How to improve your leadership skills in the Property Management industry

Article by Sinead Clarke Marketing Specialist 10 October 2022

Being in a position of leadership is something many of us strive for in our careers, and something we’ll all experience to varying degrees. As we aspire to rise through the ranks at our workplace, it’s important that we continue to grow and measure our leadership skills in order to ensure that we get the most out of ourselves and our team, as well as make a positive impact at our workplace. This especially rings true in the Property Management industry which requires an acute sense of organisation and attention to detail. 

Did you know that in a study conducted by LinkedIn, it was found that 77% of organisations reported that they’re currently experiencing a leadership gap? This leadership gap means that employees moving into leadership positions lack the soft skills needed to lead a team effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, only 48% of employees view their company’s leadership as ‘high quality’. It isn’t all negative though, with a bit of time and effort, leadership skills can be drastically increased! So keep reading to learn our top five tips to improve your leadership skills in the Property Management industry. 

1. Regularly check in with yourself

It’s important to make sure you’re constantly checking in with yourself, by regularly writing down your goals and plans of action. Goal setting is useful for everyone, however, when moving into a leadership position and managing the goals of others it becomes even more imperative. A study by Harvard Business found that the 3% of graduates who wrote their goals down, ended up earning ten times as much as their peers, just ten years after graduation. 

Checking in with yourself looks different for everyone, however, as a rule of thumb, it should be done quarterly in addition to annually for your larger goals. When setting goals, it’s useful to break them down to make them as actionable as possible. Once you’ve broken them down you can create a strong plan of action and delegate tasks amongst your team.

2. Be honest with your team

It’s always said that honesty is the best policy, and this is especially true for your workplace. In a recent survey by Slack it was found that 87% of workers said that they hoped their next job would be more transparent. However, we don’t need statistics to point this out as a lack of transparency is something we’ve all felt either in our current or past roles. 

Being honest with your team is the best way to build trust and prevent any miscommunications from occurring. Although, it’s important to ensure that you’re not only being transparent about the positives but also providing clarity around your expectations as well. You can do this by having regular meetings with your team, as well as ensuring you communicate regularly via email and in person.

3. Practice active listening

As aforementioned it’s important to be honest with your team, however, it’s equally important to allow them to be honest with you. Allowing your team to identify when they’ve performed well, as well as air any grievances they may be having, is the best way to improve employee morale and team efficiency. After all, 79% of people quit their jobs due to a lack of understanding and appreciation. 

This is where active listening comes in! Active listening is the act of taking the time and energy to be alert when someone is speaking to you, allowing you to accurately perceive and digest what they’re saying. This can be done in meetings, whereby you turn the floor over to your team enabling them to provide you with feedback. During this time we implore you to ensure you’re switched on, and have a notebook handy to document their thoughts and opinions.

4. Continue learning

The ability to learn is the greatest tool we have, as Gandhi said, “live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever”. While this quote is highly philosophical, the sentiment is valuable for use in both our personal and professional lives. Learning is a vehicle that allows us to continue growing and improving, and will in turn allow us to improve our team and practices. However, with our lives being busier than ever, it’s something that is often forgotten and neglected. 

When looking to learn, it’s wise to carve out 30 mins a week to continue an online course in leadership or familiarise yourself with aspects of your practices that you may not be an expert at just yet. This small amount of time weekly is both manageable and enough to allow you to begin reaping the benefits. Did you know that we’ve added in-depth and self-paced training to our Knowledge Base? AccelerateMe consists of training modules that allow you to continue learning, with the ability to pick it up whenever you have a spare moment.

5. Put yourself first

It takes an empathetic and altruistic person to be a good leader, being constantly focused on the well-being and performance of a group. However, you can’t be an effective team leader, if you don’t prioritise yourself! When we neglect ourselves and our needs, stress and anxiety creep in preventing us from giving our best. Nearly half of all leaders with stressful transitions rated themselves as average to below-average leaders, proving that stress wrecks the confidence levels of new leaders. 

So make sure you’re making it a priority in your busy schedule to take 15 minutes to move your body, disconnect from your work and turn off the computer. Some simple and easy ways to do this include, using your lunch break to get outside and go for a quick walk around the block. Alternatively, you could carve out five minutes in your afternoon to do a quick reset mediation. Lastly, having a strong nighttime routine, that you look at to provide relaxation and distance yourself from your work is important. 

So there you have it, our top five tips to improve your leadership skills! Let us know your thoughts by emailing [email protected]