Leader Scout

Robert Scott joins Tom Millington on Leader Scout to share the lessons from nearly three decades across civil engineering, local government and regional infrastructure. From being given opportunities before he felt ready to developing engineers within his own teams, Robert reflects on what it takes to build capability rather than continually compete for experience. They also explore the challenges...

From the Leader Scout archives, Tom revisits a 2024 conversation with Richard Carson about building a career for the long term. Richard reflects on progressing from project engineering into senior leadership, why taking on responsibility early matters, the value of knowing your own strengths, and why career decisions should not be driven by salary alone. They also get into personal brand, developi...

It’s getting easier to look employable. That doesn’t necessarily make it easier to identify the right person. In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom looks beyond the polished CV to what actually gives him confidence that someone can do the job. From technical experience and transferable skills to communication, adaptability and knowing where your own capability stops, he breaks down what hiring lead...

From the Leader Scout archives, Tom revisits a 2024 conversation with Deni Campbell about building a career without having everything figured out from day one. Deni shares the moves that worked, the one she knew almost immediately was wrong, what helped her progress quickly, and why some of the best career advice she received was also the advice she initially ignored. A candid conversation about c...

The people a business relies on most are often the ones carrying more than anyone realises. In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom looks at what actually makes good people become open to leaving, why it’s often not just about money, and the conversations leaders should be having long before there’s another offer on the table. Because the best people don’t need another employee benefit or a conversat...

Australia has the infrastructure pipeline. The harder question is whether we're developing enough capable people to deliver it. Steve Adamthwaite, ANZ Water Business Leader at Arup, joins Tom to talk engineering careers, leadership, retention, mentoring and why solving tomorrow's skills shortage starts with how we develop people today. A practical conversation about what separates technica...

Salary gets uncomfortable when two people walk into the conversation with completely different numbers. And too often, businesses don't find that out until they've already found the person they want to hire. In this episode, I break down what I'm seeing in salary conversations across the market and why "market rate" isn't always as straightforward as people make it sound....

Construction leaders know their businesses need to change. The harder part is actually making it happen. In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom sits down with Alastair Blenkin, Founder and CEO of ProcurePro, to unpack what he’s learned building a construction technology business from Australia to roughly 100 staff and expanding internationally. They get into why construction businesses can be slow t...

Every conversation, every update, every delay, and every piece of feedback tells candidates what it's really like to work for your business. In this episode, I revisit three hiring habits that continue to separate businesses that consistently attract great people from those that keep missing out. • Why communication shapes the candidate experience • The role honest feedback plays in protecting...

We've convinced people there's only one way to have a successful career. Get promoted. Manage people. Lead a team. But what if that's exactly where we're getting it wrong? In this episode, I explore why some of the industry's most important roles are becoming the hardest to fill, what I've learnt from speaking with engineers and employers across construction, and why career progression doesn't hav...

Every business wants to grow. But growth becomes difficult the moment it asks us to change the way we've always done things. In this episode, I unpack why businesses resist change, what it's really costing them, and how the best leaders know when to challenge the status quo before it becomes a competitive disadvantage. Why "We've always done it this way" might be the most expensive mindset in busi...

I've shared my thoughts on hiring, leadership, retention, alignment, and building better businesses on previous episodes. This week, I wanted to take a step back and explain where those ideas actually came from, and what building People8 has taught me about leading people, growing a business, and knowing when it's time to let go. In this episode, I share some of the biggest leadership lessons I've...

AI isn't coming. It's already here. The question isn't whether you'll use it. The question is whether you'll learn to use it well while keeping people at the centre of your hiring decisions. In this episode, I break down where AI adds real value to the hiring process, where it falls short, and why the best hiring managers will always stay in the pilot's seat. Why businesses...

Too many businesses try to assess capability, sell the role, discuss salary, and make a hiring decision all in one conversation. The result is two polished sales pitches instead of an honest discussion about whether both sides are actually the right fit. In this episode, I explain why I've stopped calling the first meeting an interview and started calling it an alignment discussion. Why trying...

Most bad hires don't surprise you. The warning signs were there long before they started. The challenge is spotting them before urgency takes over and a decision gets made. In this episode, I break down five candidate red flags I've seen repeatedly throughout my career and the questions hiring managers should be asking before making an offer. • Why repeated short tenures deserve investigat...

Australia's construction and infrastructure market is heading into a serious workforce squeeze. Infrastructure Australia is projecting a 300,000 worker shortfall by 2027, but that number will not hit every business evenly. It will affect project managers, engineers, site leaders, tradespeople, regional contractors, infrastructure delivery teams, and renewable energy projects in very different...

If attracting experienced people feels harder than ever right now, the problem might not be salary, competition, or the skills shortage. Your job advert could be sending the wrong signals. In this episode of Leader Scout, I break down why experienced project managers, engineers, construction professionals, and infrastructure leaders can often tell within seconds whether a business truly understand...

I stepped back to focus on building People8, improving how we deliver for clients, and figuring out exactly what this podcast needed to become.   Now we're back.   In this episode, I explain what happened during the break, what's changed in the market, and what you can expect from Leader Scout moving forward.   I also share some of the biggest patterns I'm seeing across construction, i...

Many businesses believe they’re losing great candidates because of salary or a tight labour market. In reality, most top talent disengages much earlier — because the hiring process itself signals confusion, risk, and indecision. In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom Millington breaks down why well-intentioned hiring processes quietly push high-quality candidates away, especially in construction and...

Some of the businesses losing their best people have strong brands, impressive offices, and genuinely meaningful work — so why are people still leaving? In this Season 1 opener of Leader Scout, Tom Millington breaks down why good people don’t usually leave suddenly, but disengage first and how leadership blind spots, unclear expectations, and missing growth conversations quietly drive turnover in...

In this episode, Tom unpacks a deceptively simple hiring red flag: “I’m just looking for a good culture.” It sounds harmless but it’s often a sign of vague expectations, misalignment, or reactive career moves. Tom walks through how to dig deeper in interviews, what questions to ask, and why defining culture on both sides is critical to building long-term fit. If you’re tired of vague answers and c...

In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom dives into one of the industry’s biggest unspoken truths: leadership roles are becoming less desirable and it’s costing teams big. From promoting great operators without any training, to offering more pressure with barely any support, leadership in construction is often set up to fail. Tom unpacks: Why skilled workers are opting out of leadership The hidden cos...

Everyone’s blaming the labour shortage right now but the real issue? Most businesses don’t have a hiring system. They’ve got chaos. In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom unpacks what he is seeing across construction and infrastructure: Good people are hard to find but not impossible The teams still winning? They’ve built structure. Process. Speed. The rest? They’re stuck in reactive mode, bleeding...

In this episode of Leader Scout, Tom Millington challenges common misconceptions in the hiring process, emphasising that perks like fancy offices and free snacks do not equate to a strong company culture. He discusses the importance of empowerment, effective leadership, fair pay, recognition, a growth mindset, and flexibility in the workplace. Tom advocates for transparency and honesty in communic...

In this episode, Tom Millington discusses the critical elements of an effective hiring strategy in the construction and engineering industries. He emphasises the importance of communication, feedback, and speed in the hiring process, outlining how these pillars can significantly impact a company's ability to attract and retain top talent. Tom provides actionable insights for companies to improve t...