Are your next leaders, ready?
Future leadership capability is becoming one of the most significant risk factors facing commercial property consultancies.
As senior partners approach retirement, deal cycles become more complex, and client expectations evolve beyond transactional delivery, many firms are asking the same question:
Who is ready to lead next — and how do we prepare them?
For Chief People Officers and HR leaders in commercial property consultancies, the answer increasingly includes structured coaching as a core leadership development strategy.
The leadership pipeline challenge
Commercial property has traditionally developed leaders through technical excellence and client success. High performers become team heads, equity partners, or regional leaders — often with limited preparation for the demands of leadership.
Today’s environment requires far more:
• influencing sophisticated investors and global occupiers
• navigating ESG and regulatory expectations
• leading multidisciplinary teams
• managing uncertainty and longer deal horizons
• sustaining culture during hybrid working shifts
Without intentional development, future leaders can struggle to transition from expert practitioner to effective leader.
Why coaching accelerates leadership readiness
Coaching creates a structured space for emerging leaders to build self-awareness, leadership presence, and strategic thinking — capabilities rarely developed through technical training alone.
Unlike classroom learning, coaching is contextual, confidential, and immediately applicable to live business challenges.
Future leaders learn to:
• think beyond transactions to long-term client value
• influence senior stakeholders with confidence
• navigate complex conversations and competing priorities
• make decisions with incomplete information
• lead people, not just projects
Strengthening leadership presence and credibility
In commercial property consultancies, credibility is everything. Future leaders must command trust in boardrooms, investment committees, and client strategy discussions.
Coaching helps individuals refine:
• executive presence
• communication clarity
• stakeholder influence
• confidence under scrutiny
The result is leaders who are commercially credible and organisationally trusted.
Supporting cultural continuity and evolution
As firms grow, merge, or expand internationally, culture can fragment. Coaching helps future leaders understand the firm’s values while developing their own authentic leadership style.
This strengthens cultural alignment while allowing leadership to evolve with changing workforce expectations.
Building resilience for a cyclical industry
Commercial property remains highly cyclical. Future leaders must navigate downturns, stalled transactions, funding pressures, and shifting occupier demand.
Coaching equips emerging leaders with resilience, emotional regulation, and perspective — enabling them to lead with stability during periods of uncertainty.
Enhancing retention and engagement of high-potential talent
High performers increasingly expect investment in their growth. Coaching signals commitment to development and accelerates readiness for broader responsibility.
For Chief People Officers, this supports:
• succession planning
• retention of high-potential talent
• diversity in leadership pipelines
• increased engagement and loyalty
From succession planning to leadership confidence
Many consultancies have succession plans. Fewer have leadership-ready successors.
Coaching bridges this gap by transforming potential into capability.
When future leaders develop strategic thinking, self-awareness, and leadership confidence before stepping into senior roles, transitions are smoother, client relationships remain stable, and firm performance is protected.
A strategic investment in the firm’s future
In a market defined by complexity, competition, and constant change, leadership capability is a differentiator.
For Chief People Officers in commercial property consultancies, coaching is not simply a development initiative — it is a strategic lever to strengthen leadership pipelines, protect culture, and ensure long-term resilience.
Because the future success of the firm will depend not only on the quality of its advice, but on the strength of those prepared to lead it.
Mark Prisk FRICS is a qualified Executive Coach, who understands the property world. He works with property and housing businesses to help nurture their current and future executive leaders. He can be reached at priskm@gmail.com
