Adrian Gillman is a registered carpenter and owner of Kingsford Building and Carpentry in Melbourne, also vice president of the West Coburg Football Club. Here, Adrian shares 5 leadership lessons for trades business owners: leading through actions and attitude, understanding people before judging them, breaking the "grumpy tradie" culture, building culture from small things, and instructing the next generation of apprentices.

Luke Canham has spent over 30 years leading people across high-risk industries, including construction and scaffolding, managing hundreds of staff across multiple sites. After a serious workplace accident changed his career, he sold his scaffolding business and founded Multiply Me. Here, Luke shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: creating willingness over compliance, setting guidelines not rules, letting go of control, why safety culture needs team culture, and closing the

Aaron Ng founded The Good Builder, a media and intelligence platform built to give Australia's residential construction industry straight-talking insight, aimed at restoring trust and raising standards across the trade. Here, Az shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: doing what you say you'll do, leaving ego out of leadership, a weekly self-reflection habit, why low trust traces back to poor leadership, and treating subbies like your team.

Kurt Checketts is a light-vehicle mechanic turned diesel fitter who spent 12 years in mining, the last five leading teams in one of the highest-stakes environments in the trades. Here, Kurt shares 5 leadership lessons: empowering people to be their best, leaning into your strengths, knowing people as individuals, why small standards slipping causes serious incidents, and why financial leadership is still leadership.

Jason Loft is managing director and co-founder of PROTRADE United, and has spent over 16 years helping trade and construction business owners build stronger teams and lead with more confidence. Here, Jason shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: leadership as influence, communication under pressure, asking for feedback, resolving conflict with the GROW model, and running effective toolbox meetings.

David Mehmel has spent 16 years in and around the automotive industry, the last three working full-time as an apprentice trainer and mentor in a dealership environment. Here, Dave shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies leading apprentices: understanding learning styles, treating apprentices as people, building confidence, improving retention and culture, and self-care as a mentor.

Jasmyn Smith is a Tasmanian sparky and co-founder of The GO Company, a business built around a problem that's sat quietly on worksites for years: access to basic hygiene for tradies. Here, Jasmyn shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: being a role model early, recognising a problem, taking a leap when starting a business, overcoming resistance to change, and building a support network.

Matt Wyatt has spent over 30 years in the heavy vehicle industry, starting as an apprentice and working through operational and national leadership roles before spending the last 15 years developing people. Here, Matt shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies in manufacturing: setting standards, why a title doesn't earn respect, relationships over authority, fixing systems instead of firefighting, and empowering your team to bring solutions.

Tom Macrokanis is a qualified boilermaker who started his first business at 17 and has since founded Macro3D, a concrete 3D printing company tackling housing affordability. Here, Tom shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies in construction: extreme ownership, leading through action, picking the right mentor, handling setbacks, and communicating to keep every stakeholder on side.

Stefanie Apostolidis, known as Melbourne Chippy Chick, is a qualified carpenter and founder of two platforms reshaping what the trades look like for women in Australia. Here, Stef shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: what leadership means for women in trades, building confidence, how knowledge builds credibility, balancing business and parenting, and increasing visibility for women in the industry.

Vincent Saunders is a qualified builder, quantity surveyor and construction manager with more than 17 years navigating the challenges of a construction site every day. He also hosts the Constructing Mindsets podcast. Here, Vincent shares 5 leadership lessons for construction managers: listening as a skill, coordinating between trades onsite, the power of a positive mindset, managing stress, and being authentic in a trade industry.

Claude Thomson is a former Army reservist who now works as a roofer and leading hand at Weber Roofing, and has built a second platform as That Sober Tradie, a voice for healthier habits and culture across the trades. Here, Claude shares 5 leadership lessons for trade supervisors: earning respect the hard way, understanding your team as individuals, managing your own energy, sobriety and performance in the trades, and being open about mental health as a leader.

Les Wikiriwhi founded Stand-Up Recruitment, helping Kiwi tradies relocate to Australia for a better future. He's lived the same early starts and pressure most tradies know well, and built his leadership on discipline and honesty about his own struggles. Here, Les shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: protecting your team from leadership stress, deciding without certainty, building discipline through routine, vulnerability as a strength, and fixing toxic culture in the trad

George Dib is a former accountant turned Senior Commercial Manager at Credit Protect, where he's spent years helping tradies chase down unpaid invoices, work that's taught him as much about people and communication as it has about money. Here, George shares 5 everyday leadership skills for tradies: leading from the front, learning from bad leadership, understanding your customer's real problem, protecting your business from unpaid invoices, and leading with curiosity over ass

Kosta Kantilaftis started his first automotive repair shop at 19 and has spent nearly two decades building it into two workshops and a nationwide community of almost 6,000 technicians and workshop owners. Here, Kosta shares 5 leadership lessons for trade business owners on leadership in automotive workshops: reframing leadership as responsibility, letting go of control, creating a safe space for mistakes, adapting to industry change, and mentoring across the wider trade.

Cam and Matt are brothers-in-law turned business partners who built Limitless Build from a word-of-mouth carpentry outfit into a full-service building company, alongside sister brand Melbourne Decks and Pergolas. Here, they share 5 leadership lessons for tradies on how to lead a trade business: writing everything down, turning employees into problem-solvers, coaching your team to think for themselves, redefining success off the tools, and protecting family time like a client