Tell me about your career journey and how you ended up at Turner Real Estate.

My background is actually in journalism which I worked in after university.  From there, I enjoyed working on policy in government and that led me to the Real Estate Institute and then into a large agency.

How has your experience shaped your style of leadership?

I learnt early on, to never underestimate people. Often, the best outcomes come from left field or when someone unexpected has had to step up. Finding a role for people, something that they can really own, allows them to grow and take others with them.

What are the three top qualities that make a good leader?

Understanding your team’s strengths and challenges is really important to know who’s ready for what next.

Also, building skills across the team is important to show people what they can achieve in a supported way.

I’d also say that wanting to always learn more is critical too – it keeps you inspired and focused.

What changes have you implemented at Turner Real Estate? Why did you make these changes?

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The business has doubled in size and through this change, we’ve had to become more systemised and cohesive to ensure that our service is consistent and that we can grow and scale.

We’ve embraced technology but always balanced this with our service values – technology is used more of an internal tool to ensure we are giving the best to clients and working efficiently to do this.

What are some of the attributes you look for in a candidate when hiring?

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Real estate requires a lot of energy and also resilience. Whether you’re working in sales or property management, we are dealing with a high volume of people, often in stressful situations.

Being able to offer positive solutions and offer great energy to a situation really makes a big difference.

You can teach skills, but people need to have that positive mindset to succeed in real estate.

What are your top tips for someone looking to work in the real estate sector?

A lot of people are drawn to sales and for those willing to do extremely long hours and are excellent networkers, it’s a rewarding career, both financially and also personally.

There is opportunity in property management which is suited for problem solvers and those who genuinely love helping others.

Day-to-day, property management can be challenging with difficult tenancy issues to navigate.

However, there is also immense reward in getting through those challenges and helping people with their housing needs.

All roles in real estate are fast-paced and focused on client interaction, so you need to love people, be a fast mover and be able to think outside the box.

What is the most rewarding part of working at Turner Real Estate?

Being part of a large team allows you to succeed individually, but also be part of a bigger success too.

Ultimately, the best rewards come from working with our clients and seeing them happy in their new home, with their sale, moving into a new rental or building their portfolios.

That’s when we can see what really does have a lasting impact on people.

On a personal level, I love seeing our team become more skilled, take on larger challenges and achieve more working together.

What are some of the biggest challenges of working in the real estate sector?

One of the biggest challenges of real estate is the amount of conflict and stress we deal with, with our clients daily.

Whether it’s working through a sales process where the seller is nervous and the buyers are anxious or it’s a tricky tenancy where the owner and tenancy just can’t agree, there’s a lot of emotion in what we do.

But equally, this is what delivers the best reward and we also have the skills and ability to lead people through these stressful times and getting to the other side is a great feeling.

For some, the crazy hours we work are a challenge – but for others, this also offers flexibility that others don’t have.  So there are some unique quirks to the role, but lots of benefits too.

What are some of the trends you have noticed in the current real estate environment?

Real estate has undergone a period of consolidation where smaller agencies have found it harder to survive, especially when sales volumes have been low.

This has resulted in larger offices growing, the increased use of technology and more flexibility in the workplace.

Like many industries, we have also found client expectations increasing, but real estate has always been a seven-day-a-week job, so I believe we have adapted to this better than some other sectors.

What would your ideal weekend look like?

I’m fortunate not to work too much on the weekend now, so I like to start off with some great coffee, getting to my gym, Orange Fitness, spending time with the family, ensuring that my golden retriever gets a trip to the park or beach and reading a thriller on my Kindle.