#76- Finding the Right Mentor in Multifamily with Danielle & Sejla
Welcome to the Marketing Home. Marketing You Podcast! This week we’re interviewing mentors Danielle Maloy & Sejla Begic. Danielle is a Regional Supervisor with South Oxford Management and Sejla is a Regional Manager with ResProp Management. I first started seeing some of Danielle’s content on LinkedIn and I was so impressed at what an encourager she was to her team. There was a specific post where she was celebrating Sejla and some of her recent accomplishments and that’s when I knew we had to get them on the podcast. In our industry, many people have an idea of a career path, but they're not sure how to get there. They don't know how to look for mentorship and ask for what they need. This conversation is focused on how to foster that type of learning place where we can mentor others and keep it going.
If you’re looking for a mentor in multifamily housing or want to help mentor the next generation of professionals in our industry, you’ll want to watch this lively conversation. Danielle and Sejla hold nothing back and it’s pure gold!
Here’s a glance at this episode…
>> [01:07] - Get to Know Danielle & Sejla
>> [05:15] - Tips for Transitioning from Property Manager to Regional Manager
>> [14:10] - How Danielle Became a Mentor
>> [21:00] - The Impact of Positivity
>> [23:40] - Getting to Know Your Team
>> [28:25] - A Beneficial Two-Way Street
>> [30:55] - How to Find a Mentor
>> [36:00] - How to Deal with Overwhelm
Mentorship in multifamily
Most of us have had role models in our life, whether a cheerleading coach, a soccer coach, a teacher, or our parents. We recognize the tremendous impact they had on our life. Learn how Danielle became a mentor and the traits that both a mentor and mentoree exhibit to make it a natural fit and one that will pay it forward.
Transitioning from property manager to regional manager
Going from a property manager to a regional manager is going to be tough. Your first year is so hard, you will come home and you will probably cry. But please know that the next day is going to be better. Every day gets easier. It is challenging because you step away from that immediate onsite team camaraderie to a computer with reports and financials and the juggling act of balancing all these different properties. You feel responsible for everything.
Tune in to hear what helped Danielle and Sejla:
Put in the work every day to learn the processes, the systems, and know your team.
Get a mentor that you can follow and someone that you want to be with. Someone to bounce ideas off and frankly be motivated by.
Learn how to manage larger teams and let go of some responsibilities.
Hire the right people, utilize cross-training programs, and create a funnel of backups to handle employee turnover.
Deal with smaller staffing budgets.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make mistakes.
Work with clients directly (aka no buffer).
Work-life balance.
The power of Positivity in multifamily
Both Danielle and Sejla mentioned positivity and making people feel good. Walking in with a smile and genuine appreciation goes such a long way. Because our industry is so stressful, especially during COVID, you can’t let the negative creep in. Listen to hear how they’ve turned around failing teams with a positive lead.
Getting to know your Team
Every employee (or mentoree) is motivated by something different and they can really get lost if you don’t care enough to know what drives them. Tune in to see how Danielle and Sejla get to know their teams, show they care and keep employees from moving on or responding negatively to hard conversations.
A mentor doesn’t do the work for the mentoree, so listen in and see how you can be someone’s calm and talk them through it. Inspire the confidence that they’ve done hard things before and can do this.
Two-way street partnerships
When you're talking about mentorship, it's such a two-way rewarding relationship. It's not just the one that's getting mentored that's benefiting- the mentor is also receiving something in celebrating the successes along the way. Danielle mentions how proud she is of Sejla, and compares the relationship to a proud parent and child. These partnerships can continue throughout a career as you celebrate additional promotions or go through the difficult back-and-forth of deciding to leave a company. The mentor also plays the role of a mama bird that sometimes pushes the baby bird to try new things it can handle.
Mentorship is truly a beautiful thing because sometimes people think that in multifamily, or even just among women, it's always a competition and it isn't if you have the right person that's backing you. I’ve had so many great mentors that helped me when I was first starting Sprout Marketing. I had a great mentor, and I remember sitting outside with her with Sonic drinks, and I was crying. I was so scared because I had a cushy job to leave. But just having someone to talk it through with and go over what's the worst that could happen, and having a sounding board helped. Family and friends can do this to a certain extent, but it’s very, very helpful when it's someone that's walked your path.
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FINDING A MENTOR
Your mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be somebody in your industry. It doesn't have to be your boss. It doesn't have to be your VP. A mentor is somebody that will guide you- it can be in your personal life or your professional life. If you don't have somebody that you work with, it could be someone you meet at an industry event. It could be a vendor that you connect with that’s been in the industry for 20 or 30 years. It's just about comfort level.
Danielle and Sejla also have some tips to make sure you find a mentor that makes you and doesn’t break you. Make sure that you build a connection with somebody you truly trust and that you see them evolving in their career where you want to go. That's the mentor that you should choose.
Tune in to see how Danielle answers: How does one ask to be mentored? Does it have to be official? How can you benefit from social media mentorship? And more.
Dealing with overwhelm
Listen in for Danielle and Sejla’s strategies that help deal with overwhelm:
Reach out to your mentor- someone that can talk you off that ledge.
Write it out, whether it's a planner or your outlook calendar.
Stay organized- plan each day with a prioritized list.
Communicate with your teams- make sure they know what’s on your plate and why you might not be available.
Use your resources- you aren’t expected to know everything.
Celebrate your successes and wins.
Danielle & Sejla’s Mentorship Gallery
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I hope you enjoyed our chat! If you put any of these tips into action, I’d love to hear how it helps your career!
Connect with Danielle Maloy on LinkedIn - Regional Manager, South Oxford Management
Connect with Sejla Begic on LinkedIn -Regional Manager, ResProp Management
