Women in leadership: Driving growth and change in the built environment sector

Stepping into a boardroom in the built environment is not just about driving business growth, empowering teams, and hitting targets; it’s also about steering a cultural shift. For decades, with just one woman for every six men, the built sector has largely been shaped by traditional hierarchies and male-led teams.

Leading an organisation in this sector is not about adapting to the status quo; it’s about having the confidence and determination to reshape it. As the Managing Director of SFG20, the industry standard for building maintenance in the UK, I’ve built my career within a sector that’s been traditionally seen as a male-dominated industry. Against this backdrop, I needed to internalise resilience, have strong visions, and the ability to challenge long-established norms in order to drive growth.

Inclusive leadership and collaboration

Traditionally, contractors, technical teams, and maintenance departments have often operated in silos, with limited communication between them. Unfortunately, this can lead to inefficiencies, communication gaps, and also reduce innovation. Instead, teams should be working towards the same shared outcome, shifting to a less rigid management that prioritises high-performing collaboration, encouraging teamwork and cross-functional input.

Creating this kind of working environment starts with inclusive leadership. Embedding DEI and value-based leadership is essential for building a productive workforce where employees feel heard. We believe diverse leadership brings broader perspectives, stronger decision-making, and a more collaborative culture.

We put this philosophy into practice at SFG20.  Despite operating in a traditionally male-dominated industry, we’ve built a 60:40 male-to-female gender balance, with women in key senior roles, including MD, Transformation Director, and Marketing Director, as well as our developing middle management layer of women who head up their own functional teams. To sustain this, we offer mentoring and coaching to support their continuous personal development and growth.

Inclusivity also means understanding the unique challenges women face throughout their careers.Because of this, our senior leadership team has undertaken DEI training to support female-related issues such as menopause. The same training will be rolled out throughout the wider company to our managers later this year to keep to this standard.  To help address this further, we have become a signatory of the Menopause Workplace Pledge via the Wellbeing of Women charity. This all contributes positively to our gender balance, retention and positive Employee Net Promoter Scores.

Our commitment also extends outside the office, where we actively participate in groups such as IWFM Women in FM to build a stronger network and give back to the community.

Connected leadership and operational alignment

Rather than relying solely on traditional top-down methods, modern leadership emphasises open communication and stronger team integration. At SFG20, we focus on collaboration, active listening, and keeping teams aligned, alongside commercial goals.

In the built environment, where complexity and performance pressures are growing, this shift towards more connected teamwork is becoming increasingly important. When different teams work more closely together, day-to-day efficiency improves alongside better decisions regarding safer, long-term outcomes for building owners.

Encouraging involvement across teams

One of the more meaningful changes we're seeing in the built environment is teams being brought into the decision-making process earlier, particularly around maintenance, compliance, and daily operations. Traditionally, these decisions were made by senior leadership and then passed down for teams to carry out—an approach that often led to confusion, delays, and unnecessary rework.

A more effective model brings all teams into the conversation from the outset, so everyone understands their role from the start. It keeps work running smoothly and ensures the whole team is aligned.

At SFG20, collaboration is embedded from the outset of every project. Our developers work hand in hand with commercial teams to solve real business challenges, improve operational efficiency, and deliver solutions that genuinely make an impact. By bringing together people from different departments — particularly those who may not usually work closely together — we encourage a stronger cross-fertilisation of ideas, fresh perspectives, and more innovative thinking.

Involving teams earlier in the process also helps set clearer expectations, identify potential issues sooner, and create a greater sense of shared ownership over outcomes. As a result, projects are delivered more effectively and with stronger long-term value for both the business and our customers.

We also actively encourage emerging leaders across the organisation to step forward, contribute ideas, and play a more influential role in shaping our business direction. Creating opportunities for people at all levels to help solve operational challenges not only strengthens the organisation today, but also helps develop the next generation of leaders within the built environment sector.

Lasting change in the built environment will come from organisations that empower diverse voices, encourage collaboration, and create opportunities for future leaders to influence direction and innovation.