The importance of role models – in life and in business

As ELP’s new Community Manager, Troy Garling has been out and about, interacting with and encouraging our wonderful community through everyday conversations as well as bigger events. 

Before he found his way to ELP, Troy spent over a decade working in the mining industry. Originally from Darwin, he relocated to the Hunter Valley region in NSW and got into mining as a way to be financially ready to grow his family. Eventually, he took some time off to be a stay-at-home dad, spending quality time with his kids, something he recommends to every new dad.

During this time, he realised just how much of an influence he was having on his kids. He recalls one pivotal moment, after he and his son, Isaac, helped a lady struggling with her groceries in the local Woolworths. As they walked back to their own car, Isaac turned to Troy and asked “Dad, are you a superhero?” 

“I realised I was already making an impact on my kids,” Troy says. “I asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up, and he said that he wanted to be a truck driver in the mines, like me. Red flags went up straight away. I said ‘I’m not doing this because I want to, I’m doing it because I have to and I want to give you opportunities to do something different’.” 

Troy took this as an opportunity to switch things up, stepping us as the role model he wanted to be for his kids. He started volunteering at the local public school as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer on his days off. His experience in the mines had given him an insight into the opportunities for cultural advice. 

“I’d seen what we had done to our landscape. There was rehabilitation, but from an environmental perspective, not a cultural perspective,” he says. “I found that adults were stuck in their ways, especially when money is involved highly – values just go out the window.

“I thought, if I can’t change the adults, I can change the next generation and then I won’t have to worry about the adults” 

As he worked closer with students in school, he could see the impact his involvement was having. Through stories and questions and meaningful conversations, he knew he was making a difference and becoming a role model for many kids, not just his own. 

“I started to really focus on the kids and their financial literacy,” he said. “I wish someone had told me these things when I was growing up. I learnt a lot of things by making mistakes. I’ve never really understood why we don’t share how we got our wealth – sharing that knowledge is very important.

“You can use money to change your future.” 

The passion he found through this work is what has led him to ELP. When he and his family moved back to Darwin he continued his work with kids, finding a full time role in a school, before he saw the position available at ELP. 

“The role of Community Manager fits my values of financial literacy and making change with our mob through business.” 

Only months into the new role, Troy was involved in rolling out the Tennant Creek Social Enterprise Showcase. He notes that there is often a negative attitude towards business in remote communities, with many groups feeling like they’ve been let down by the government and feeling frustrated by a perceived lack of opportunities. 

The event gave Troy the ability to see and meet some of the people in Tennant Creek who want to start businesses but don’t know where to begin and he witnessed the attitude shift throughout the event.

“Now, they see those challenges and want to take them on for themselves, rather than just shifting the blame to those in the upper echelons of the corporate world. It’s not easy, but having these conversations and leading these initiatives means that we can support them and they can move forward.” 

“We get to sit back and watch them now, wait for that phone call as they take that momentum and run with it. Some will take it and some won’t but it’s nice for them to hear that there’s another way to make money.” 

Troy’s already had one of those phone calls from an attendee who was highly motivated throughout the showcase and has continued on that trajectory since the event. The attendee shared a story of reconnecting with her community, reconciliation after some disagreements and a renewed sense of purpose. 

“Her story was a story of instant impact from the event,” Troy says. “When she rang me last night, it was clear she’s still highly-driven.” 

The MC for the event, Ryan O’Donoghue, also stands out in Troy’s mind. 

“He’d never done anything like this before. For him, his family got to see him in this whole new light, as a leader in his community, they would have been really proud of him to deliver that. As much as he was nervous, he really enjoyed the challenge and now he’s looking for more facilitator roles. The experience has helped him look in a new direction.” 

For Troy, the Tennant Creek Social Enterprise Showcase is a tangible example of how role models, in life as well as in business, can change the game for anyone, young or old. He’s now proud of the work he does, seeing it as showing his kids a better way. 

“Now they get to see Dad in his workspace, see me doing good work and eventually they can be that as well – if you can’t see, you can’t be.”