Starting to get it - now what

I’m a junior guy a couple years in who feels like they’ve started to grasp the deliverables and junior work. As a result I’m becoming more efficient and finding I have more and more downtime. I know I’ll be in the industry long term.

So writing this thread NOT to ask how to get promoted. But how to be good once you are.

Like what are good ways to prepare for when you are more senior? I’m good about networking and I really more mean like what are things some of the more senior people on here didn’t know until they got promoted or what skills do they wish they had started to build earlier on as a junior. What do you wish you had done more with your down time, etc.

8 Comments
 

Stepping into a senior role means shifting from executing deals to shaping them and guiding others to do the same. Even when things are at their hardest, and your hands are tired, and your lips are chapped, you still have to swallow your pride and drive your work to completion. The mindset of “nothing happens unless you make it happen” will take you far. 

...but is it REPE?
 

Read all your legal documents to a T and understand them, where the risks lie in them, and why certain clauses exist. You can screenshot sections and ask ChatGPT to explain. Talking PSA, PM agreements, Leasing agreements, JV agreements, etc. This is the most boring task ever but the easiest way to take a step up is being well versed in them. 

 

Assist. VP in RE - Comm

You can screenshot sections and ask ChatGPT to explain. 

Ask a person to explain, not the slop machine that routinely makes shit up. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
Most Helpful

Great question and hats off to thinking this way, this mentality will serve your career well. Agreed with the guidance above surrounding legal documents, great advice. Absolutely do that and I’ll go a different direction to add to the conversation.

One bit of advice that I give younger professionals and students that worked extremely well for me is to train your executive mind before you’re in the seat (so your timing is perfect here).

If you are fortunate enough to have a seat at the table but do not yet have decision making power then start the exercise of regularly stepping back and asking major questions to size up the situation to test your judgement. 

The biggest question you want to answer is what would you have done in this situation and why? Track and measure the results based on your coarse of action internally so you can start to get a sense of your judgement in which situations or settings. 

Over time, you will develop much better judgement as well as a sense of your own abilities which is essential to leading at a senior level. You must regularly unpack complicated issues to get to identify and solve the biggest key causes and THEN you must get the team’s buy in while keeping in mind both your and individual team member’s capabilities. 

Execution is everything but a huge part of good execution is knowing who to trust in which situations to ensure you get the best outcome possible. Focus on reading about how to effective team build (I like books like Culture Code for example) and use this time to refine your judgement as well as build your soft skills.

 

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