Three Leadership Lessons for Facility Cleaning Professionals

Key Takeaways:
• Cleaning managers can optimize talent retention by recognizing that leadership paths in custodial operations are non-linear.
• New cleaning leaders build operational credibility by observing multi-generational teams, listening to frontline staff, and maintaining transparency before implementing procedural updates.
• Successful commercial cleaning executives drive sustainable growth by identifying future leaders through their initiative.

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Leadership careers in facilities management and custodial operations are often shaped by unexpected opportunities, people who recognize potential, difficult experiences, and a willingness to keep learning along one’s professional journey.

Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) recently held the 2026 Healthy Green Schools & Colleges (HGSC) Virtual Summer Summit, where leadership development was explored and discussed. A variety of lessons emerged from the conversations that can guide a facility cleaning professionals’ own growth.

Lesson 1: The Non-Linear Path

One lesson emphasized time and again is that there is no single path into facilities leadership. Panelists and presenters throughout the summit came into leadership positions from various backgrounds, including administrative support, hospitality, human resources, entry-level cleaning work, healthcare environmental services, airport operations, and other school district facilities roles.

Even when facilities leadership is not necessarily one’s goal, opportunities to grow into leadership positions may emerge over time. For instance, a supervisor or colleague identifying someone’s skills may encourage them to apply for a new role.

“I didn’t realize that I was a leader,” says Ada Baldwin, Director of Environmental Services at North Carolina State University. “Someone saw a potential in me that I didn’t see in myself.”

Personal circumstances may also dictate the need to pursue advancement. A prospective leader may grow professionally to achieve greater stability or better pay. The desire and willingness to try something new could also be enough to open the door to an entirely different career trajectory, as was the case for Baldwin.

“I started to enjoy the work I was doing in the custodial industry. The more years I spent, the more I enjoyed and loved this profession,” she shares.

Taking advantage of professional development opportunities, both formal and informal, is key when building leadership skills and advancing one’s career. Professional development can happen when learning a new operational function, participating in a project outside of one’s normal responsibilities, asking to understand another department’s work, taking on a difficult assignment, or developing a skill outside of work that an organization may need in the future.

Lesson 2: Building Credibility is Critical

When the opportunity to step into a leadership role arises, taking time to establish credibility is crucial. This can be particularly true when joining an established facilities team.

“When you are a newcomer to the role, don’t make any changes. You have to learn from the people first,” says Aneta Mistak, Director of Operations at Township District No. 214.

Before making changes, it is important to observe, listen carefully to employees, respect the knowledge of longtime team members, and be honest—especially when an answer is not forthcoming.

“I am not an expert in custodial services, and I’m the first one to say that to all of my staff,” shares Melissa Salinas, Custodial Director at Rice University. “Honesty and transparency go a long way, and that’s how I’ve been able to gain their trust.”

Leading with these attributes communicates to team members that a leader sees themselves as someone who can learn from frontline staff and is interested in the knowledge and information they have to share.

This approach can also be important to use in multi-generational team environments where employees with decades of experience and institutional knowledge work alongside early-career professionals and leaders from other programs or institutions.

Credibility is often built through consistency. Employees notice whether leaders follow through on commitments, communicate openly, remain present during difficult situations, and apply expectations fairly. For cleaning professionals developing their own leadership style, it is important to remember that credibility comes from both the title and position, as well as consistently demonstrating competence, curiosity, and a focus on building trusting relationships with frontline staff.

Lesson 3: Leaders Create Opportunities

One of the most important lessons from the HGSC Summer Summit was that leadership development should not stop with one individual. It is essential to regularly engage employees to identify those who may be ready for greater responsibility and professional advancement. These future leaders could be the team members who ask questions, bring ideas forward, show initiative, demonstrate curiosity, and express an interest in learning more.

“People that come to you with ideas, or people that go the extra mile, are already showing you that they have the abilities,” Salinas emphasizes.

It is equally imperative to remember that not everyone wants to become a supervisor, and that disinterest does not take away from their contributions as a team member. One employee may see growth as preparing for management. For another, growth could mean becoming a subject-matter expert, learning new equipment or technology, taking responsibility for a particular building or process, or something else entirely.

Regardless of the goals of individual employees, the steps leaders must take are to know their team members, understand their drivers, and create opportunities that make sense and create motivation, interest, and satisfaction.

The lessons shared throughout the HGSC Summer Summit demonstrate that there is no single definition of what a successful leadership journey should look like. Leadership development is an ongoing process that is shaped by experiences, relationships, new responsibilities, and a willingness to continue learning. For facility cleaning professionals, growth may come through a formal promotion, but it can also happen through taking on a new challenge, learning from colleagues, building stronger relationships with team members, or becoming more intentional about leading others.

It is important that leaders continue to identify opportunities that strengthen personal skills, build credibility with team members, and understand how to support the professional growth of others. Investing in leadership development ultimately helps build stronger custodial teams that can more effectively pursue efficient operations and healthy, green schools.

Sara Porter has worked with Healthy Schools Campaign for more than 15 years. She currently serves as Director of Healthy Green Schools & Colleges, a program that helps K-12 and higher education institutions identify and implement low- and no-cost measures that improve indoor air quality, among other initiatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from DePaul University.