Leader Scout

Hosted by Tom Millington

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Episodes

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Leader Scout is a podcast on hiring, leadership, and why people join, stay,or leave organisations. Hosted by Tom Millington, the show explores the real mortals behind workplace decisions, from hiring breakdowns and leadership blindspots to retention challenges in construction, infrastructure, and project driven businesses. Each episode breaks down real-world patterns, current industry signals, and practical frameworks to help leaders build teams, make better hiring decisions, and create environments where people actually stay. If you’re responsible for hiring, leading, or retaining teams, leader Scope gives you a sharper lens on what is really driving behaviour inside your organisation.

Listen to episodes

55 recent

October 14, 2026Episode 1855 min

18. Learning to Lead Differently with Robert Scott

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 of letting go as a leader, the realities of managing critical infrastructure through major floods, and why the best teams are built long before they're put under pressure.

September 25, 2026Episode 1757 min

17. Keep Your Goals Fixed, Your Plan Flexible | Richard Carson | Leader Scout Archives

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, developing people, commercial awareness, finding the right fit between leader and business, and why consistency matters more than one-off performance.This episode was originally recorded in 2024. Roles and circumstances discussed reflect the time of recording.

September 18, 2026Episode 1623 min

16. What Actually Makes Someone Employable in 2026?

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 leaders should actually be testing for. And with AI now helping candidates write CVs and prepare for interviews, getting beneath the surface matters more than ever. 🎧 Listen to "What Actually Makes Someone Employable in 2026?" now Follow Leader Scout for practical conversations on hiring, leadership and retention across construction, infrastructure and project-driven businesses.

September 9, 2026Episode 1029 min

15. You Can't Rush a Career with Deni Campbell | From the Leader Scout Archives

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 career decisions, mentorship, management, resilience and learning when not to rush the next step. This episode was originally recorded in 2024. Roles and circumstances discussed reflect the time of recording.

September 4, 2026Episode 932 min

14. The Employee You Can’t Afford to Lose

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 conversation once they’ve resigned. Leaders need to understand whether the job still works for them before somebody else asks. 🎧 Listen to The Employee You Can’t Afford to Lose on Spotify. Follow Leader Scout for practical conversations on hiring, leadership and retention across construction, infrastructure and project-driven businesses.

August 28, 2026Episode 1353 min

13. The Engineers We Need Next with Steve Adamthwaite

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 technical capability from leadership, why good engineers leave, and what the industry needs to do differently with the talent it already has. Follow Leader Scout on Spotify or YouTube for practical conversations on hiring, leadership, retention, and workforce strategy across construction, infrastructure, and project-driven businesses.

August 22, 2026Episode 1223 min

12. Salary Isn't One Number. It's Four.

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. Because finding a $30,000 gap at offer stage isn't a negotiation strategy. It's a conversation that should have happened weeks earlier. Follow Leader Scout on Spotify or YouTube for practical conversations on hiring, leadership, retention, and workforce strategy across construction, infrastructure, and project-driven businesses.

August 13, 2026Episode 1145 min

11. Thinking Differently with Alastair Blenkin | ProcurePro

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 to adopt new systems, why previous technology failures create resistance, and why having more data or AI doesn’t automatically mean better commercial decisions. Alastair also breaks down how ProcurePro approaches its own hiring as the business scales, including why every role starts with defining WGLL “what good looks like”, how founder videos are used to qualify candidates, and why the work done before the interview can matter more than the interview itself. Connect with Alastair: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairblenkin/ Follow Leader Scout: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leader-scout YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@leaderscoutpod If you're responsible for hiring, commercial performance or leading change inside a construction business, this conversation is worth your time.Break it. Build it. Share it.

August 4, 2026Episode 107 min

10. Your Hiring Process Is Talking for You | From the Leader Scout Archives

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 your reputation • How speed can be the difference between securing great talent and losing it Follow Leader Scout for practical insights on hiring, leadership, retention, and workforce strategy across construction, infrastructure, and project-driven businesses.

July 29, 2026Episode 612 min

9. Not Every Promotion Is Progress

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 have to mean moving into management. In this episode: Why estimating has become one of the hardest roles to recruit The story that changed how I think about career progression Why businesses need more than one definition of success One practical change every employer should consider Because the people who win projects, solve problems, and master their craft are just as important as the people leading the team.Listen to the full episode on Spotify. Follow Leader Scout for practical conversations on hiring, leadership, retention, and workforce strategy across construction, infrastructure, and project-driven businesses.