Women in Construction: Thriving?

What’s changed for UK construction leaders? In short: almost everything. The industry is operating under tighter compliance (the Building Safety Act), persistent skills shortages, output volatility and rising labour costs. The BSA has raised the bar on competence and accountability, making leaders - rather than compliance teams alone - responsible for consistent, documented, risk‑aware decisions across the project lifecycle. Meanwhile, the skills and digital capability required to deliver the golden thread are still catching up. That combination is why projects stall - not for technical reasons, but because leadership, communication, and team competence aren’t keeping pace. Against this backdrop, Alan Brookes , CEO of Arcadis in The Unlikely Executive Podcast, offers timely counsel for leaders under pressure: “It’s not a weakness to ask for help. It’s actually part of your own learning and development.” along with “Show up with some confidence. Believe in yourself. Don’t hesitate. Somebody else may not back you, so you’ve got to back yourself.” These principles map directly to BSA‑era delivery. (Context: Arcadis operates at global scale, circa €4bn net revenue and ~35k people.) [ons.gov.uk] The State of Play: Compliance Up, Capacity Tight, Margins Squeezed Output & cost pressure. ONS data show late‑2025 weakness - monthly output fell in October and November - while BCIS notes subdued demand, sticky inflation and labour‑led cost pressure. In that environment, inconsistency and rework get punished; leaders need planning discipline, visible accountability, and competence, not last‑minute heroics. Skills & capacity. CITB’s 2025–2029 outlook projects the industry needs c47,860 extra workers per year (c239,300 over five years). Skills England highlights long‑standing productivity underperformance and the need to strengthen competence pipelines. You won’t meet BSA expectations with “bums on seats”; you need competent, evidenced capability. Why this matters now . The BSA imposes dutyholder obligations, competence requirements and the golden thread, comprehensive, reliable information from design to operation. Non‑compliance attracts penalties and liability; leadership must align people, process and data, across the supply chain, to evidence decisions, not just make them. What the Building Safety Act Means for Leaders (Not Just for Compliance) 1) Competence is a leadership problem, not an HR file. The BSA expects that those designing, building and managing higher‑risk buildings are competent with the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to do the job. That’s hard across mixed supply chains and variable subcontractor standards. Leaders must define competence expectations by role, align them with PAS guidance where relevant, and evidence that competence is maintained. 2) The golden thread demands usable, trustworthy data. You won’t achieve the golden thread with siloed emails and file dumps. You need consistent information management, clear ownership, and digital workflows that teams actually use. BIM and CDEs help, but adoption and skills still lag; treat digital as a behavioural change, not an IT procurement. 3) Accountability is personal and cultural. Gateways, dutyholder roles, retrospective liabilities, these shift risk onto leadership choices. The BSA isn’t “tick‑box”; it’s an operating model. Leaders set the tone: clear responsibilities, transparent escalation, and no‑surprises reporting when problems arise. The Digital Reality Check: AI & BIM Are Enablers - If Teams Are Ready Reports show a sector at a digital tipping point: AI/BIM use rising but capability and integration patchy. RICS finds optimism about AI’s value yet low scaled adoption due to skills, data quality and integration. NBS notes anxiety about being left behind is growing, while daily use of digital tools is increasing. Leaders must insist on right‑sized, standardised practices teams can repeat under pressure, not grand platforms that don’t change behaviour. Leadership implication: t he golden thread is only as strong as the weakest behaviour. Agree the minimum digital behaviours (where issues are logged, who approves what, how decisions are captured, where models/documents live). Train them, coach them, audit them. Alan Brookes’ Playbook for the BSA Era Listen first. “Listen. Understand the business.” In BSA terms: listen to where documentation breaks, where competence is assumed not evidenced, where subcontractor onboarding fails. Don’t move tech or org charts until you’ve heard the reality from site to boardroom. Ask for help . “It’s not a weakness to ask for help.” Establish mentoring and coaching routines so leaders surface uncertainty early before it becomes non‑compliance. Create a culture where “I don’t know -show me” is professional, not perilous. Back yourself -then build the best team. “Somebody else may not back you, so you’ve got to back yourself,” and “get the very best team around you.” Bring in the skills for the future: information management, digital coordination, competent principal designer/contractor capability, and project controls that withstand regulatory scrutiny. Stay grounded . The childhood photo is more than sentiment; it keeps ego in check and sustains service‑centred leadership - critical when the law raises expectations and the pressure to perform narrows your field of vision. “Remember where you came from. Don’t get big‑headed.” Leading through Complexity Decisive Leadership When Under Pressure Leadership vs Management If you’re leading in construction or housing and want to strengthen communication, competence, and delivery under the BSA—without drowning in operational noise—my 6‑month coaching programme is designed for this context. We focus on: Decision clarity and authority under pressure Competence frameworks and real‑world evidence gathering Golden‑thread behaviours your team will actually use Mentoring/feedback cadences that build confidence and reduce rework → Book a clarity call to discuss your context and goals.