Tradies Who Lead

Today we’re joined by Luke Tadich, a former paramedic with Ambulance Victoria who built and sold a seven-figure landscaping business, then spent a decade growing DreamCourts into Australia’s leading premium sports court company, with 50 staff and more than 5,000 courts delivered.

Luke has led teams from a one-ute operation to 12 staff and then 50, and he gets honest about what has to change in your leadership as the team grows. He also explains why he never asks someone to do a job he wouldn’t do himself, and how he now helps tradie business owners step off the tools.

In this chat, we get into:

🤝 How to build rapport fast by meeting someone at their level

⏱️ Handling pressure on a job when you don’t have all the answers

🚀 Why a safe space to fail builds an agile, high-performing team

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:41 – Meet Luke Tadich, DreamCourts Founder

2:12 – What Leadership Means in a Trade Business

3:04 – Leadership Lessons From Sport and Ambulance

4:12 – Building Rapport With Customers and Crew

7:26 – How to Handle Pressure on the Job

9:39 – Leading a Trade Crew Without All the Answers

11:04 – Leading 12 Staff vs 50 in a Trade Business

12:16 – Creating a Safe Space to Fail in Trades

15:12 – Never Ask Your Team to Do What You Won’t

16:38 – Simple Instructions and Systems for Tradies

18:54 – Getting Tradies on Board With Systems

20:03 – Following Processes vs Staying Agile Onsite

21:24 – Building Leaders Who Act Like Owners

22:05 – Trade Team Standards and High Performers

24:17 – Drop the Rank Persona

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you'relooking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs toKnow About Leadership

If you want to connect with Luke, you can reach him via:

Website: https://thetradieowner.com.au/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/luke-tadich

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetradieowner/

Landscaping is one of the toughest physical trades going. So how do you keep a crew motivated, run the business and still get home to your family?

Today we're joined by Ashlee Hadden, founder and director of The Girl Who Lifts Landscaping on the Mornington Peninsula. After years managing at KFC and Aldi, she became a mature-age apprentice at 32 and now leads a majority-female landscaping crew. She's learning to build a leadership rulebook that's all her own.

In this conversation, we get into:

📋 Why other businesses’ leadership models only get you so far onsite

🔧 How to give your team more responsibility and reduce your workload

💪 The five-minute habit that stops small problems from becoming big ones

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:40 – Meet Ashlee Hadden

2:02 – What leadership means in landscaping

2:21 – Leadership lessons from big businesses

4:22 – Transition from sole trader to leading a team

7:27 – How to back your team after a mistake

10:03 – Leading from the front in a physical trade

11:12 – Running daily meetings and setting clear expectations

12:25 – Managing the mental load of business ownership

14:34 – Letting go of control as a leader

17:50 – Challenges of being a mature-age apprentice

19:37 – How to build a positive team culture onsite

22:09 – Breaking stereotypes as a female landscaper

23:23 – How to decide your leadership style

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you'relooking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs toKnow About Leadership

If you want to connect with Ash, you can reach her via:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlwholifts_landscaping/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574869628801

What happens when your mentor ends up reporting to you?

In this episode, we're joined by Simon Flannery, senior mechanical engineer at Malabar Resources' Maxwell Underground Mine. Starting as a mechanical apprentice in 2013, Simon has worked his way up through trade, frontline and middle management into senior leadership, where his role is now far more about people and process than machines. He's currently helping build a brand new mine site from the ground up, handpicking his team and setting the culture from day one.

We unpack:

🤝 Leading people who used to be your mates or mentors

🏗️ What it takes to build a team and culture from the ground up

⛏️ The mindset-behaviour loop that helps you drive a sustainable safety culture

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:45 – Meet Simon Flannery

2:15 – What leadership means in the trades

3:17 – Leadership as an apprentice

4:34 – Navigating the transition from mate to manager

6:49 – What to do when you have to lead your mentor

10:38 – Building mine site team culture from scratch

11:59 – Creating buy-in with short-term contractors

12:53 – How to start with why for team engagement

16:20 – Managing a team of mixed performers

19:19 – Building a safety culture that holds

20:34 – The mindset and behaviour loop for leaders

24:18 – Why you need to guard your attitude

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you'relooking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs toKnow About Leadership

If you want to connect with Simon, you can reach him via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-flannery-37342818b

Today we're joined by Dave Willmann, a licensed electrician, trade supervisor, and owner of Willmann Electrical, who's built a reputation across electrical, industrial, and commercial work. He’s also a trusted voice for sparkies online, known for his no-nonsense tool reviews and testing breakdowns.

Dave's led crews on some of the toughest sites in the industry and mentored a generation of apprentices, and he's now stepping into an entirely new challenge: running his own business as the boss after years as a supervisor in someone else’s business. He gets honest about what each change demands, and what he’s learned from his mistakes and successes along the way.

