Jaimie Lance

I attribute my success to the mentorship I received early in my career and my commitment to paying that forward. I started from ground zero as a receptionist in 1989 with no industry connections, and I wasn't able to work my way up without the woman who took the time to mentor me. She was a pioneer in the commercial real estate industry in St. Louis, and she showed me exactly what was possible and groomed me for my role today. What I'm most proud of is developing the teams that have worked for me and being able to pay that mentorship forward. I believe a lot of organizations miss out on empathetic leadership because they think if you're kind and caring, you're not necessarily effective or that you don't rule with an iron fist. But I've actually had a lot of success with leading by example, guiding folks, and setting clear expectations, all of the things that were established for me early on in my career. I think that ties back into having empathy and being an empathetic leader, just meeting people where they are in their career and life in general.

Learn, ask questions, never stop. Have confidence in yourself that just because you don't know something doesn't mean that's diminishing your capabilities, it's just that you're growing from mistakes. You grow from those mistakes. But you gotta have a seat at the table, and sometimes that requires yourself to be more assertive. Especially in the commercial real estate industry, it's male dominated, you know, a lot of construction trades and things of that nature. You have to have a voice and know, and have the confidence that you belong where you are at that point in time.

Helping people is what I value most. I like to help people, and I'm kind of a caretaker by nature, which is part of my personality. Even in property management, there are always issues to address and solve for, and I love being able to do that. The challenges help me grow, and there's not one day, even as far along in my career as I've been, where I'm not learning something new. It's very rewarding to me to see things go from one point to another and see betterment along the way. I think it all ties back to paying it forward. I was a young mother, a single mother, and there were services and things that over the years I had to have to help support me and my family. I'm a domestic abuse survivor as well, so I like to give back to the groups that helped me. I think that ties back into having empathy and being an empathetic leader and just meeting people where they are in their career and life in general.