Career Growth at Cushman & Wakefield

Marissa:

Tell me about your career journey.

Brandon:

I started as a Groundskeeper and worked my way up through all of the office positions and was recently promoted to Area Property Manager. It's been full of wins and losses and ups and downs. What helped me through it all was staying focused on how to succeed in my current role, while learning the ins-and-outs, and keeping in mind my goal of getting to that next step. I'm always trying to learn everything about the current position before taking that next step because the information from each position along the way is invaluable when you are managing a team. When you've worked most of the positions like I have, you get a certain degree of understanding of what your employees might be going through daily, and that's helped me along the way, especially going from a Property Manager role into an Area Property Manager role. Many times, I use the old Drake motto, “Started from the bottom now we’re here” when I describe my journey. I'm excited about the opportunity to invest in more people in my new role. My number one mindset going into this role is to better my whole team by really connecting with every team member and instilling confidence and a desire to grow.

Marissa:

That’s great, you’ve had a very successful career journey. You mentioned you started off as a Groundskeeper here at Cushman and Wakefield. What was the next step from there?

Brandon

From my initial role as a Groundskeeper, I started working into Make Readies and was learning a lot of that information. It was a lot of personal and professional growth. From there, my career took off. When Michelle Hearn was hired as the Property Manager, she took the time to get to know everyone. On one of her first days working at the property, she interviewed the staff to get a grasp of who she was working with. I got up and said, “I'm Brandon the Groundskeeper, training to be a Make Ready Technician.” I gave my whole spiel and description about who I am, where I came from. and her reply was, “You're my Groundskeeper?” She then proceeded to say, “You're going to wear khakis and you're working in the office tomorrow.” It's a fun story to share because that was such a cool interaction. From there I went into Leasing, then the Assistant Manager role.  I went through the LIT (Leaders in Training) Program and became a Property Manager, and now I’m an Area Property Manager. I'm really excited for this new opportunity.

Marissa:

Wow, that’s such an awesome story. How did you feel when you were told to show up in khakis because you were being moved into a leasing position?

Brandon:

It was awesome and crazy. Before coming to C&W, and before Pinnacle, I used to work at Panera Bread, where I went through similar career growth. I started off as a Dishwasher, then became a Cashier, then worked Dining Room, Cook, Shift Manager, System Manager, and ended up rolling out a lot of training throughout South Texas. So, I was in a managerial role in a different industry when I switched over to Pinnacle. I brought a lot of managerial experience and a little bit of that background with me. I had the experience of how to talk to and approach someone. Michelle was an intelligent and great manager. I give my hats off to her for immediately noticing my potential, within 15 minutes of our conversation. I got my first lease on my first day as a Leasing Agent, so it was very successful for me, and I was happy about it.

Marissa:

That’s wonderful. So, you went from being an Assistant Manager at Panera Bread to a Groundskeeper here at C&W?

Brandon:

Correct, yes! A little bit of a change, right?!

Marissa:

Yes, that is a big change. So how would you describe the main responsibilities of your current job? What does your typical day look like?

Brandon:

At this moment I'm in the transitioning phase from Property Manager to Area Manager, but I can already see the differences between the roles and I’m excited to make the jump. The thing I'm most excited for is being able to expand my influence across multiple teams and help drive those teams toward their personal goals as well as the property’s goals. At every property I've been at, I tried to instill within my team confidence, knowledge, and the ability to grow within themselves and strive toward their goals.

Marissa:

I love that. Have you had a mentor or someone who inspired you and helped you grow in your career?

Brandon:

Yes. The best part about the moment I joined Pinnacle, now C&W, was the amount of support I received from so many people within this amazing company. If I was to go through just some of the people that have heavily influenced my career growth, I would start with Michelle Hearn, as we just discussed. Jerri Warren inspired me, as did Ginger Bradley, Lisa McDonnell, April Dempsey, Johnny Siharath and Lakisha Mitchell. These people inspired me in many ways and assisted with my personal growth in more ways than one. Of course, there's a lot more people I would love to list, but I don't want to take up your entire day going through them all.

