As housing associations take on increasingly complex roles — from placemaking and delivering mixed-tenure communities, to partnering with public and private sector developers — the demands on their leadership teams have never been higher.

Having been part of the sector for many years and as part of my role at Aspen People, I am in daily conversation with boards as well as candidates across the sector. A clear shift is emerging: the traditional leadership skills that served housing associations well a decade ago have evolved. Today’s leaders must blend commercial acumen, community insight, and the ability to drive collaboration at pace — all while staying true to a mission of delivering affordable, sustainable, high-quality homes and services.

Through our work recruiting senior leaders — including almost 50 chief executive appointments across Scotland’s housing sector — we’re seeing new and urgent trends emerge:

    • Rising demand for candidates with regeneration, development, and cross-sector collaboration experience.
    • Tightening talent pipelines, with boards increasingly looking beyond the sector for fresh perspectives and skills.
    • A growing appetite for visionary, values-led leadership, focused on delivering long-term community impact.
    • A shift towards digital competence: today’s leaders must understand the transformative role of technology and AI, not as a technical bolt-on, but as central to achieving strategic ambitions and improving tenant outcomes.

Against a backdrop of the housing crisis, rising cost of living pressures for tenants, escalating development costs, and the urgent need for Net Zero investment in residential assets, today’s leadership must balance commercial realities with an unwavering social purpose. Lack of grant funding and a fragile, shrinking supply chain only add to the complexity — making resilient, adaptable leadership even more critical.

But this is also a moment to challenge, to change, and to drive forward. Years of underinvestment across the sector demand not just better management, but bold, courageous leadership — leadership that can inspire, engage, and embed a culture of continual learning. This isn’t about one-off training courses or leadership away days. It’s about creating the conditions for consistent growth, reflection, and improvement across all levels of the organisation. Strong leadership must now mean equipping people not just to manage today’s challenges, but to lead the systemic and cultural changes we need for the future.

Understanding the housing stock — its condition, complexity, and the evolving needs of those who live in it — must sit at the heart of this work. Data and insight must underpin every strategic decision, from asset investment to tenant engagement.

In Scotland, the leadership landscape is evolving. The Scottish Government’s historic commitment to social housing previously drew talent from across the UK. However, emerging challenges — including tax implications and increasing competition for funding — have tempered that flow. Meanwhile, internal talent pipelines are under pressure, with fewer individuals stepping forward to assume senior roles.

Yet these challenges also create opportunity. For those with ambition and the right values, housing offers one of the most meaningful and dynamic careers available today. It is a sector that extends far beyond bricks and mortar — encompassing debt advice, wellbeing support, employability services, and critical placemaking work. It is about building lives, not just homes.

To meet the demands of the future, housing associations must prioritise continual training and development, succession planning, broaden their candidate pools, and actively reposition housing as a career of choice for diverse talent. We must tell the story of the sector’s breadth, its innovation, and its unmatched opportunity to create real and lasting impact.

The best leaders of tomorrow will be those who combine head and heart: commercially astute, tech-savvy, socially motivated, and deeply connected to the communities they serve.

At its core, social housing remains about people. As we navigate an increasingly challenging landscape, the call for purpose-led, innovative leadership has never been stronger.

• Nigel Fortnum is a board member at Cairn Housing, chair of remuneration committee and member of Audit & Performance committee and director at Aspen People