Grit, Grief & Growth: My Life in Business

Even now when I tell my story, some parts are crystal clear while others are a blur, even surreal. And while major life events don’t always have to define you, key episodes have certainly shaped how I do business.

I share some here in the hope that it might help others, especially any women out there thinking of nominating themselves or someone else for this year's IMAGE PWC Businesswoman of the Year Awards.

I say go for it!

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Family Inspiration

As for so many people, for me it starts with family. With mine, what I saw every day was sheer grit, but also kindness, warmth and dignity in how my late dad, the developer Liam Maye, treated people. His love of family (and music!) seemed to just ooze out of him.

My dad had started with very little, but together with my mum worked incredibly hard and built a huge business from scratch. Growing up in the 1980s, financially things were tight, but again and again my sisters and I saw our parents put things on the line to grow the business. And it paid off.?

As a result, I’ve never been afraid of hard work; I’m never happy just twiddling my thumbs. I also naturally gravitate to people who bring their ‘A game’ and have a drive to succeed. It’s more enjoyable, better for business and you get a culture focused on growth and learning.?

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Fire in My Belly

But no amount of hard work can erase your hardwiring. In my case, my brain was wired differently – I was dyslexic. I wouldn’t be diagnosed until my thirties, but it made school a struggle.

I gravitate to people who bring their ‘A game’ and want to succeed

The turning point came one day while my mum chatted to a teacher about how I was getting on. I’ll never forget the teacher saying: “Well, you don’t need to worry about Emma’s Leaving Cert. She won’t be going to college anyway.”

Okay, it was the 1990s, but still. But that teacher ignited a fire in my belly. I don’t know where it came from, but all I could think was “I am going to prove you so wrong!!!!”??

Believing there had to be a better option, I took a notion to move schools and nagged my parents until they gave in. Thank God they trusted me, because straight away things improved. Classes were smaller, teachers and students more engaged and the whole ethos was different. Finally I had the space and tools to figure out what I was good at.

And what I was good at, was people. An empath by nature, I quickly found I loved being responsible to and for others. But even I was surprised when I was nominated class rep. I began to really thrive.

It was like the training wheels came off

Thriving Under Pressure

From there it was like the training wheels came off.

With the industry here still in its infancy, I discovered a talent for IT, got my Leaving and went to college to study business. All through college I consciously chose jobs involving responsibility, where I could learn by doing. I wanted to be put under pressure so I could get the skills I needed to improve myself. To this day I still think it’s important to get out of your comfort zone because you learn so much. I wanted to be the best at everything and learn all I could. For me, this meant retail, hospitality, IT and, because I love being people-facing, more hospitality. I even did a degree in Hotel Management.

My love of IT won out though, and by the early noughties I’d become EMEA head of sales for Salesforce. I absolutely loved it, but more than anything, I learned the importance of having a clear set of values as your north star. Yes, I’d learned a lot from my parents, but there’s nothing like seeing great values drive growth in the wider commercial world of bottom lines and P+Ls.

Today, the values I saw in action at Salesforce – do great work, give back to your community and look after your people – continue to guide us Ardale, CORE and our other businesses. They’re second nature now but really come into their own when the proverbial hits the fan.?

Take Responsibility, Build Trust

Any business person knows it takes hard work to embed values. Particularly as a leader, I need to lead by example and to be honest – honest about how we make decisions and about what they mean for our business and our people. In our businesses, we want people to have autonomy and use it, so it’s important they know why they make certain decisions so they can stand by them. I don’t always get it right and I don’t expect others to either. As long as people take responsibility for their mistakes, I think there’s always something to learn.

But easily the biggest payoff of clear values is trust. When people see you living your values, they trust you more. And as trust builds, it filters down and ripples out. I’ve learnt that it’s one of the hardest things to get in business, and once you’ve earned it you need to work hard to keep it. I’m forever grateful that people place their trust in us and hope never to take it for granted.?

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The Crash…and the Fallout

If the last nine months has taught me anything, it’s that people are still fascinated by the story of my dad Liam. I get it. His story is so closely connected not just to mine but to Ireland’s – the story of the property crash and recession that brought down the Celtic Tiger. So I share a bit of it here, just to show that despite enormous challenges, an individual, a business and even a country can come out the other side.?

My dad died suddenly of a heart attack in Spain in 2008, aged just 64. We were devastated. Almost overnight my mother found herself bombarded with endless questions from banks and lawyers. But things got a lot worse when the crash happened just months later. Very soon what was already a difficult process became hugely complex negotiations with NAMA over his sprawling estate, which included assets across many jurisdictions, mainly property.

We saw our mother grieving, exhausted and struggling. It was all too much, so I started to help out (I was on maternity leave at the time). Once I realised the scale of what lay ahead, I quit my job entirely. I’d long known that if I’d worked for my dad straight out of college I would always be ‘Liam Maye’s daughter.’ By making my own mark first, I’d proved to myself that I had at least some of what it took to succeed. I felt I was ready to take on the challenge ahead.

From Grief to Gaslighting

It was just as well, because what followed was years of working 18 hours a day, 24/7 to wrap up the estate in a way that satisfied NAMA. Through grief, three pregnancies, two miscarriages (all whilst suffering violent morning sickness), and endless health complications, I sat day after day in rooms full of people who put me under immense pressure to come up with solutions. The stress was unimaginable.?

