6 Tips for Leadership in Property Management

According to Oxford Dictionary, leadership is “the action of leading a group of people or an organization.” Put simply, leadership is all about influencing and guiding other people within the team to work toward a singular goal.

This involves taking risks and challenges and finding ways around and through them to reach the main objective. The purpose, therefore, of a leader is to motivate others, push them to their full potential, and help them learn in the process.

While many people associate the term “leadership” with big roles such as the presidency, CEOs, and changemakers in general, this term also applies to real estate — especially in property management.

Leadership in Property Management

When it comes to leadership in property management, there’s a lot you need to cover. As a property manager, your job description doesn’t encompass one role, rather, your job is to oversee everything that goes on in managing a property, making you a leader in your own right.

As a leader, you need to work hard to keep your residents happy, ensure the property looks good, and check if the books are balanced. Some of your roles will include understanding and following landlord-tenant rules and regulations, acting as an on-site expert for potential tenants, handling maintenance requests, presenting vacant units to prospects, collecting and depositing rent, and managing your team to preserve the well-being of your property.

That being said, you are a crucial player in real estate. By doing your job, you can offer a lot of benefits to investors and other property owners.

Looking at it from this point of view, it can seem quite daunting at first, but being a property manager is not an impossible task. It will take a lot of time and effort to adjust to this new role, so it’s important to continuously assess yourself, learn your strengths and weaknesses, and work toward becoming a better leader.

How To Become a Better Leader

Having the credentials, knowledge, and experience is not enough to become an effective leader in property management. You also need to hone your skills and continuously work hard to improve yourself to become better at your job. Here are six tips to help you set foot on the right track.

1. Lead by Example

Leading by example is an old saying that everyone has probably heard. But what does it mean in leadership?

Some people think that leadership is all about ordering people around and doing none of the work, but that’s not what a good leader does. On the contrary, a good leader doesn’t dictate. Rather, they act and set a good example.

Your team looks to you to guide them, so you need to do just that. Show the people what you want to happen and how you make it happen, and they will follow suit. By seeing how you work and handle daily operations, they will gradually come to see the full picture of your vision. When this happens, it will be easier to collaborate with them in achieving the same goal.

Keep in mind, leading by example requires a lot of reflection and self-awareness. You need to be mindful of what you say and what you do because your team is watching you. They’re looking to you for guidance.

Granted, you’re not perfect and you won’t always get it right. As long as you recognize your shortcomings, apologize when you make mistakes, and always work as hard as you can, you will no doubt set the best example for your staff.

2. Treat Your Staff as Leaders in Their Own Right

More than setting a good example, you also need to show your staff members that you trust them by treating them as leaders in their own right. Your team is more than a group of followers. They are also capable of making decisions on their own. They only need your trust and a boost of confidence to feel empowered.

As a leader, you don’t need to have 100% control over your unit. You can designate tasks, give them responsibilities, and inspire them to become leaders. When you do, you will see a difference in the efficiency of your work and the productivity of your team.

In doing this, you can also create a collaborative environment, where different minds work together to make decisions and come up with effective solutions.

3. Always Have a Positive Attitude

There’s no question that becoming a leader is a tough job. You juggle multiple tasks and deal with problems on the daily. Because of this, it can be hard to maintain a can-do, positive attitude all the time, but you need to try.

Having a positive attitude can make your staff members and tenants feel more comfortable approaching you. Likewise, it helps you achieve a more optimistic outlook, especially when things don’t go exactly as planned — which usually happens in real estate.

By being more positive, you are more likely to create a safe working space for everyone and build a happy community for your tenants to live in.

4. Engage With Your Residents

Speaking of tenants, every successful property manager knows that building a genuine relationship with tenants is a crucial part of the business.

In other words, being able to engage with them and getting to know them on a personal level can help you improve as a leader in the field.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.  There are many engagement strategies that you can explore to make this task achievable. These include:

• Being transparent to your tenants
• Promoting regular get-together events on your property
• Training your staff in customer service
• Having an online platform where tenants can easily reach you

5. Be a Forward Thinker

If you want to learn how to be better at your job, you need to become a forward thinker. This means getting out of your comfort zone, learning about the current trends, following up on industry projections, and investing in the right technology.

Much like every other field, property management is always evolving. As a leader, you need to keep up with these changes to remain relevant. But you shouldn’t stop there. To take it a step further, you also need to think ahead and blaze a trail for other property managers to follow.

Set trends. Incorporate innovative solutions. Streamline processes in real estate. These are the tasks you need to do to become a forward thinker and a more effective leader. 

6. Develop a System that Works for Everyone

To avoid miscommunication, promote better efficiency, and solve landlord-tenant disputes easily, you need to develop a system that works for everyone.

Technology has come a long way from what it used to be. With new software, you can create a digital system that can automate processes, manage customer relations, draw in amazing tenants, and provide data analytics. One such software is ExactEstate.

Become a Better Property Manager. Invest in ExactEstate.

ExactEstate is an all-in-one platform that offers property management solutions of all shapes and sizes. It houses an incredible array of features that can help leaders — such as yourself — get detailed reporting, process online payments, and ultimately, stay on top of your business.

If you want to become a better property manager, take this next step and invest in ExactEstate. Request a demo with us today to learn more about how our software can benefit you.