84. Designing Your Career: Leadership, Imposter Syndrome, and the Future of Engineering with Stuart Cook
In this episode of Building Doors, host Lauren Karan sits down with Stuart Cook, a multi-award-winning engineering leader who stepped into major leadership roles early, including managing a 400 million infrastructure program in his late 30s. Stuart opens up about career-defining opportunities, overcoming imposter syndrome, mentoring future engineers, and why the human element matters just as much as technical excellence.
Stuart also shares his personal journey from following his grandfather on construction sites to raising three boys and rediscovering fishing. His honesty about insecurity, leadership missteps, and the pressure to be everything to everyone offers rare insight into what real growth looks like in the engineering and construction sectors.
Whether you are an emerging engineer, an experienced leader, or someone fascinated by the future of infrastructure, this conversation will encourage you to rethink how you lead, collaborate, adapt, and build a meaningful career.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Leadership and Career Growth:
- How Stuart landed a design manager role decades ahead of the norm.
- Why building core technical skills is essential before chasing leadership titles.
- The truth about imposter syndrome and why even top leaders still feel it.
- Why the best leaders stop doing everything and start empowering others.
Mentoring the Next Generation:
- Why mentoring only works when the mentee wants it.
- How organic, intentional mentorship shaped Stuart’s entire career.
- Why knowledge transfer matters now more than ever as senior engineers retire.
Sustainability and Industry Challenges:
- Why red tape, not people, is strangling productivity in infrastructure.
- Stuart’s frustration with sustainability points that waste resources.
- The gap between practical sustainability and bureaucratic sustainability.
- How industry expectations must evolve to truly support net zero goals.
Collaboration and Team Culture
- Why collaborative outcomes depend on people, not contract structures.
- How simple rituals like weekly coffees and birthday celebrations build trust.
- The surprising importance of emotional intelligence for engineers.
- What it takes to unify SMEs, contractors, clients, and stakeholders.
Personal Growth and Legacy
- Why becoming a father shifted Stuart’s definition of legacy.
- How family, surfing, and fishing keep him grounded.
- Why being a good dad matters more than being a well-known engineer.
Key Quotes from Stuart Cook:
- “I still feel deeply inadequate and insecure in my position, but you have just got to work to your strengths.”
- “You cannot mentor someone into success unless they want to be mentored.”
- “Some of the most collaborative projects I have seen were not collaborative contracts. They were collaborative people.”
- “We spend so much time chasing sustainability points instead of investing in real sustainable outcomes.”
- “Legacy does not matter to me as much now. Being a good dad and a good mate matters more.”
About Our Guest:
Stuart Cook is an award-winning engineering leader known for delivering major infrastructure programs, mentoring emerging engineers, and championing emotionally intelligent leadership in a traditionally technical field. From the Ipswich Motorway upgrade to the Coomera Connector South project, Stuart has built a career grounded in curiosity, humility, and passion for developing people.
About Your Host:
Lauren Karan, founder of Karan & Co. and host of Building Doors, is dedicated to helping professionals unlock their potential. Through insightful interviews and real-life stories, Lauren empowers listeners to create opportunities and thrive in their careers.
How You Can Support the Podcast:
- Subscribe and leave a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
- Share this episode with anyone interested in sustainability and leadership.
- Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn to follow his work and insights.
Stay Connected:
- Follow Lauren and the Building Doors podcast on LinkedIn.
- Subscribe to the Building Doors newsletter for exclusive content.
Let’s Connect:
- Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email us at reachout@buildingdoors.com.au.
Thank you for listening! It’s time to stop waiting and start building.