In the second episode of the Own the Build Leadership Series, Paul is joined by Chris Hartley, former Commercial Director at McLaren Construction, a £1bn+ main contractor, and now a business change consultant and quantum expert.

Chris shares a deeply reflective account of his journey from early career QS to leading commercial teams of more than 50 people — and what that experience taught him about trust, detail, leadership and decision-making at scale.

Rather than a linear career story, this conversation focuses on the realities of commercial leadership: earning trust through technical credibility, knowing when to empower people to make mistakes, and why the best Commercial Directors never lose touch with the fundamentals of construction.

The discussion explores:

• why mastery of detail is the foundation of commercial authority;
• the transition from “doing” to leading — and why people skills become decisive;
• building high-performing commercial teams in large, complex organisations;
• how trust is given, earned and sometimes rebalanced;
• the role of information quality in better commercial decisions;
• freeing up QS time from administration to focus on commercial judgement; and
• what world-class commercial leadership looks like in 2026 and beyond.

Chris also reflects on succession planning, developing future leaders, and why rushing progression without grounding ultimately limits long-term impact.

This episode is a thoughtful, experience-led perspective on Commercial Directorship — essential listening for QSs with leadership ambitions and senior commercial professionals looking to sense-check what good really looks like at the top.

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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

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