Crickley Dairy
Learning to Lead Skills Programme
Overview
Founded in 1984 by Ken Clark, Crickley Dairy has grown from a small farm in Indwe to an advanced 8,000m² manufacturing facility in Queenstown.
Today, it is an iconic Eastern Cape brand, known for integrity, resilience, and quality. Despite exponential growth, Crickley remains rooted in its values - nurturing people, communities, and customers while driving innovation and sustainable expansion.
Challenge
Crickley Dairy’s rapid growth in the Eastern Cape market created new pressures on leadership capacity. Team leaders across diverse functions; Finance, Dry Goods, Quality Assurance, Sales, Administration, Warehouse, and Production; were promoted into supervisory roles without formal management training.
The company recognised that sustainable growth required equipping these leaders with foundational management skills: problem solving, workload prioritisation, communication, and confidence in leading teams.
Solution
Leverage Leadership partnered with Crickley Dairy to design and deliver the Learning to Lead Skills Programme, an accredited initiative tailored to Crickley’s values and supply chain framework.
The programme was launched with Crickley’s values — Integrity, Commitment, Collaboration, Respect, Resilience, and Nurturing Growth — and these were integrated throughout the learning journey to ensure alignment between leadership behaviours and the company’s ethos.
The programme covered:
- Emotional, Cultural & Social Intelligence: building self-awareness and relationship management.
- Confidence as a Supervisor: understanding impact and accountability in the workplace.
- Role in the Supply Chain: connecting individual contribution to Crickley’s broader operations.
- Problem Solving & Decision-Making: applying practical tools to everyday challenges.
- Workload Priority Management: using delegation and prioritisation frameworks.
- Business Communication: sharpening written and oral communication for professional effectiveness.
Delivery included interactive Zoom sessions, facilitated activities, 1:1 coaching, and workplace integration, ensuring learning was not abstract but directly applicable.
Outcome
The programme delivered measurable impact:
- Team leaders gained confidence in their roles and clarity on their responsibilities.
- Practical tools were applied to prioritise workload and sharpen focus.
- Leaders improved communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, strengthening Crickley’s operational resilience.
- The company aligned leadership behaviours with its values, embedding a culture of growth and accountability across all business areas.
Participant Voices
Feedback highlighted the knowledge gained and workplace applicability:
- "The programme brought me back to the mirror. I started questioning myself, whether I am doing a good job. It provided the answers I need to be a better leader and convey my knowledge to my team.” – Derrick
- “t was not just about management and leadership, but also about myself. Implementing what I learnt in the workplace made a real difference.” – Christopher
- “Leadership, team building, problem solving and effective communication were highlights. I got to know myself better.” – Melikhaya
- “Problem solving was key. I learnt to stay calm, investigate, and implement solutions rather than assume.” – Sakhele
- “Understanding my leadership style and applying it in practice was powerful. The facilitator made the journey impactful.” – Tammy
- “The course reignited my passion to lead and take responsibility for my team. Brainstorming exercises helped us solve problems together.” – Anonymous Participant
LeverageForward
By embedding leadership concepts into workplace readiness and integrating Crickley’s values throughout, Leverage ensured the company’s growth was not just operational but cultural. The Learning to Lead Skills Programme strengthened Crickley’s leadership pipeline, equipping supervisors and managers across Finance, Dry Goods, Quality Assurance, Sales, Administration, Warehouse, and Production to manage confidently, communicate effectively, and embody the company’s values.
Crickley Dairy now has team leaders capable of sustaining growth, nurturing people, and driving the brand’s promise of integrity, collaboration, and resilience into the future.