We unpack:

📈 What changes when you go from tradie to supervisor, then boss

💬 How he handles the tough conversations most leaders avoid

💰 Why he teaches apprentices what a job costs from day one

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:40 – Meet Dave Willmann, Electrician & Leader

2:08 – How Mentorship is Leadership

3:22 – Dave's Mature-Age Apprenticeship Story

5:36 – Growing an Electrician Community Online

8:25 – How to Jump From Tradie to Supervisor

9:12 – Managing Different Personality Types

10:46 – The Mental Load of Trade Leadership

11:32 – How to Have Hard Conversations With Your Team

15:32 – Managing Pressure as a Foreman

18:09 – Keeping Trade Team Culture Strong as Teams Scale

20:50 – Business Skills Every Apprentice Needs

24:45 – Why Yelling Doesn't Build Good Culture

26:29 – Leading Through Mentorship

Follow Tradies WhoLead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you'relooking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs toKnow About Leadership

If you want to connect with Dave, you can reach him via:

Website: www.willmannelectrical.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willmannelectrical/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/davewillmannelectrical

Whether we’re promoted from tradie to supervisor, or shifting from tradie into parent, the change demands new behaviour.

Today we're joined by Leigh Ryan, a landscaper and supervisor from Gippsland, Victoria, who most tradies online know as Tradie Dad. When Leigh started sharing his life online, as a tradie, new father and supervisor, he started building a community who tuned in for the relatability of his lifestyle and challenges.

In this conversation, we get into:

👊 How to manage the change from ‘mate’ and ‘boss’

👶 Subtle ways that fatherhood changes tradie behaviour

🧪 Why experimentation is essential for leadership

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:40 – Meet Leigh Ryan, aka Tradie Dad

2:06 – How Leadership Starts with Caring

3:20 – Transitioning from Tools to Supervising

4:09 – How to Lead a Trade Crew Day to Day

6:38 – Avoid This Costly Leadership Mistake

8:16 – Why Delegating Is the Hardest Part

9:49 – The Mental Load of Leadership Roles

10:51 – Going From Mate to Supervisor

13:31 – How Fatherhood Changed Him Onsite

15:10 – Caring Beyond the Work Mate Role

17:56 – Breaking the Stigma Around Mental Health

20:58 – How to Support Trade Apprentices

23:21 – Finding Your Best Leadership

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs toKnow About Leadership

If you want to connect with Leigh, you can reach him via:

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/tradie.dad

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tradie_dad

Today we're joined by Adrian Gillman, a registered carpenter and owner of Kingsford Building and Carpentry in Metro Melbourne, with over 15 years in the trade specialising in bathrooms, extensions and detailed internal fitouts.

Adrian's career has taken him off the tools and into a corporate role running a funeral home, an experience that forced him to learn how to understand people before reacting to them.

He's brought that lesson straight back into his carpentry business and into his leadership role in community clubs, where he's building culture from the ground up.

We unpack:

🗣️ How leadership starts with action

🤝 Why understanding people better changes the way you lead

🏗️ How to get the best out of your apprentices by building connection

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:48 – Meet Adrian Gillman

2:43 – Early Leadership Skills for Tradies

3:56 – How Tradies Become Leaders Onsite

4:46 – How a Good Attitude is Leadership

8:00 – Leadership Communication Skills

13:14 – Trade Leadership Lessons From a Funeral Home

17:56 – Building Culture in Trade Teams

22:45 – Real Challenges in the Apprenticeship System

26:10 – Finding Common Ground With the Next Generation

28:13 – How to Lead Through Understanding

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs to Know About Leadership

If you want to connect with Adrian, you can reach him via:

Website - www.kingsfordcarpentry.com.au

Insta - @kingsfordcarpentry

Facebook - @kingsfordcarpentry

Today we're joined by Luke Canham, who's spent over 30 years leading teams across some of the highest-risk work in the trades, including construction and scaffolding.

After a serious workplace safety incident and a decade caught up in the court system, Luke walked away with one realisation: every business is a training business, whether it knows it or not. He's since built Multiply Me, a video-based training platform that helps business owners and supervisors close the gap between what regulators expect and what happens on-site before it costs them everything.

