𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱!!!

Oh, wait, you thought I was going to reveal the winners of specific categories? No, those will be announced at the gala dinner on 5 March.

But as a judge across four award categories this year – and a mentor for one of the cohorts in the Emerging Leaders Program – I can say definitively that there is an overarching winner – and that’s leadership.

I started working with the engineering consulting industry 15 years ago. Back then, “good leadership” often meant: be technically brilliant, run projects well, and spend just enough time with your team to keep productivity humming.

𝗡𝗼𝘄? 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 – 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁.

I’ve watched the focus expand from pure productivity to the wellbeing of teams, inclusivity, and deliberately generating better (and more diverse) ideas. And nowhere was that more obvious than in the Emerging Leader submissions.

I’ve judged these awards for years, and I say the same thing every year: the calibre keeps getting better and better. This year took it up another notch.

And it wasn’t just in Emerging Leaders. Across the categories I judged, a shift came through loud and clear in the engineering consultancy world:

⬶ From technical experts who care deeply about the built environment – who pride themselves on solving problems and designing beautiful things –

➡ To leaders who care just as deeply about people.

The shift started with client focus about a decade ago. Now it’s firmly centred on employees. Because we all know the chain reaction:

✅ Happy employees make happy customers.
✅ Happy employees also reach their full potential – and that’s where motivation, innovation, and performance actually come from.

No, I won’t spill the beans on the winners early.

But I will say this – the industry is raising the bar on leadership, and it’s making engineering consultancies stronger from the inside out.

The real winners of these awards are everyone who works in or are clients of this industry.

Well done one and all!

See you on 5 March.

Special shout out to Jonathan Cartledge, Linda Gaunt, and Amy Costin at Consult Australia for continuing to raise the bar and support the industry to a higher standard.

And thank you Jamie Shelton & Amir Girgis for your very early and continued support of my work in this industry that I’ve truly come to love.