in the industry and everyday life,” Emma said.

“I am still new to the industry, so I am not a leader but could get involved in a sub-committee and help lead by example.”

Emma said the course has covered a number of topics that have benefited her learning.

“I’ve learnt how to stimulate change and exercise authority, listen and communicate and the different leadership types, how different people work and collaborating with them,” she said.

“I’ve learnt how to take a ‘balcony’ view where you look at the overall picture and I’ve enjoyed learning how other people think.”

Another benefit for Emma has been getting to know others from different nut industries.

“I’ve come to understand the challenges they have compared to the macadamia industry,” she said.

While the leadership course meets fortnightly, the macadamia attendees have been meeting in the ‘off week’ to discuss what they are learning.

“The sessions are very interactive, and we are often in break-out rooms where we talk about strategies and ideas, sharing what we think,” Emma said.

“In the ‘off week’ the macadamia attendees further unpack these ideas discussing strategies and blueprints for the macadamia industry.

“People are encouraged to speak their minds and it is all very inclusive.”

Through this leadership program Emma has learnt more about herself.

“I am already realising I am more of a leader than what I thought, just through my actions and how I communicate with people,” she said.

“I’ve also learnt the power of language and how to frame questions better. This is a big benefit in the way I communicate with people.

“It has given me the confidence to speak my ideas.”

Brigette Ryan, agronomist

Brigette Ryan is an agronomist with Costa in Bundaberg and is also attending the leadership program.

“I signed up to this program to develop my skills as a leader on a personal level as well as to learn a new perspective of what leadership is and how to implement this to become a better leader every day and at an industry level,” she said.

“There are minimal programs run like this where a range of experiences are brought together for joint discussions and mentoring which is what makes this program so beneficial.”

Brigette said ‘deep diving’ into the five levels of leadership agility and recognising them in herself has been an enjoyable eye opener for her.

“I have learnt a lot of the theory and deeper meanings behind what leadership is,” she said. "I've been able to create a new network of great people who all play a different role within the nut industry.  So far I've been able to become more aware of how I can implement change through leadership within the day to day of my job as well as to better facilitate decision making and to work through complicated problems."

Well done to everyone involved in the ANIC Leadership Program. We look forward to you contributing to the strategic development of our industry over the coming years and decades!