We unpack:

💪 Why a strong safety culture only works if people believe in it

🙌 How to practice letting go of control as a team leader

📱 How short video is changing the way trade teams communicate and learn

Chapters:0:00 – Coming Up0:38 – Meet Luke Canham: Founder of Multiply Me2:07 – What Leadership Means in the Trades3:10 – Leading Like a Footy Team Onsite5:29 – Letting Go of Control as a Leader8:27 – Why Small Details Make a Difference9:16 – How Culture Is the Real Safety System12:52 – The Accident That Changed His Leadership16:19 – Why Trade Business Owners Face Jail Time18:33 – Meet Toolbox Tom: Safety Training Tool20:51 – Building Influence Through Video Content23:45 – Getting Supervisors On Board With Safety25:48 – Luke's Advice for Growing a Trade Business

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs to Know About Leadership

If you want to contact Luke, you can reach him via:

Website: https://multiplyme.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/multiply_me_system/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukecanham63/

Today we're joined by Kurt Checketts, a light-vehicle mechanic-turned-diesel-fitter who spent 12 years in the mining industry, five of those leading crews in one of the highest-stakes environments in the trades. Kurt learned firsthand what it costs when standards slip, and what it takes to build a team that holds the line when the pressure is on.

Since leaving site, Kurt's taken everything mining taught him about leadership, discipline and financial pressure and built Blue Collar Money, a mortgage broking business made specifically for tradies and FIFO workers looking to turn hard work into real financial results.

We unpack:

🔥 Why leaning into your strengths beats trying to fix every weakness

🧠 The situational leadership model that guides how you manage different people

💪 Why the small standards you walk past are the ones that catch up with you

Chapters:

0:00 – Coming Up

0:32 – Meet Kurt Checketts, Mining Leader

2:14 – What Leadership Means to Kurt

2:42 – A Sink-or-Swim Start in the Mines

4:11 –Leaning Into Your Strengths

6:37 – How to Find Your Own Leadership Strengths

9:23 – What the Best Leaders Do Differently

11:34 – Getting to Know Your Team as Individuals

13:30 – The Situational Leadership Model Explained

15:43 – When Small Standards Get Walked Past

18:21 – The Mining Incident That Changed Everything

20:47 – Building Blue Collar Money

23:28 – Kurt's Advice for Everyday Leaders

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs to Know About Leadership

If you want to connect with Kurt, you can reach them via:

Website: www.bluecollarmoney.com.au

Instagram: @the_savvyprospector or @bluecollarmoneyau

There's a gap most tradies don't see coming when they step into leadership. It's not technical. It's not experience. It's everything that happens after you put down the tools and start trying to get results through other people.

Jason Loft is the Managing Director and Co-founder of PROTRADE United, with over 16 years of experience supporting trade and construction businesses across Australia and New Zealand. He's seen what separates the teams that grow sustainable, and the teams that stall.

In this episode, we get into:

- Why influence is the foundation of leadership

- The GROW model for working through conflict onsite

- A simple toolbox structure to get ahead of chaos

- The mindset shift tradies need to move from the tools to leading teams

Chapters:

0:00 Coming Up

0:35 What Is Leadership?

2:16 What Influence Looks Like on the Tools

4:42 Jason's Leadership Journey

7:00 Habits That Build Strong Leaders

8:24 Listening as a Leadership Skill

9:15 How to Seek and Use Feedback

10:33 Meeting Rhythms and Toolbox Structure

13:15 How to Run a Daily Standup

15:28 Motivating Different Personalities

16:11 From the Tools to Leadership

17:45 Respected vs Liked

19:44 What Business Sustainability Looks Like

21:05 Leading Through Uncertainty

24:28 Wrap Up

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs to Know About Leadership

If you want to connect with Jason or PROTRADE United, you can reach them via:

Website: www.protradeunited.com.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/protrade_united/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@protradeunited

Most tradies have played a mentoring role at some point, yet very few have been taught how to do it well.

David Mehmel is an Apprentice Trainer, Mentor, and Safety Coordinator with 16 years in and around the automotive industry. With his sole focus on apprentice development, he knows which strategies yield the best results for workplace performance and engagement.

In this conversation, we get into:

- How to build rapport for better mentoring outcomes

- Why relationships are the foundation of any team that performs

- How to engage the next generation of apprentices

Chapters:

0.00 Coming Up

1.25 Meet David Mehmel

5:12 The Key to Mentoring an Apprentice

6:52 How to Foster Stronger Relationships With Your Team

9:07 Getting Through to Disengaged Team Members

12:50 How to Build Confidence in Apprentices

16:28 Improving Apprentice Retention through Leadership

18:25 Practical Ways to Improve Team Culture

20:56 How to Teach Your First Apprentice

23:18 Look After Yourself to Lead Better

25:28 Conclusion

Follow Tradies Who Lead on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok for more from the Tradies Who Lead community.

Tradies Who Lead is powered by Blue Leader. If you're looking for support in building leadership skills within your team, reach out here.

Or download our free eBook: 5 Things Every Tradie Needs to Know About Leadership

If you want to connect with David, you can reach him via

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mehmel-90879a165/