What it Takes to Be a Leader in CRE

By Carrie Rossenfeld

SAN DIEGO—Setting a good example, rewarding employees and encouraging diverse opinions are a few of the methods panel members touted as necessary to be a strong leader during Burnham-Moores Center for Real Estate at the University of San Diego’s Fifth Annual Women in Real Estate Conference here yesterday. GlobeSt.com was on the scene as nearly 250 attendees listened raptly to the all-female keynote address and panel talk about success and leadership in commercial real estate.

The breakfast event began with a keynote address by Gina Champion-Cain, a USD alum and chairman of the board of American National Investments, who stressed the importance of relationships in the real estate business: “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Champion-Cain spoke candidly and humorously about her career, which included time with the Koll Co. followed by forays into the live-music (as in bringing House of Blues to San Diego), restaurant (the Patio) and retail (a coffee-roasting shop and a new culinary-store concept she’s working on) businesses. She said she “never worked really hard to achieve one particular goal,” but instead measures her success by her “love of my dogs.”

Next came the panel session titled “Strategy and Leadership in an Increasingly Dynamic Real Estate Market.” Moderator Vicky Carlson, president and CEO of LEAD San Diego, asked panelists what led to their success as leaders and how they chose the people they hired. Vicki Mullins, EVP and CFO of Newland Communities, said hiring people she has confidence in who have passion, good judgment, character and integrity, has been key. Real estate advisor Barbara Cambon, a former elementary-school teacher who began her real estate career in 1981, said she focused on building a team with diversified skill sets and experiences that would drive success. And Karen MacLeod, principal manager of real estate for Sharp HealthCare, said rewarding, appreciating and trusting in her team has been important. “There’s nothing worse than micromanagement.” She added that leaders need to lead by example, and they need to be fair and provide team members with accessibility to them. Carlson summed up the panelists’ answers by saying that the common denominator was having the right team and people working for you.

Next, Carlson asked how the panelists find, train and keep talent. Cambon said using your network and being on the look for people who spark a relationship with what you are trying to accomplish is key, as is connecting at a personal level, which is increasingly challenging in this digital day and age. She added, “I had to help them understand their job was not to agree with me, that they had a responsibility to say what’s on their mind. A roomful of people who all agree don’t come up with new ideas.” She added that she recently read by a reputable source that having women on corporate boards increases the intelligence of the group. And finally, “when employees are contributing” to the betterment of the company, “they want to stay.”

MacLeod echoed the importance of networking to find good candidates, and she added that for retention, the way a leader behaves is important. Mullins said it’s important to avoid hiring “talented terrors”—people who are very good at what they do, but don’t get along well with others—because it’s bad for the group. “It’s all about skills and attitude combined.”

Carlson asked the panelists what each considers the main challenges in their respective fields. Mullins said finding and creating compelling reasons for Millennials to remain in certain markets and for Baby Boomers who want to downsize to buy homes is a huge challenge in home development. Cambon said getting to the bottom of what’s affecting portfolio performance is a main challenge in the investment realm, and MacLeod said the inability to find large blocks of space where rents are not skyrocketing and the cost of construction—particularly with Title 24—were challenges in the medical-office-building arena. She added that “if you’re not wired like Gina,” the corporate real estate industry needs facilities and property managers to make sure its portfolio matches its needs.

Cambon pointed out that career planning is not necessarily linear anymore; people don’t necessarily stay with one company their whole career, so “be open to finding your own personal intersection of what interests you and what makes you happy. Real estate is becoming international, so if you like to travel,” there are avenues in real estate to do that now.

During the Q&A session, one attendee asked Champion-Cain how she finances her pioneering ideas. She answered, “You have to convince the money people that your proposition works, that it is based on sound fundamentals, and you have to point out the negatives.” She said the most profound lesson she learned from failure was to “never give up; keep believing in yourself. No one is going to keep me down.”

To a question about succession planning, panelists agreed that this is very important and that employees need to see that there is a plan in place. Mullins suggested promoting from within if you can, and MacLeod said non-profits tend to do succession planning better than for-profit companies.

Finally, in answer to a question about challenges of doing business in California, Champion-Cain said it’s crucial that the state take control of its destiny and make itself business friendly. “This is a critical situation.” Cambon said the institutional capital view of California is that it’s costly to do business here, and that has to change.