Tradies Who Lead

What Separates Good Builders from the Rest (It's Less Technical Than You Think)

Tradies Who Lead

Show Notes

What does leadership look like when you've sat across from hundreds of builders, tradies, and business owners right across Australia?

Aaron "Az" Ng is the founder of The Good Builder, Australia's leading media and intelligence platform for the residential construction industry. After years of conversations with builders and trade business owners right across the country, Az knows exactly what separates the ones who last from the ones who don't.

In this conversation, we get into: • Why low trust in the building industry is a business problem • How relationships are the foundation of every great business • Why ego is the first thing that must go if you want to lead well Chapters: 0:00 Coming Up 1:56 Meet Aaron Ng, Co-Founder of The Good Builder 3:11 Essential Leadership Skills and Attitudes 6:47 No Such Thing as a “Great” Leader 7:56 Can You Be “Too Nice” as a Leader 9:25 Why Leaders Need to Know Themselves 12:25 How Poor Leadership is Creating Low Trust inConstruction 15:46 Why A Beautiful Home Isn’t Enough 17:34 The Mindset That Makes Trade Businesses Great 19:02 What Strong Performance and Relationships Needs 20:40 Leading Different People 23:08 How Listening and Empathy Improve YourLeadership 24:54 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 Aaron or The Good Builder, you can reach him via https://linktr.ee/TheGoodBuilder

More from Tradies Who Lead

Oct 12, 2026

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?

Sep 28, 2026

What happens when your mentor ends up reporting to you?

Sep 14, 2026

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.

Aug 31, 2026

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

Aug 17, 2026

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.

See all episodes →