Marissa:

Are there particular skills or experience that you find especially helpful in your current role?

Brandon:

I'm a people person. I try to relate with people and find the best way to connect and motivate them. At the end of the day, we're all people with our own personal goals and agendas. I want to know my team, what they want to do and what will help them get there and be successful in their current roles. Focusing on the people is a great skill that is very helpful in my current role.

Marissa:

Definitely. Is there any training or education that someone needs to have to be in your role?

Brandon:

Yes, but the great thing that I love to brag about C&W about is all the training and educational resources we have available to us. It's all about knowing how to find it and committing the time and attention to bettering yourself. I went through the LIT program back in 2019/2020 and I found that the wealth of information I received from that class alone has been useful every step of the way from then until now. I would urge everyone to use these tools to maximize and strive to be the best they can in their current role as well as get them prepared to take the next role.

Marissa:

What advice do you have for someone who wants to work in a role like yours? What can they do to get there?

Brandon:

Work with your supervisors, talk about your desire for growth, get it out there. Commit yourself and your time to utilizing your resources and network and work with your peers and other properties. Most of all, just be patient. There's always more to learn, even when you feel like you know it all and you are at your capacity. Being patient and honing your craft will make you the best you can possibly be when you are ready to take that next step.

Marissa:

What gets you excited about coming to work?

Brandon:

The people. I've had the absolute pleasure to work with some of the best people in Multifamily right here at Pinnacle / Cushman and Wakefield. The amount of support I've received regularly is exciting by itself. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to work with the most amazing people.

Marissa:

What personal traits and values do you need to succeed or advance in Multifamily Property Management? Because Multifamily is a lot different than Panera Bread or anything else.

Brandon:

Yes, it really is. But at the same time, there are a lot of things that you learn, and a company like Panera Bread translates well into Multifamily. And I'm sitting here in my office looking at this big piece of paper in front of me that lists our 10 Little Things. My personal favorite on the list is “we create amazing customer service”. We're nothing without people, and we're doing a disservice to our clients, our team, our prospects and our residents if we don’t put customer service at the front of our focus. Making a point to do that little extra, making sure we're friendly and paying attention to detail, and if possible, providing that WOW factor, will help in overall success and advancement in property management.

Marissa:

I agree! How do you show colleagues, residents, and clients that you care?

Brandon:

As I just mentioned, paying attention to detail and then actually acting on those details shows you care. When a client mentions they have a sweet tooth, I’ll plan on having cookies available whenever they come out for tours. I think it’s that WOW factor as I mentioned before. Another example is when a future resident states that they don't drink alcohol. We typically put a wine glass or wine bottle in their welcome bag, so instead we exchange that for a goodie bag with treats and sports drinks. I noticed some employees come in every day with a Dr. Pepper from Chick-fil-A, so instead of them having to go out there all the time, I bought them a case of Dr Pepper and put it in the break room. These little things go a long way and make an overall impact.

Marissa:

That’s great, Brandon. So those are little things you do to show you care about your team, clients, and residents; so, I want to ask, what makes you feel cared for at work?

Brandon:

I feel cared for all the time, in different ways from so many people, and it’s beyond appreciated. It’s awesome when someone remembers a birthday or work anniversary and has little treats or coffee delivered to me. Even someone coming by and saying “great job” after I complete a difficult task. It goes back to me bragging about working with some of the best people and I truly do stand by that statement.

Marissa:

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you think would be beneficial for me to know about your career growth or something that would be beneficial for others to know that may want to start a journey like this?

Brandon:

Hard work pays off. Commit your time to training and utilize your resources as much as you can. Sometimes people feel trapped in a bubble within the four little walls of their office, but really, the great thing about C&W is that we have so many different people out there for support. It's all just a matter of getting in contact with them, and establishing a mentor or peer that's in your same position that you can lean on for questions and support.

Marissa:

Thank you for your time, Brandon and Congratulations on your new role!