Creating a successful career in commercial real estate is challenging. As women real estate professionals advance their careers, they must take risks, network, find mentors and establish a work life balance.
These were among the topics discussed by panelists Jolynne Bartolotta, partner and VP of business services at Fogel-Anderson Construction Co.; Lenore Caldwell, client development executive at MillerKnoll; Melissa Gall, associate at Range Realty Partners; Anastasia Huggins, associate principal at Lamar Johnson Collaborative; and Mara Sabatini, VP and senior project manager at Hoefer Welker, who shared their personal journeys in the industry, at MetroWire Media’s Kansas City Women in Commercial Real Estate event last week. Deb Blaylock, director of business development at Haren Companies, moderated.
Bartolotta and Sabatini faced the challenge of being discounted for being the youngest people in the room when they began their careers.
Bartolotta joined her family’s business in her early 20s. Her father had served for several years on a well-known board for general contractors. By the time she was 27 or 28, her father turned over the board membership to Bartolotta. At her first meeting, she was the only woman among a group of men twice her age.
“Everybody was looking at me like why the hell is this little girl in this room. After the event, everyone went out onto the patio to have a glass of wine, a cocktail, network, and again, I’m still the only woman in the room. So I walk up to this circle of men, and that circle really quickly closed. But, eight out of 10 of these men I knew because I grew up around them, and I literally just grabbed one guy’s arm and I ducked under it,” she said.
Sabatini said when she was the youngest one in the room, she just spoke up and showed the value she could bring and the different perspective and ideas she could offer.
Lenore Caldwell, Client Development Executive at MillerKnoll, shares her insights during MWM's panel discussion at last week’s 2024 KC Women in CRE event. Photo Credit: Jacia Phillips | Arch Photo KC
Because there are not a lot of women in brokerage roles in Kansas City, Gall said she was encouraged when she joined the industry to meet with as many other brokers as she could, both men and women. She learned from other women who shared their experiences about the differences and challenges of negotiating deals differently from men.
“You have to go into it knowing that you’re not like everyone else and you’re not going to be the same cup of tea as somebody maybe twice your age with three times as much experience. What I’ve found and what I’ve learned more and more by looking at other women doing incredible things, whether they’re in commercial real estate or in ancillary industries, is just being themselves,” said Gall.
Caldwell emphasized the importance of networking in her career development.
“I feel that making connections with people in your industry and even outside of your industry just allows you to expand your knowledge base and your perspective on what you’re seeing and doing. Not only has networking really offered me the ability to expand my knowledge base, but because I did come into the industry a little bit later in my professional life, it also is affording me the opportunities to collaborate . . . and different career opportunities,” Caldwell said.
The panelists shared the different techniques and strategies they use to achieve a viable work life balance.
“Work life balance is different for everybody. It doesn’t necessarily mean kids. It can mean self-care and travel and all the things you have to do to take care of the home front,” said Blaylock.
Caldwell said she approaches work life balance as self-care, which she schedules weekly.
“I often joke with my friends and my colleagues that I look at self-care also as instructions from a flight attendant. When you have a decrease in cabin pressure, put your oxygen mask on first before you help others. I schedule my self-care weekly, and I feel like that is what helps me balance my personal life and my professional life because it helps me stay centered. It helps me stay clear. It helps me to be more of an empathetic person. It helps me keep my energy reserves up for my family, but also professionally. . . . [I]n the commercial real estate industry, we’re always involved in these complex situations that really need nuanced solutions, and I have to have my energy and my focus,” she said.
For Huggins, traveling the world with her husband is important for her work life balance. She is a proponent of using paid time off (PTO). But, she said, it is important to communicate with your teams, your collaborators and your clients to set expectations in preparation for taking time off.
Attendees enjoy the MetroWire Media panel discussion at the KC Women in CRE event, hosted at 2345 Grand. Image Credit: Jacia Phillips | Arch Photo KC
According to Bartolotta, it was crucial to create a village of support, and she asks for help when she needs it.
“Being vulnerable is okay. Asking for help is okay. Nobody was meant to have to do careers and life on their own,” she said.
The panelists emphasized the importance of being mentored in establishing their careers. Many of their mentors have been male.
“I had a wonderful male mentor when I first came into the industry, and he really took me by the hand. . . . He didn’t ask me to change. He just asked me to know what I was doing and be accountable,” said Caldwell.
The panelists offered advice to young women who are considering a career in commercial real estate.
“Speak up and don’t be afraid to take risks. . . . Ask questions. Don’t be afraid. There’s really no stupid question,” said Sabatini.
Caldwell stressed the importance of believing in your core abilities and being a continuous learner.
“If you are continually looking to learn and make yourself better, you will move up and you will earn the respect of your colleagues and clients,” she said.
“Allow yourself to sit at the table. Don’t sit at the back of the room. If you don’t know what someone’s talking about, take a note. Ask later. Definitely don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t let that imposter syndrome voice overpower you. Just find your people. Find either women in your industry or men and lean on them. Ask them questions. I think everyone’s willing to share their experience and their knowledge,” said Huggins.
Bartolotta advised never to say no to an opportunity. “Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. That’s how you grow,” she said.
“You’re going to be underestimated at some time, at some point, and that’s okay. I choose to look at it as a way to learn and get more out of the experience,” said Gall.
Header image of the KC Women in CRE panelists from (L to R); Jolynne Bartolotta, Anastasia (Stacy) Huggins, Melissa Gall, Lenore Caldwell, Mara Sabatini, Lisa Newberg (Shackelford), and Deb Blaylock. Photo credit: Jacia Phillips | Arch Photo KC