Podcast Episode Show Notes

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

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.

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.

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

Jim Penman built Jim's Group from a one-man mowing round into a network of over 5,500 franchisees across more than 50 divisions, and still personally answers calls from franchisees he's never met. Here, Jim shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: how to inspire your team, suicide prevention in the trades, self-reflection as a driver of success, building genuine customer relationships, and why giving back matters. Wise, warm, and grounded in decades of experience.

Adam Hall has grown AH Fencing from a small startup into a multi-state operation delivering projects for Tier 1 builders and government clients, built on a culture of empowered leadership. Here, Adam shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: why your business will never outgrow you, how micromanagement disempowers your team, building honesty through vulnerability, having hard conversations to protect culture, and using leading indicators to reduce stress. Practical and refresh

Mick Hawes has spent decades coaching builders to turn stressful, time-poor operations into businesses that actually work, with self-leadership at the centre of everything he teaches. Here, Mick shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: creating a leadership environment, why self-leadership comes first, work-life harmony over work-life balance, emotional regulation, and why empathetic listening matters. Deep, practical, and hard-earned.

Dave Malone has over 20 years in construction, from apprentice carpenter to director of his own renovation and custom-home-building business, and he's direct about the mistakes that taught him the most. Here, Dave shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: the difference between managing and leading, learning to lead a trade team, effective communication techniques, why admitting mistakes builds trust, and avoiding burnout as a business leader. Direct, practical, and refreshing

Jonno McCartney leads with grit and heart in equal measure, building a trade business around community, empowerment and a genuine belief in kindness as a business strategy. Here, Jonno shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: building team accountability without fear, leading by example, kindness as a winning business strategy, how to start and grow a trade business, and why tradies need a life outside work. Warm, grounded, and built on real experience.

Andrew "Hoppo" Hopkins is a Melbourne carpenter, business owner and content creator who's spent over eight years leading trade teams while showing the real side of construction online. Here, Hoppo shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: building self-awareness, adapting your leadership style, closing the divide between boss and crew, building an authentic online presence, and navigating fatherhood as a tradie. Honest, self-aware, and full of hard-won lessons.