Strengthening Your Team: The Impact of Mentorship

By: Amanda Madrid, RPA, FMA, LEED Green Associate

Mentorship is something that I hold dear to my heart and have throughout my career. It is something that provides me personal and professional fulfillment. One of my greatest joys in being a part of BOMA Georgia is the community and family we foster.

Mentorship is one of the best ways to build loyalty and trust while retaining the talented people we invest in. Mentorship and teaching are things we all do, whether we are conscious of it or not.

The impact of mentorship is immense. Teams are more productive when everyone is moving in the same direction, and a mentorship program can give direction as an employee becomes a key part of your organization. Mentorship can build a foundation for them to stand on as they push through the challenges we all face.

Actively invest in your mentees. Enable their continued education and teach them directly while building their self-value. Mentorship programs help create an environment where people can grow and learn from each other; improving their performance both as individuals and as a team.

Industry Introduction

A mentee who understands the culture of the commercial real estate (CRE) industry is more likely to contribute positively to your organization. A mentorship program can be an excellent way of helping your employees to understand our industry’s work culture and fit into it. Property management is a unique and at times challenging role. Understanding the industry and growing into their role in it will let your mentee to thrive. Your mentorship program does not necessarily need to be a one-toone program. Regular check-ins can be a great way to see where your mentee is in their acclimation to the organization.

Mentorship can take many forms and adjusting to the unique needs of your mentee will give them the tools they need to succeed more effectively. Bring them to industry events and introduce them to your peers.

A simple introduction from a leader can have an immense benefit in the respect they are given from peers. Show that your mentee has someone behind them and give them the support they need to do their job more effectively and interact with the vendors and tenants who populate our industry.

While it’s important to help people get to know each other through social activities and group outings, it’s also important to help people to understand our industry so that they can feel comfortable and productive in their working environment and can rely on their colleagues and peers when the going gets tough.

BOMA Georgia is a family, and while we all compete in the same industry, we also help each other and rely on each other. Building those relationships and bringing your mentee into them will help them grow into commercial real estate.

Mentors can have a large impact on the productivity of their mentees by providing advice, tips and best practices. Mentors can provide mentees with access to their own experience and expertise to help mentees reach their full potential. This can be especially effective in helping people to deal with problems that occur on a more regular basis.

Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

Teams that develop their own leaders through mentor/mentee programs can develop loyalty and staying power in their employees. A mentor and mentee relationship can help members of your team develop the skills and expertise to become future leaders while increasing the productivity of your team even further.

Giving your mentees the information and experience you have developed at your properties can put them a step ahead of the challenges we have faced. Things like what a tenant prefers, how to solve specific issues, how to navigate and solve a mistake.

Mentorship also gives an opportunity to foster and develop a more diverse workforce. Ensuring that people from a variety of cultures, backgrounds and ages can access mentorship programs and grow into our industry will ensure the excellence of our next generation of leaders.

Our industry benefits from a diversity of thought and experiences, the different perspectives we see the world through allow us to react to anything and everything.

A diversity of thought enables CRE to continue to sit at the edge of innovating by defining the trends that affect us all. Growing this team can lead to numerous future benefits and will allow your next generation of leaders to utilize a diversity of thoughts and experiences as they lead your organizations.

Passive Mentorship

While active mentorship through check-ins and investments are important, another part of it is the idea of passive mentorship, which embraces the importance of leading by example. Be an example, show your mentee how you handle both the good and bad situations.

The highest praise a mentee can give you is a silent one – confidence and success – and it can be seen in how they conduct themselves every day.

Passive mentorship can be strengthened through the active investments you make in your mentee and can show up as your mentee continues the cycle of mentorship. It is important to remember that we are not just raising the next generation of leaders, but the way we teach and grow them will define how they mentor in the future.

Investing in People

Earlier, I discussed how important it is to invest in our mentees and employees. Continuing education and membership in industry organizations are some of the ways we can invest in our people and grow their skills.

A mentorship program can help to provide your team with a wide range of continuing education opportunities and can help your team to stay up to date with the latest and best practices in commercial real estate.

One excellent example of this is BOMA Georgia’s nationally awardwinning Inclusive Leadership Certificate Program. I had the pleasure to take part in this year’s program, and I gained so much from it. The Inclusive Leadership Certificate Program was developed in late 2021 to offer a collaborative education experience for managers and mentors.

Through these classes, I saw the similarities we share, along with the struggles we have had to overcome throughout our careers, and particularly over the past several years. I had the opportunity to hear firsthand how people have overcome their struggles and grown and developed into the people they are today.

One of the program topics was emotional intelligence, and how developing and being aware of one’s own emotional intelligence promotes and encourages greater success.

From time to time, all of us have felt unwelcome and excluded in our professional and personal lives. The main topic of the program is inclusivity, an important and dynamic topic particularly in the context of today’s world.

As leaders, we need to sense and recognize when someone around us is feeling excluded, and act swiftly to remedy. We also have a responsibility to use the experience as a teaching moment for others. I recommend that as leaders and future leaders you consider enrolling in a program like this.

Your investment will yield enrichment and insight into your own emotional intelligence.

Next Steps

A mentorship program can be an excellent way of helping your colleagues to reach their full potential. By helping your team members to get to know each other and learn from each other, you can help to foster a positive culture of collaboration and encourage your team members to grow and learn from each other.

This is just the start of the benefits you can expect from growing and investing in your team. If you are looking to strengthen your team, mentorship can be a great approach. It can help to build stronger relationships between team members, grow the loyalty they feel towards your organization, and provide opportunities for learning and growth.

About the Author

Amanda Madrid, RPA, FMA, LEED Green Associate, is the Associate Director at Cushman & Wakefield, she currently serves as the 2022 BOMA Georgia President.

She is an innovative, detail-oriented, and highly effective Commercial Property Manager with 25+ years of experience in managing property operations to minimize costs and maximize income while achieving excellent client satisfaction. She is a high-energy leader with excellent communication and negotiation skills who works effectively with staff, clients and fellow executive team members alike to consistently achieve or exceed operational objectives

Amanda earned the Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation from the Building Owners and Managers Institute International (BOMI International) in 2008; the Facility Management Administrator (FMA) designation from BOMI International in 2009; the LEED Green Associate designation from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2011; and obtained a Georgia real estate license in 2014.