View from the Top

The Australian Olympic Committee CEO came on board when the sporting juggernaut was in turmoil. A year out from the Tokyo Olympics, he tells Kirsten Galliott how he changed a dysfunctional culture.

The AOC’s Matt Carroll on why good workplace culture is key

How do you define good leadership?

Never take yourself for granted. You’re there to serve the organisation. Obviously you have to set a vision – you must have a game plan – and you have to lead by example. One of Australia’s greatest female leaders, Saint Mary MacKillop, said, “You teach more by example than by word.” And you lead more by example than by word.

You joined the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) at a turbulent time, after allegations of bullying and intimidation were levelled at senior members of staff. What was the first thing you did?

Settled things down. We had to pull back a little bit. My attitude was: “I’m the new chief executive; I don’t know you but I want to get to know you and let’s start directing this organisation to where we want it to go. What’s happened has happened so let’s look ahead and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” There were a whole lot of stresses within the organisation, which resulted in allegations of bullying and things of that nature, but it was also about dysfunction and how the operation was being run. As we head towards Tokyo [in 2020], I’m saying the same things so we don’t repeat the mistakes.

Not long after you started, The Ethics Centre did a review on workplace culture and you agreed to adopt all 17 of its recommendations. That was almost two years ago. How different is the culture now?

People were mouthing culture back then but now I think it’s real. We needed to make the full report public because if we didn’t put it out there people would say, “What are you hiding?” And we have nothing to hide. We’re a member organisation – we represent all 44 sports of the Olympic movement – and we needed to regain their confidence. We had to put ourselves back into a leadership role. I think the AOC had drifted a little from that and allowed other organisations to fill the gap.

This may seem counterintuitive because when you start a new job, ideally you’d like to walk in and find that everything is running perfectly…

I haven’t walked in to one yet [where everything is perfect] so that’s all right [laughs].

Are there benefits when you need to fix things?

Of course. It’s a fresh page. I used to be in construction and in that industry there are always things coming in from outside – rain, a strike, a delay – but you have

to finish the building on the date you said you would. Getting a project built is about bringing people together to get something done. So is sport.

The Rio Olympics, held just before you joined the AOC, were our least successful games since 1992. You’ve made the decision not to set any medal targets for Tokyo. Why is that?

You don’t get an AFL or rugby league coach telling you the score before the grand final – I’ve never seen that happen. They’ll say that they have opportunities to win the game. The athletes have said that setting a medal target didn’t help them. In fact, it applied pressure they didn’t want. Some of the athletes know they can win on any given day; others know that the challenge is tough in their sport. But they’re all there to compete at their best for Australia.

Is it likely Brisbane will put its hand up for 2032?

There’s certainly a keenness but it requires an investment in road and rail and infrastructure, which they have to do anyway.

What would you consider your greatest strength as a leader?

I know where we need to go and where the organisation needs to go. I have patience, which I think is very important, and I stand by my values.

And what about your biggest gap as a leader?

Am I the smartest person in the room? No. Can I analyse the financials quickly? No, it takes me a little bit longer. Some would say to me, “You’re too low profile.” Well, that’s who I am. Some people love to see their name in the paper but it’s not about Matt Carroll, it’s about the organisation that I’m here to lead.

Has there been a time when you’ve been genuinely scared?

Actually, when I took on the job. It’s the Australian Olympic Committee and once your feet are under the desk, you think, “This is quite big” [laughs]. There are a lot of moving parts here. I said to my wife, “People think I’m important. I’m not sure about that.” You do realise you’ve taken on something special, that it’s a job a lot of people would love to have and therefore you’d better do the best you can.

When you have a major setback, how do you bounce back?

Over the years, I’ve missed out on being CEO. I put my hand up a couple of times but they chose someone they thought could do the job better than me. I may have a different opinion on that but you have to get on with it, you need to pick yourself up – you didn’t win so where’s the next race?

And the sum of all those experiences is…

I’m sitting here in one of the best positions in sport in the country and in terms of a global position it has everything I need. The things that I do matter, which is great, and therefore I can’t ask for any more than that at this particular stage. I’m not as young as I used to be but it’s a role where I can bring that experience. The important thing – and I think it’s the same for any CEO – is knowing when to go. You can’t stay forever.

So what does it mean when you know your life is in four-year Olympic blocks?

Well, you have to make a judgement call in four-year blocks; you don’t want to leave the organisation in between and leave them short. So I have to keep an eye on that and know when it’s time – the same as an athlete does – to hand things on before they tap you on the shoulder.

Does that mean you actively start succession planning quite early in your tenure?

No, I don’t think you start early because things change too quickly. But at the appropriate time you have the conversation with the president and the executive.

How do you deal with stress?

I’m not easily stressed. I can relax, go to church. I’m Catholic and I take a bit of quiet time.

Does that faith help inform your leadership?

Absolutely. I’m not out preaching but it’s that firm foundation that puts things in perspective. It’s not a winner-takes-all scenario. .

What advice would you give to a new CEO?

Take a breath first. Respect that you’ve been given a privileged role, that they chose you over whoever else they were considering so you’re in a position of trust. Therefore, you need to gain the respect, the reciprocal respect, of your people. Take time to understand the business – not just the top but all the way down to the bottom. Understand what the needs and wants are. Then, when you’ve got the picture, you can start to set the agenda.

“I’VE MISSED OUT ON BEING CEO. I PUT MY HAND UP A COUPLE OF TIMES BUT THEY CHOSE SOMEONE ELSE. YOU HAVE TO GET ON WITH IT. YOU DIDN’T WIN SO WHERE’S THE NEXT RACE?”