13 future female leaders begin the company’s inaugural Real Estate And Leadership programme.
A new leadership programme designed to help accelerate careers and maximise the potential of future leaders has begun at Colliers International with an all-female cohort.
The first, year-long programme, will see 13 female senior surveyors and associate directors, representing a variety of business lines, from across the country, develop their leadership skills specifically for clients, projects and people, based on their personal strengths. Colliers’ Real Estate And Leadership (REAL) course has been designed by the UK Talent & Development team based on research which identifies how successful women have achieved promotion and business recognition. It will also enable the group to build their network within the business and the wider real estate sector.
Lydia Ings, UK HR Director at Colliers International, said: “We have created this programme to support the next generation to develop their skills and the confidence to take on leadership roles, be it with clients, projects or teams.
“We’ve launched with an all-female cohort, tailoring the programme as we know that the experience of women achieving senior positions is different to that of their male counterparts and we want to support our participants in harnessing their strengths.
“We want all our staff to accelerate their careers at Colliers, and will be opening this programme up to another cohort next year.”
REAL is part of Colliers International’s Balance in Business programme which aims to address diversity and inclusion within the organisation. The programme involves examining the way the business recruits, trains and promotes inclusion internally, and also incorporates participation in national awareness days, such as International Women’s Day.
“We have to be realistic and acknowledge that there are not enough women working in the property sector, and so there is a lack of senior leaders to act as role models for the next generation,” added Kate Morgan, UK Chief Operating Officer at Colliers International. “We know that gender-specific initiatives can be an emotive subject, but in order to bring balance to our business. and boardrooms in the sector, it’s important, for us and the industry, to directly tackle the blockers that women face within themselves, in their careers and within in the workplace.”
The first day of Colliers’ REAL programme coincided with the company’s International Women’s Day panel discussion at its George Street office, in London. An all-female line up of client representatives discussed the challenges for women in the real estate sector and how the industry is working to become more equal and inclusive. More than 150 people listened to the discussion which was hosted by Kate Morgan and Colliers’ EMEA Head of Project Management, Sam Addison.
