Lucinda Lilley on winning the CPM of the Year award!
At the IREM Global Summit in Ft. Lauderdale a few years ago, I spent some amazing quality time with other IREM members. As we shared stories of our professional lives, I spoke of having a dream. Yes, I developed my “I have a dream!” speech.
My dream? To shift the profession of Property Management from a profit only centric profession to one that is equally as human centric. To develop leaders in our industry to care about our teams, our clients, and our renters and tenants as highly as our predecessors have cared about their profits and their egos. A popular observation? No, I am sure not. And as we look at business from a historical perspective, not just property management, that was where the rubber met the road.
Maxwell and Teaching
Later the same year I attended a week long Leadership Development immersion with the John Maxwell Team where I earned a certification in Coaching, Speaking, and Training. I developed a hunger for personal and leadership growth and development that excites me every single day.
To that end, I offer Master Mind Groups to emerging (and experienced!) leaders in Property Management as we study books written by John C. Maxwell. Books such as “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth”, “Failing Forward”, “Leadershift”, “Everyone Communicates, Few Connect”, and “Developing the Leader Within”. My personal growth and development has made me a better leader within my organization, for IREM, and for the property management industry at large.
I currently serve as the President of the Southern California Rental Housing Association where I have been a member for more than 20 years. I am the Immediate Past President of IREM San Diego where I served two terms as President (2019 and 2020). Serving on the IREM Ethics Committee, as an IREM Instructor, an Ethics Facilitator, and am the Chairperson for the 2021 IREM Global Summit. I have served the REstart® program since its inception in 1999 and am the Treasurer for the non-profit organization that licenses affiliates to offer the program we developed (Bobby Jo Lewis Foundation). REstart® is a training and development program that empowers disadvantaged individuals to a new start by teaching them a version of RES201 that was written for this audience by amazing individuals at IREM HQ.
I am a National Apartment Association Facilitator and teach classes for CAM®, CAPS®, and CALP®. I serve on the National Apartment Association Education Institute’s Program and Curriculum Committee.
President of the SCRHA
I am legislatively active as an advocate for the rights of property owners and the responsibilities that come with the right to lease property to others. Currently, I lead the charge in our efforts to defeat a county ordinance that seriously threatens real property ownership. I participate in legislative efforts at the local, State, and Federal level. Ted Thurn is my hero.
I spearheaded the IREM San Diego Covid Task force in 2020 to address the ever changing needs of our chapter as the world shut down. Our focus was on membership engagement and financial management of our organization in the time of crisis. We shifted quickly to meet the needs of our membership and Industry Providers as we offered electronic seminars bi-weekly.
COVID
Upon returning from the Capitol Fly in I initiated a daily electronic company meeting. Remember we sent our team home to work remotely on March 16, 2020. This has provided our organization an opportunity to get to know one another in a way. We miss organic conversations that happen in person. But, we see and connect with each other every single weekday to discuss successes and failures and realize opportunities.
During this time and prior to I initiated a personal and leadership development program. In our company we conduct two Master Mind Groups each week. Employee retention and effectiveness has increased dramatically. This program has enabled our team members to identify their strengths and weaknesses. It also empowers them to focus on areas of their greatest growth. By re-imagining our organization to place our associates in roles designed to meet their strengths, we have been able to meet the growing demands of our clients and our residents.
As our teams went to work virtually, we created an outreach program to check on our residents regularly. We don’t just call when we need something, we call to see if they are ok. The result is a much higher resident retention level and willingness to work with us through the hard times. As the Executive CPM® for FBS Property Management, AMO®, Ethics is a daily focus. We teach the Articles of the IREM Code of Ethics during onboarding. And always discuss “doing the right thing” in our daily meetings. The Code of Ethics guides our Operations Team’s every decision.
IREM Designation
We promote the IREM certifications and the CPM® Designation with our team members and offer to pay for their education with IREM and currently have one other CPM® and an ARM® who is striving to earn his CPM®. As a team of 15, that’s pretty good. We also promote the Certifications offered through NAA. We taught our entire staff the CALP® curriculum.
I have recruited many IREM hopefuls into our membership. It has been great watching many as they have earned their CPM® designations. Ultimately they have become the Executive CPM® in their own company’s becoming an AMO®. I am honored to be nominated for this recognition.
