In the third episode of the Own the Build Leadership Series, Paul is joined by Mark Walker, Managing Director of Seddon Housing Partnerships, an £85m social housing contractor operating across the North West and Midlands, part of the wider Seddon Group.

Mark’s journey is a powerful example of progression through ownership, resilience and long-term thinking. Starting in construction at 16 as a trainee QS, he worked his way through Assistant QS, QS, Senior QS, Managing QS and Commercial Director — before recently stepping into the Managing Director role.

This conversation explores what that journey really looked like.

Mark reflects on:

• putting his hand up for responsibility before he felt fully ready;
• how difficult projects build the resilience and judgment required for leadership;
• managing people older and more experienced than you;
• why bad jobs often create the best commercial leaders;
• the shift from project-focused thinking to full commercial oversight across estimating, surveying and supply chain;
• building collaborative two-stage tendering cultures that remove silos;
• why fairness with subcontractors is not weakness — it’s long-term strategy;
• the importance of transparency in reporting and contingency management; and
• why ownership and honesty are non-negotiable traits in high-performing commercial teams.

Mark also shares the mindset behind his move from Commercial Director to Managing Director — taking control of his own progression, succession planning his role beneath him, and making promotion a logical decision rather than a leap of faith.

The episode closes on a clear definition of great commercial leadership in 2026:
Create clarity. Build trust. Develop people. And take ownership.

This is essential listening for QSs aspiring to senior leadership — and for existing directors who want to sense-check what strong, modern commercial leadership really looks like.

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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:

Mastering Construction Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Integration, Tendering, and Commercial Success

Send us Fan Mail

Want to connect with Paul?

Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.

C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.

Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.

In this episode, Paul is joined by Kate Kennedy, Head of Legal Bids and Contract Transformation at Laing O’Rourke, to explore a bold idea: what if construction contracts were actually easy to understand?

Kate is leading an industry-first initiative to rethink how construction contracts are written, used and negotiated — starting with a simple premise: most people working on projects don’t understand the contracts they’re expected to deliver.

Drawing on global research and collaboration with the not-for-profit World Commerce & Contracting, Laing O’Rourke is piloting a simplified subcontract designed to be clearer, shorter and far more practical for the people actually using it on site.

In this conversation, Paul and Kate explore:

• why construction contracts have become so complex over the last 40 years;
• the surprising statistic that 88% of business users struggle to understand their contracts;
• how redesigning contracts with diagrams, timelines and clearer structure can transform how projects operate;
• why simplification must come before the bigger challenge of fairer risk allocation; and
• how industry-wide collaboration between contractors could finally drive meaningful contract reform.

The goal isn’t just shorter contracts — it’s better outcomes for clients, contractors and supply chains alike.

A fascinating look at how one Tier 1 contractor is attempting to shift the industry towards simpler, more collaborative and outcome-focused contracting.

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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:

Mastering Construction Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Integration, Tendering, and Commercial Success

For our list of other eBooks on building your QS Career and AI, click here - Free eBook Downloads.

Send us Fan Mail

Want to connect with Paul?

Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.

C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.

Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.

In this episode, Paul is joined once again by Simon Robinson, former main contractor Managing QS turned founder of Subport, to unpack a question that sits at the heart of construction delivery:

What actually makes a “good” subcontractor — and a “good” main contractor — from a commercial perspective?

Using results from a live poll of 100+ main contractor QSs, Paul and Simon explore the four traits most valued in subcontractors — including timely applications, real-time variation submissions, and the surprise winner: strong records and audit trail.

The discussion then flips perspective.

From the subcontractor side, what really matters?

• Clear information at tender stage.
• Fair and timely assessment of variations.
• Cash flow discipline.
• And, above all, communication that doesn’t label professionalism as “being contractual.”

The episode digs into:

• why poor variation timing destroys trust;
• how “payment on account” can quietly cripple subcontractor cash flow;
• the perception gap between managing one project vs managing twenty;
• why structured applications dramatically increase payment success; and
• how simple planning and empathy can transform commercial relationships.

The conclusion is refreshingly simple:
Professionalism. Communication. Planning. Empathy.

If both sides understood each other’s pressures just a little better, many of the industry’s recurring disputes would disappear.

A practical, honest conversation for any QS operating on either side of the fence.

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📥 Plus: Grab Paul’s free new eBook Mastering Construction Procurement — link below:

Mastering Construction Procurement Strategies for Supply Chain Integration, Tendering, and Commercial Success

For our list of other eBooks on building your QS Career and AI, click here - Free eBook Downloads.

Send us Fan Mail

Want to connect with Paul?

Paul is on Linkedin here and would love to talk. You can also connect with Paul at paul@c-link.com or through, C-Link.

C-Link is software built by Quantity Surveyors for Quantity Surveyors. We save 600 hours of Quantity Surveying time per project in automation. We can make your QS’ so much more efficient.

Watch the Video to learn more; you can book a demo by clicking here.