This May, I celebrated my 19-year Place-versary. Considering Place is celebrating 20 years in 2022, you could say I have been through it all! In that time, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to learn a lot whilst building my own career and helping other people navigate theirs. Here are some of my key lessons…
When I started as a support person to the HR Manager, I could never have imagined I would stay in HR, let alone become the Head of People and learn the things I have.
Today, my focus is on building sustainable careers for our people by future-proofing their role and purpose at Place. Here are some things I’ve learnt that can help you do the same for yours.
Agility.
Embrace Change.
Real Estate is a fast-paced industry that is evolving every single day - it’s not the smartest who survive, it’s the ones who are willing to adapt and be agile. If you don’t you risk being left behind.
Be Curious.
Curiosity is defined as the desire to know. Simple! I’m sure as you’re reading this you’re thinking of someone you know that is curious - they see opportunities to try something new or do something familiar but in a different way. Curiosity is one of the first traits I noticed in Damian, Sarah and Paul 19 years ago. I love curious people.
When our curiosity is stirred, we think more deeply, more creatively and more rationally. Traits that are highly valued in the workplace, no matter what you do. Being curious allows you to discover how you can improve, what you can create and where you can grow.
You don’t have to be born curious to be curious, you can train curiosity. Start small, small shifts can have a big impact.
Moving out of the mindset of ‘learn once, do forever’ allows us to extend ourselves and our outcomes. Even if a document, system or process has been working well for 100 years try and look at it differently. Walking past the same standards will tire. Stop, look at it, feel it. Ask yourself, how can it be better? Is it still relevant? Could we do it entirely differently?
A trait of some of the most successful people we have had come through Place are those who are willing to get outside their own job description. By finding out how everything and everyone else around you works you will be exposed to things that you wouldn’t otherwise be.
The best part about being curious? You will never be bored.
Find Your Voice – Have an Opinion.
When your boss asks for your opinion, give it! No radio silence. It’s an open invitation to publicly share what’s on your mind. This should feel good – they are asking for your collaboration. Win!
If you don’t feel like you have a voice or feel uncomfortable speaking up it’s time to break that cycle. How? Ironically, sometimes it can be about knowing when to be quiet – you can always benefit from listening before you speak. When the time comes to speak, stand up for your worth and value.
On the boss’s end, your voice shows you are interested in what you are doing, your team and your company. Gaining respect for having a voice allows you to influence terms, social change, strategy and commercial value for the greater good of the business.
Finding your voice doesn’t mean you’ll nail it every time, I certainly haven’t and I don’t know anyone who has! You never know, your next opinion might land you a project that takes you to your next promotion.
Be Reliable.
Provide expectations beyond what you think and over-deliver. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you say you’re going to be somewhere, be there.
Anyone who has ever worked with me knows that I love an OUTCOME. This means focussing on what results you are achieving as opposed to the tasks you are doing. No one loves a busy bee that’s just buzzing about being busy! It’s about the sweet honey, and what that tastes like from the end client receiving it.
If you want to build a personal brand that demands respect from your constituents, being reliable will play a big part in this, trust me!
Resilience.
Everyone is going through something; it’s how you choose to tackle that something that will define your path.
Finding a way to turn adversity and challenge into something more useful for you or the greater good is being resilient. By making this choice, you will become your best self.
One of the greatest privileges we have is the ability to choose how we react in any situation. You have a choice to decide how you show up every day and a choice to not get stuck in a situation but rather look for the solution.
Dr Phil Jauncy taught me to control the controllable. I’m still trying to master this. Worrying about something you cannot control is such a waste of your energy.
Be resilient, choose where your energy goes wisely.
Bank Management.
Everyone has numerous banks. Whether it’s time, energy, emotions, people, money or brain capacity, they all have a limit and all have a sweet spot. The goal is to deposit or withdraw through a process of elimination based on usefulness to find and maintain your sweet spot.
For example, if your time bank is at capacity but the outcome must be reached, release some time distractors, or look for people to leverage to help you get to your goal.
When you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, think about your banks and what you might need to deposit or withdraw.
Understand Impact.
Quite simply, this is all about being a good human.
Someone wise said “the words you speak become the house you live in” and this extends to all ways you interact with people.
A smile, a kind word, lending a hand, saying thank you, noticing someone might be a bit off, having a deep talk, including someone, or telling someone something great they did are all ways you can make a huge impact on another being. Try doing one of these things once every day, it will change your life.
Recently, someone of a professional influence told me they were proud of me. I didn’t know I needed to hear it, but I tell you what, I beamed for the following week! That’s what I call impact.
Remember your impact, and use it for better, not for worse.
I would love to know your key take-aways from this article and what you've learnt in your time in the real estate industry. If you would like to treat it as a conversation, you can find me on Instagram here, or LinkedIn here. My inbox is always open for a confidential discussion about what a life at Place could look like for you.
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