Lessons in Leadership: Insights from Women Developers in Commercial Real Estate
Top 5 Lessons Learned from Women in Business Breakfast
Thank you to all who joined our extraordinary breakfast panel of Women Developer’s sharing their wisdom in business. Women in commercial real estate make up only 35% of the business, and hold only 22% of senior or executive positions. We were very lucky to have Sharon Coleman of Vulcan, Susie Burke of Fremont Dock Co., Maria Barrientos of Barrientos-Ryan, Jackie Constigan of Unico, and Maiko Winkler-Chin of the Seattle Chinatown International District & Development Authority.
We had a great showing at our early morning summer breakfast including many men, developers, bankers, architects and more. Our panelists were inspiring and shared incredible wisdom on their diverse paths to success including their perspective on being women in the workplace.
Key Takeaways: 5 Powerful Lessons from Women in Leadership
There were so many great points that came up but here are my top 5 Lessons Learned:
1) Insecurities: We all have them, let’s throw them OUT! Seriously, we don’t need that weight.
2) Promotions: They don’t land in your lap. You need to ask, demand and fight for what you want.
3) Believe in Yourself: Go for that job you think you can’t land, or do that project you’ve never done before. Start your own company. You can do it. Never tell yourself you can’t. Just get on with it!
4) Collaboration: Work with and lift up other women, especially women of color. Women are great collaborators, listeners, and project managers. They pay attention to detail and get the job done!
5) Negotiate for Yourself: A challenge for women is that some men hire women because they think they can pay them less and that women are more likely to work harder than their male counterparts. It is also said that women “won’t steal your job.” Ladies, let’s start negotiating for ourselves, our salaries, our positions and let’s do away with the perception that we are not coming for top positions, because we absolutely are, and we will rock it!
