Earlier this month, the Diverse Leaders Steering Group met for the first time in 2026. Throughout 2025, we met regularly to discuss how we could best advocate for a built environment that works for everyone. But as those conversations progressed, so did a growing feeling that, while our intentions were right, our influence and output were not yet where they needed to be.

That may feel like a slightly uncomfortable way to begin the first reflection of 2026, but that discomfort is important. When the task in front of you is as big and complex as creating meaningful change in the built environment, honesty matters. And sometimes honesty means admitting that good intentions on their own are not enough.

Towards the end of 2025 and into the start of this year, we began asking ourselves more serious questions about our role, our purpose and our effectiveness as a group. That was never about slowing down or stepping back. In fact, it was the opposite. The other members of the Steering Group and I are here because we want to see real and lasting change, and that means being prepared to challenge ourselves in the same way we challenge the industry around us.

At one point, we had to ask a difficult question. Were we genuinely pushing for change, or were we becoming too comfortable with simply meeting every quarter, having important conversations and leaving it there? The conversations matter, of course they do, but only if they lead to something bigger. Only if they sharpen our thinking, shift our approach and create the conditions for real progress.

That period of reflection gave us the opportunity to reset. We took a proper look at who we are, what we stand for and how we want to show up. As part of that, we began reworking the Diverse Leaders Pledge and, importantly, reconsidering the name of the group itself.

I’m pleased to share that the Diverse Leaders Steering Group will be taking on a new name, with the final announcement to follow in due course. More importantly, this is not just a rebrand for the sake of it. It reflects a broader shift in how we want to operate. We want to operate with more clarity, more purpose and a stronger commitment to ensuring that advocacy in the built environment reaches beyond the usual voices and familiar circles.

Looking ahead, we have an ambitious programme for 2026, with key moments including the London Real Estate Forum, the NLA Awards and this summer’s London Festival of Architecture. These are not just dates in the diary. They are opportunities to be more visible, more vocal and more intentional about the change we want to help drive.

We believe everyone should be heard and everyone should have a seat at the table. But we also know that cannot happen if we keep doing things as they have always been done. Real inclusion requires more than good language and good will. It requires action. It requires courage. And it requires a willingness to be uncomfortable enough to ask the questions others avoid, challenge the things others accept and create space in places where that space has not always existed.

This group is not slowing down. If anything, we are moving into 2026 with more energy, more focus and a clearer sense of what needs to be done. We are just getting started.

Join us in 2026 as we help shape what comes next.