I was a young woman. Most of the people I was dealing with were middle-aged, mid-career men. Often, their attitudes and behaviour left something to be desired.

Yes, I could see that NAMA had an important job to do, but even now I think things could have been done with more humanity. I was gaslit, undermined, talked over and patronised by men on a regular basis, but I also learnt a lot from some of them. And I kept going with the support of my husband, family and friends. I had to. Just as 14-year-old me rebelled against my teacher’s lack of faith, I wanted to prove I could do justice to my father’s estate. And we did. ??

Find what you’re bad at as well as what you’re good at. Then find people whose talents complement yours and look after them.?

Honouring a Legacy

When we finally wrapped things up with NAMA in 2013 I felt proud of the work we had done to honour my father’s legacy. And I mean ‘we’. Early on I’d realised I was never going to be an expert in everything – no-one is. We sourced the best experts we could find – lawyers, accountants, financiers – most of whom were older than me and taught me a huge amount. Many of them still work with us today. You know who you are.

The lesson?

Find what you’re bad at as well as what you’re good at. Then find people whose talents complement yours and look after them. This frees you up to play to your strengths, which is where the magic happens!?

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Ardale and Beyond

Finally, my husband Alan (an accountant with a family background in the construction industry) and I were free to pursue our own business ambitions. We started with Ardale Property in 2013 and from there things grew quickly.

The years since have been busy. More than anything, we like to help businesses that are struggling to achieve their potential in some way. This has led us to work on systems with Asador, a restaurant, but we also bought and amalgamated several independent builders’ providers to form CORE Builders Providers, which now has six branches.

We bought Weslin Construction out of examinership and just two years later, after working with the MD to restructure it, sold it back to him in better health. We bought, rebranded and sold on an ironmongery company called Basta, and in 2022 we set up a separate division, Ardale Construction, so we could control the construction of our communities under development.

We’re always exploring new business ideas. Some happen, others don’t, but right now, one of the biggest is the construction – now underway - of our first self-storage facility, with plans to roll out another 4-5 locations. It’s an exciting time and we’ve amazing people on board.?

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Burnout and Time Out

If it sounds like it’s all been smooth sailing since 2013, it has not. Devastatingly, I lost two of my closest friends and confidantes, Jenny and Caitriona, to cancer. I miss them every day. And after years of incredible stress, major health issues, awful sleep and ‘getting on with it,’ I hit burnout and had to take time off work and make some changes.

Even though I knew in my head that I hadn’t given myself the time to properly grieve my father and friends or effectively manage the fallout of the NAMA years, burnout still came as a shock. Thankfully, because I had good support and a better understanding of self-care (and had some good sense knocked into me by people I love and trust), I’m still here. But now with a better work-life balance, better health and more satisfaction and drive than ever.?

Lessons to Share

So, what have I learned that could possibly help others??

1.???? Lean into your support network

Whether it’s a coach, mentor or a leader in your or another industry, get help simplifying things so you can focus on what’s important and make progress where it matters. In my case, I took on a leadership coach to help with my mindset as I was getting very tangled up in my head. It was life-changing.?

2.???? Keep Learning

I love podcasts, speaking events, TED talks, reading and even just chatting with others. You find nuggets everywhere.

3.???? Delegate

As I’ve said, don’t be shy about bringing in expertise for things you either don’t enjoy or are simply not good at. The momentum it can give your business is phenomenal. Just make sure their values align with yours.

4.???? Tell people you believe in them

There’s immense power in having someone who believes in you actually tell you that. We can be so in our heads, and so full of doubt, that we can forget how much we’re capable of. If you see someone’s potential, tell them that and keep reminding them.

5.???? Look after Your People

For us, our employees are our most important people. In an age of AI, the human touch and spirit are very much needed, so look after the humans that work for you. Thank them, empower them and reward them financially and in any other way you can.

6.???? Self-care is not optional

Yes it’s a cliché, but look after your health, especially your sleep. Find stress-management techniques that work for you.?

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And finally, some reflections on what it has meant to win the IMAGE/PWC Businesswoman of the Year award.

Honestly, it’s been incredible. 2024 was brilliant. On a personal level, I was beyond excited to go to Paris and see Kelly Harrington win her second Olympic Gold Medal. I wanted to support her on her journey just as I’ve been supported on mine. And the IMAGE award brought many, many new opportunities. I’ve been invited to be a judge and a speaker and met many wonderful people. And done radio interviews, newspaper interviews and podcasts – with one on neurodiversity in the pipeline right now.? ?

Spotlight on Neurodivergence

As a proud dyslexic woman, one of the biggest pluses of winning the award has been the light it’s shone on dyslexia. For me, winning is proof that in the right environment, people with dyslexia can and will succeed. Never have I been more nervous or proud than when I gave a talk on dyslexia at my kids’ school. The questions afterwards were just brilliant! I really believe this is how positive change happens:? one person at a time.?

I’m also honoured and proud to have won this award as a female leader in construction. Construction is not a sexy industry. It is a hard-working, traditionally male-oriented industry in which even now, women leaders are not all that common or visible. The award shows that woman can and do excel in this industry, which can only mean that more women will be attracted into it.

And that’s a win-win for everyone.??

So if you’re even thinking about nominating yourself or someone you admire for this year’s awards, all I can say is go for it. It’s great for you, it’s great for business and it’s great for women.? ?