Managing employees from the corner office feels like “us versus them,” and according to presenters at yesterday’s session, “Challenges in Leadership Roles for a Changing Industry,” bridging the gap begins with improving communication.
Jackie Ramstedt, President, Ramstedt Enterprises, said perception plays a large role in the relationship between onsite employees and management. Ramstedt said the dreaded property visit from “corporate” is a frequent source of contention and it’s important for executives to see things from an onsite perspective. “As an onsite employee, you want to say ‘I’ve been running myself ragged getting ready for this visit, printing reports, making sure the girls aren’t wearing their “hoochie mama” outfits, and now corporate is late – or hasn’t shown up at all!’” Ramstedt said.
Alexandra Jackiw, President, Buckingham Management, said people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses. Inconsistent policies from corporate will push employees elsewhere. “The running joke at an old job was that the senior management team was managing by the “book of the month,” Jackiw said.
But the responsibility doesn’t fall solely on upper management’s shoulders. Jackiw said employees must get a thicker skin and accept constructive criticism. “When I have some of those tough conversations with an employee, they immediately think I’m picking on them instead of focusing on what the real message is,” Jackiw said.
Ramstedt said effective communication is measured not by how we say things, but rather how we are understood. Today, for the first time in the apartment industry, four generations are working side by side, and each one is filtering communication through their generational lens, Jackiw added. “I recently had someone resign via text-message,” she said. “The way we communicate has changed.”
“I thought it was the best education session I’ve been to so far,” said Ross Kreutzjans, Managing General Partner for Fort Wright, Ky.-based Legacy Management.
Janet Stokes, Portfolio Manager for Atlanta-based Integral, agreed. “I love how the speakers took our day-to-day life and put it into perspective for us,” she said.
“They were so passionate about what we do,” said Jenny Moore, Regional Manager for Birmingham, Ala.-based Abbey Residential. “Walking the talk, baby.”
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