Natasha Heran

I attribute my success to my mother and my family, especially my grandmother. My mother taught me what it is to really have dedication and hard work and figuring it out. I'm one of five kids, and she figured it out when my parents divorced and it was just her by herself. She was the strongest person I know, just talked through everything, never saw her really struggle, never really complained ever. I think that has taught me a different work ethic. So I'd definitely say my mom taught me the resilience and dedication that drives everything I do.

The best career advice I've ever received is 'you'll figure it out.' Whatever it is, you'll figure it out. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's true. I've always figured out some way, somehow. Somebody I needed to either be an expert or to be a soundboard has always kind of helped me figure it out, doesn't matter what it is. The other big piece of advice is to always put yourself in the other person's shoes. I feel like sometimes people forget that these are people's homes that we manage, and that's probably the closest thing to a person. So when you're telling them that they won't have their home to live in, or that their AC's broken, just stop and put yourself in their shoes and understand they're not really mad at you, they're mad at the situation. If you stop and be a person, you'll get such nicer results.

Write everything down. Don't let there be a continuing education course that you don't look for and listen to. You can learn something from everything, even if it's playing in the background. Sign up for everything. Don't be afraid to ask questions, be yourself, and never stop asking questions and wanting to learn. I think that's so important. And more than anything, learn to tactfully tell somebody something they don't want to hear, but in a way that they have no choice but to respect what you're saying. I think that's so important.

The biggest challenges right now are finding the way with the newest legislation, understanding what associations can and cannot do, and making sure that we're enforcing the right laws. It's also about making sure that people who are trying to change the laws are doing so in a way that makes sense for the industry as a whole. I learned this when I went to Tallahassee and sat with our congressmen, trying to figure out what is what and why they're trying to pass certain things. Unfortunately, with Surfside and the buildings collapsing, that has changed a lot of things. It's been the best way for some associations to realize that we really do need to fix things and make sure buildings are okay and safe and sound. But unfortunately, that also affects whether people can afford to live there. Those things pull at your heart, but they're huge issues for us right now.

Honesty and loyalty are the most important values to me. I think if you mess up professionally, just talk to me so we can figure it out together, figure out what we need to fix, who we need to speak to, do crisis damage control. In my personal life, that's also important because I just like to know where everybody stands and how they feel about things. I think our time is very precious. I don't want to waste my manager's time doing something that's pointless, and I don't want to waste anybody's time in my personal life either. Loyalty in the sense that I can trust my managers to do the right thing when I'm not there, because they're essentially dealing with a multi-million dollar investment. They need to know the right things to do for their fiduciary responsibilities. Sometimes it's easier just to turn a blind eye or let a board member run wild, but you have to do what's right according to Florida statutes and what's right morally. Those things matter.