By Karen HALM
In today’s fast-evolving world, the role of an architect stretches far beyond the drawing board. Increasingly, architects – especially women – are leading enterprises, managing multimillion-dollar budgets, developing real estate portfolios and influencing public policy.
During a recent lecture to female architecture students at Central University’s ASAG Week, I shared a message that forms the basis of this article: it’s time to expand the horizons of architectural practice through the lenses of business and finance.
Rethinking success in architecture
Success in our profession is often seen through the lens of creative brilliance, awards, or iconic structures. But real success is broader. It includes client satisfaction, professional and financial stability, team leadership, mentorship and long-term impact on communities and the built environment.
Women architects, often underrepresented in top leadership, must begin to view themselves not just as designers but also CEOs, developers, educators and financiers.
Business opportunities beyond the studio
Architecture opens doors to powerful opportunities when viewed as a business. From design-build companies and real estate development to product design, consulting and training, digital services and public sector leadership, there are many ways to grow beyond traditional practice.
To thrive in these areas, architects must master 7 key business disciplines: enterprise leadership, financial management, marketing and sales, lead generation, client acquisition, project delivery, operations and team management. Design talent alone is no longer enough. Profitability and Strategy matter!
Becoming a leader: mindset & mastery
Leadership is less about titles and more about mindset, one rooted in ownership, communication and execution.
Women bring unique leadership strengths, vision, empathy and collaboration, but often struggle with visibility and self-doubt. Making the shift from student or junior architect to enterprise leader starts with intentional growth: owning decisions, embracing visibility and responsibility, communicating clearly and consistently and learning how to manage people, projects and performance.
True leadership involves knowing your voice, using it wisely and being accountable for your outcomes.
Navigating life’s stages as a woman in architecture
Unlike the linear professional paths often experienced by men, women’s careers tend to evolve via detours through the seasons in their life’s transitions: education, career, marriage, motherhood. Each decade brings a new focus and the smart woman must learn to dance to the new tunes as they come, while still maintaining relevance and productivity.
Your 20s and the years prior to that is all about learning and exposure, when you and your male counterparts are on the same pedestal and you may even find yourself excelling above most of them. Your 30s, however, may be when life throws you your first curveball: marriage and then children.
Shutterstock image
Whether you like it or not, this will slow you down – being a wife and mother of young children is as fulltime a job as your work at the office. It is also the time in your life when your career could also be taking off! The dilemma then becomes “which one do I prioritise?” The quality of decisions and choices you make at this stage will greatly impact the next decade of your life, so don’t choose what just makes life easy for the now.
Look, whatever you decide, maintain your professional acumen and relevance in the industry. Do not disappear as many of us do. Your 40s may be a time for the comeback and strategic repositioning. This will however depend on how you managed your 30s. Your 40s certainly comes around with renewed strength to catch up where you may be falling behind. A season when your children are older and thus may not need as much attention.
Your marriage should be stable by now, depending on how it was managed in the decade or so before. Your 50s is about career consolidation and accelerating what you built in your 40s. Your 60s+ is all about legacy and giving back. Below is an image I often refer to, reminding me of where I am and what I ought to be doing.
Give yourself permission to pause, pivot, or press forward. The goal is not perfection. It’s resilience and sustained relevance to industry and society.
Balancing practice, self, family and society
For many women, architecture is not the only structure they’re building; they are also nurturing families, contributing to communities and seeking personal growth. Balancing all these roles requires intentionality. Balance is dynamic, not static.
In practice, establish clear systems and boundaries. For yourself, prioritise rest, learning and renewal. All work and no play leads to depression! Make room, therefore, for some play in your life. In family life, communicate and lean on your support system. And in society, give where your heart is through mentoring, civic service, or advocacy.
Integration not separation is the key to a fulfilling life.
Advice for future leaders
To women in school or early practice:
Start now. Master time, design and money. Build networks and mentors. Learn about finance, property, law and negotiation. Protect your energy and keep your ‘why’ in sight.
These early decisions will shape your path.
Reclaiming space in business & finance
Too often, women are boxed into the ‘creative’ space while strategy and finance are seen as someone else’s domain. That must change.
We can lead practices, negotiate deals, drive development and sit on policy boards. It is possible to redefine yourself as a CEO without losing your identity as a designer.
It’s not always easy. There are sacrifices and self-doubt, but purpose will carry you through.
Closing thoughts
Architecture is a beautiful and demanding profession. But beyond the studio lies an even larger canvas. Business. Finance. Leadership.
To every woman reading this: You’re not just here to take a seat at the table. You’re here to build it, lead the room and reshape the future.
Your time is now. Start building.
About writer:
Karen Halm is the Principal Architect/Co-founder at Spektra Global Limited, a design-build firm providing architectural and interior design as well as construction services for corporate institutions and private individuals in Ghana and abroad.
Email: [email protected].
