Winds Of Change

151 PROPERTY CEO CHRIS CHAPPLE BELIEVES IT’S POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME – BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF YOUR TEAM.

- Jodie Darlington

How do we create and sustain a culture that supports our vision, purpose and values? That’s the question Chris Chapple often asked his team when he was appointed CEO of 151 Property nearly three years ago. Chris was determined to create a workplace where people wanted to come to work and fulfil their potential. “Rather than simply needing to come to work to get paid, I wanted our people to find working at 151 Property highly rewarding and fulfilling so that they wanted to be here and achieve together,” he explains.

Looking back on when he first joined the property company, Chris says one of his biggest challenges was transforming its culture. “I identified that we had a team of highly passionate, capable and dedicated individuals, but the piece that was missing was the glue to hold them all together and having a culture they could identify with. Creating an environment where our people felt like they belonged, enabling them to leverage and create value more collaboratively, was vital,” he reflects.

Chris knew that if he wanted his team to not only be part of the cultural transformation but to drive it too, he would need to communicate openly and gain the team’s trust. “In order to lead change effectively, you need people to trust you if they are going to buy in.”