93. Construction Has a Thinking Problem: Challenging the Assumptions That Hold the Industry Back with Adam Woodley

About this episode

Adam Woodley discusses the challenges in the construction industry and shares insights on building loyal teams and promoting gender diversity.

In this episode of Building Doors, host Lauren Karan sits down with Adam Woodley, a refrigeration and air conditioning veteran, former business leader, and passionate male ally. From tradie apprentice to building a business with 97 percent staff retention, Adam proves great teams aren't luck. They are built on trust, empathy, and rejecting "that's just how it is." Adam shares the small choices that kept his people loyal: high end tools, eight to ten shirts for Queensland's heat, and customer first autonomy. He also opens up about surviving a house fire that left him clinically dead, a second chance that reshaped his approach to work, family, and legacy. He speaks frankly on why construction struggles to retain women, what microaggressions look like on site, and why change must start from the bottom up with young men aged 17 to 25. As a leader of the Male Allies program, run with Trellis and NAWIC, Adam equips young tradies and engineers to call out poor behaviour without fear. Tune in for honest insights on retention, courage, and building an industry people actually want to stay in. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Building a Career Through Opportunity and Work Ethic: How…

People in this episode

Host: Lauren Karan

Guest: Adam Woodley

Topics covered

• construction industry
• employee retention
• leadership
• gender diversity
• personal growth
• business development

Keywords

• construction
• employee loyalty
• leadership
• gender diversity
• microaggressions
• business growth
• personal development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Male Allies program, Trellis, NAWIC

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