The Surveyor Hub Podcast

Ep 123 Combining Technical Ability With Emotional Intelligence In Surveying With Mark Duckworth

The Surveyor Hub Podcast

Published: 14 February 2025 at 06:00 Europe/London

Listen on

Episode notes

Our first 2025 guest is Mark Duckworth, Chartered Surveyor and Director at Martin & Mortimer, a firm founded in 1965 at Bishop’s Stortford. His previous roles include agriculture, accountancy, production management, voluntary work and sales roles, before starting a remedial repair business working with older buildings.

As a building surveyor with various skills and rich experience, Mark seeks to combine a clear understanding of a given building together with an appreciation for his client's particular needs, where the use of emotional intelligence and soft skills such as listening and communicating are considered highly important. Mark loves people as well as buildings, and his aim is to grow the business by growing people within it.

What is Covered:

(00:00) Introduction and Mark’s background
(03:11) The changing landscape in residential surveying
(07:27) The importance of emotional intelligence in surveying
(08:53) Learning about client communication from claims and complaints
(22:53) Mark’s career journey and qualifications
(23:14) Understanding the client’s emotional needs as an added value in surveying
(28:19) Using emotional intelligence in dispute resolution and mediation
(31:19) Why surveyors need to learn about neuroscience and the limbic brain
(40:54) Mark’s experience with burnout and the importance of self-care
(42:16) Why surveyors need robust management procedures in place
(59:51) Mark’s experience as a District Councilor
(1:08:13) The transferability of skills between surveying and other roles