Proud Father

Proud Father

As most of you know, I am a competitive person who takes

pleasure in doing some (outrageously) difficult athletic

endeavors. Last summer I ran 75 miles in an ultra-marathon,

and in the fall I completed a double Ironman which took just

under 35 hours with no sleep. I participate in these events

because I love the thrill of extraordinary achievement.

Last week was a bit of a turning point in my life. I was

up before dawn on a cold morning, but not to start my

daily training run. It was to take my daughter to her first

synchronized ice-skating competition. I am proud to say that

my daughter's team came in first place. The feeling that I

had watching my daughter compete in the event was the

same emotional feeling I get from crossing the finish line in a

marathon, but a lot less physically painful.


The moral of the story (besides bragging about my daughter)

, is that managers have a great opportunity to grow -- by

teaching young associates and then encouraging them to

go make things happen on their own; giving them guidance

and proper training, and then empowering them to go and

do it themselves; being a safety net, not a babysitter. Sure

mistakes will happen, but that is how people learn and

everyone will be much better off from the experience. In the

end, the goal is to create an environment that enables our

team members to succeed on their own and experience the joy when

that happens, much like the excitement I had seeing my

daughter succeed on her own.

Now for a Signature story. Over the past week, a resident

came to see Linda Moore to work out a payment plan on his

back rent. At the meeting, our resident explained that due to

the bad economy, he was broke and couldn't afford food for

his family. Linda listened carefully. But instead of acting like

a typical property manager, who would work out a payment

plan, have the resident sign and agree to strict payment

terms, Linda excused herself from the meeting. She walked

to her apartment put some groceries in a bag, returned to

the meeting, and gave the bag of groceries to the resident.

Some owners would be upset that the resident didn't pay last

months rent, but I am very proud of what Linda did to help a

resident in need. There is no rule in the Signature handbook

to evaluate when to give back to a resident. It comes from

giving our team members the freedom to do what they think

is right. It was a proud moment for me to hear that story. I

know that I will be telling that story many times in the future

(just like bragging about my kids). I am glad that we have a

culture at Signature Community that gives team members

like Linda the opportunity to take this type of initiative.

Thanks for making me proud to be the leader of Signature

Community.

--
Nickolas Jekogian
CEO
Signature Community
917-763-3500
www.ASignatureCommunity.com
Blog -http://www.nwjceommm.blogspot.com/

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