Podcast Episode Show Notes

Ashlee Hadden, founder and director of The Girl Who Lifts Landscaping on the Mornington Peninsula, shares practical leadership for tradies from her journey through KFC and Aldi management, a mature-age apprenticeship at 32 and running her own majority-female landscaping crew. She talks about teaching new starters the why, backing your team when mistakes happen, running daily huddles, and letting go of tasks to avoid burnout.

Simon Flannery, senior mechanical engineer at Malabar Resources' Maxwell Underground Mine, on leading former mates and mentors, winning contractor buy-in, and the mindset-behaviour loop behind a safety culture that holds underground.

Dave Willmann is a licensed electrician and owner of Willmann Electrical, with a reputation built across industrial and commercial work and a strong online following of sparkies. Here, Dave shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: mentorship as leadership, taking responsibility for your team's outcomes, starting hard conversations, managing perception onsite, and teaching apprentices the business side from day one.

Leigh Ryan is a landscaper and supervisor from Gippsland, Victoria, known online as Tradie Dad, where he shares the relatable challenges of life as a tradie, new father and supervisor. Here, Leigh shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: leadership starts with caring, how to check in without micromanaging, why delegating is the hardest part of leading, how fatherhood changes safety behaviour onsite, and why "are you okay" matters more than people realise.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Chad Perry has more than 20 years in concreting and built a successful business leading diverse teams with one core practice: paying more attention to people. Here, Chad shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: practising leadership without a title, leading different people on the same team, learning from setbacks, why tradies should share their knowledge, and preventing burnout as a business owner. Honest, hard-won, and genuinely useful.

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.

Gavin Cribb started as an apprentice at Ford over 30 years ago and now leads a team of 70 automotive trainers, with a clear view on what actually attracts and keeps the next generation of tradies. Here, Gavin shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: what it means to lead a workshop team, leading different generations, writing better apprenticeship job ads, collaborating across competing businesses, and why every level of a trade career comes with leadership. Practical and har

Chris Hale came up through sport and coaching before landing his first leadership role at just 18, managing a call centre team up to three times his age. He's since built a career in the wind energy industry. Here, Chris shares 5 leadership lessons for tradies: leading a more experienced team, leading from the front, why safety training matters in high-risk trades, supporting women in clean energy, and lessons carried over from sport. Practical, grounded, hard-earned.