Decisive Action Will Define Successful Facilities Leadership in 2026: Fexa President

Facilities leadership is entering a make-or-break phase in 2026, where reactive management is giving way to leaders who operate on offense and take ownership of decisions. The strongest teams translate metrics, tools, and peer experience into practical action that moves the business forward, shifting facilities from a function that explains issues to one that proposes solutions.

Kim Goei is President of Fexa and the CEO and Principal of the consultancy Goei Group. Her career spans hands-on facilities work, executive leadership, and strategic advisory roles, giving her a broad view of how the function has evolved. She sees the current moment as an opportunity for facilities leaders to shift from managing issues to shaping strategy. But making that leap means getting comfortable with decisions that won’t come with perfect clarity.

"Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good," Goei says. "The facilities leaders we can’t live without are the ones who take risks and make hard decisions on behalf of the business." Facilities has long been measured by how well it avoids mistakes, not by how confidently it drives change. That balance is shifting as leadership teams look for owners, not just operators.

• Suits are watching: Maintenance spend is no longer flying under the radar. As budgets tighten, the C-suite is paying closer attention to costs that were once delegated and rarely questioned. "When a large retailer is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on maintenance, that gets noticed," Goei says. "Executives are getting more involved in decisions that used to sit entirely at the facilities level." That shift raises the bar for facilities leaders, who now have to connect operational choices to financial outcomes using clear, business-ready metrics like cost per square foot, budget variance, and the balance between reactive and proactive spend.

• From fear to function: That scrutiny is also reshaping how organizations approach AI in facilities management. Early hesitation has given way to more practical conversations about execution and impact. "Gone are the days where companies are nervous about AI. The conversation isn’t about if we’ll adopt it anymore, it’s about how we’re going to roll it out, when it happens, and where it actually adds value," she explains.

At the same time, leaders are taking more direct control of their talent pipeline to combat a severe labor shortage. Faced with a shrinking pool of skilled tradespeople, many are bringing their own technicians in-house—a move to manage costs and control quality when resources are scarce.

• Taking control of talent: "For every 20 tradespeople that retire, only one is entering the market," notes Goei. "That reality is forcing teams to rethink how they staff, who they bring in-house, and where they need more control." For leaders operating on offense, talent strategy is a deliberate move to protect service levels, manage costs, and maintain momentum despite a shrinking labor pool.

• No metric fits all: Effective facilities leadership starts with knowing which metrics actually matter in context. "We have luxury clients that don’t care about a first-time fix because they’re ordering a part from Italy, while other customers are looking for pennies to save," Goei says. That judgment, deciding what to measure and what to prioritize based on the business, is what turns data from a reporting exercise into a decision tool.

• The key to success: It's the same judgment that shapes how leaders move from reacting to problems to designing programs. "Instead of calling a locksmith at the last minute every time there’s manager turnover, maybe we just change the keys every quarter as a program," says Goei. "If we’re more proactive about it, we can save money." When facilities teams take initiative this way, they reduce surprises, create predictability, and make their value easier to see.

Goei notes that community plays a critical role in how facilities leaders build confidence. While data provides a foundation, the assurance to move forward often comes from shared experience and peer validation. Industry events and trusted peer networks give leaders a space to compare notes, pressure-test decisions, and gain the confidence to act.

• Confidence in numbers: "We want to give facilities managers the confidence and validation that they’re not alone," Goei says. "At the end of the day, a broken door, a failed HVAC unit, or a safety issue looks the same whether you’re supporting a retailer or a restaurant group. There’s real validation in knowing other teams are wrestling with the same decisions." That shared context helps leaders trust their judgment, especially when they’re carrying responsibility without a large internal team to lean on.

For leaders who can turn data into judgment, technology into leverage, and peer connection into confidence, facilities becomes more than a support function. It becomes a driver of momentum, shaping how decisions are made and how quickly the business can move. That shift reflects a broader change in expectations, where leadership is measured not just by what gets fixed, but by what gets improved. "It’s time to stop playing defense," Goei concludes. "Shift to offense."