Recently Tammy Longo and I presented Leading From the Pack: Developing Leadership Skills for the Future, and one of the things we talked about were some characteristics of good leaders that we thought you could work on while you are grinding away climbing the corporate lattice*. And being the aspiring writer that I am, I thought I would share what we learned while preparing, practicing and presenting our session.

First, we dove into what Intrinsic Values are, and how tying them to your work makes sure you "never work a day in your life," which is FALSE especially in property management. You will work hard most days, but you will love what you do. An intrinsic value is a value that is inherently rewarding: you feel good when you practice these values and it makes you want to get up and go to work.  For me, it's building a community. I get a lot of pride, happiness, motivation from bringing people together and building a community.  For Tammy, it's helping. She loves to help out others, and feels fulfilled when she is able to do so.  Tying your work in some way to what motivates you, helps you keep going when things get hard. If you fail to do that, then you will turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble.

Second, we talked about Self-Discipline and the ability to focus on the right thing at the right time.  This is a skill that will get you so far as a leader. If you are easily distracted by whatever problem crosses your path and can't focus on the end game, not only will you be running in circles and chasing rabbits, but if you are leading a team, guess what your whole pack is doing?  Chasing a dang rabbit -in circles, and down rabbit holes.  Instead, create a Vision and Mission for your team that works as a compass to align your work to the goal. Ignore such distractions as drama or false goals, and create goals that push you toward your Vision and Mission.

Self-Discipline also means working on Trust, both with yourself and your team. As Tammy pointed out, trust is given to us, and all we have to do is keep it by doing what we say we are going to do.  Being reliable, honest, and ethical, as well as rooting for the success of your entire team, leads to trust.  

Third, Let's talk about Change.  If you are unwilling to change, you will end up dead.  Maybe not literally, but people who don't change won't grow in their career, take on new opportunities, learn new skills if they refuse to change. Instead, they will be rooting for their own failure by not getting on board with progress.  

Finally, we discussed some keys to Communication.  If you are on this earth and alive (or maybe even if you are dead) you should be working on your communication skills (stop banging cabinets and communicate your feelings).  There was so much to unpack here that I will share it in a blog next week. 

No matter where you are in your career, working on leadership skills helps you, even if you don't want to be "top dog" one day.  Your learning capacity improves by 25% and your job performance improves by 20% just by working to become a better leader.  So, give some thought to what motivates you and find what fills your cup. Work on focusing on the right things at the right times and ignoring distractions.  Get comfy with change and be open to new ways of doing old things.  And tune in next week, when we will discuss lighthouses and dim lightbulbs, and also, communication. 

* What's this lattice I speak of? Well, Dr Debbie Phillips, Tammy, and I all feel passionately that property management tries very hard to force employees up a ladder.  Leasing> Assistant> Property Manager> Regional.  But there's so much opportunity outside of that single opportunity ladder, and in fact, the skill-sets needed for those jobs are not the same.  Instead, look for opportunity to align your authentic, intrinsic values with what you do. Explore Marketing positions, Vendor/Supplier opportunities or maybe a Resident Coordinator.