Introducing the NARPM Women’s Leadership Council

Summary: Over the last few months, there’s been a new development at the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM). The Women’s Leadership Council has been formed, and it’s growing. This group is still new and a work in progress, but their first event is coming up, and we asked Kellie Tollifson (NARPM President) and Chrissy Wade (Wellspring Property Management) to join us and talk about why this group is so necessary and what it aims to achieve. Key Takeaways: * The Women’s Leadership Council is a group that was formed with the intention of providing women in property management with more confidence and strong public speaking skills * Kellie & Chrissy are hoping to eventually host quarterly events and make this organization a new committee at NARPM. * This is a new group that is in the process of growing and evolving. The founders’ goal is to make this group as inclusive as possible. * Their first event is “Elevate your Game & Take the Fear Out of Public Speaking” on November 12, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. PST and 2:00 pm. EST Meeting a Need in Property Management Leadership Women often don’t feel represented at industry events, and that’s not unique to the property management industry. When Chrissy began talking to other women about this, the response was incredible. She received a lot of feedback and private messages from women who wanted to do more and expressed a desire to be speakers at different events and conferences. One of the problems that Chrissy ran into was that many of these women who wanted to speak, didn’t have a huge portfolio of past speaking engagements or leadership roles. So the first step seemed to be to prepare women for those public speaking engagements. Chrissy felt strongly about not putting an inexperienced woman on a major stage if she’s never had that experience. So, Chrissy and Kellie began talking and recognized the interest in and importance of building confidence and developing public speaking skills for women in the property management industry. A lack of experience in public speaking is a huge barrier to leadership positions for women. The group’s first event is aimed at removing a lot of the fear and uncertainty about speaking in public and sharing your voice. Encouraging Women to Speak Up The first event is called Elevate your Game & Take the Fear Out of Public Speaking. The keynote speaker is Dr. Michelle Mazur, who runs Communication Rebel and has made a business out of developing speakers. She’s going to talk about removing a lot of the barriers that women feel, which will empower them to have their voices heard, whether that’s in the boardroom, in small group meetings, or in large conferences. Participants will come away with tools to fortify their ability to speak up. Our society has set up and reinforced expectations of women that make it difficult for them to feel safe and confident speaking their mind. There will be practical tips on preparing to speak and accessing the confidence needed to move forward professionally and personally. Historically, women haven’t been encouraged to speak up. Women have been raised for generations to be supportive and nurturing — and quiet. Women need the tools to trust themselves and navigate an industry that historically has favored men’s voices over women’s. A lot of women in leadership know that one of the first steps in taking the initiative in the business world is accessing confidence in their own thoughts and ideas. Communication is where everything starts. Events like this will give women with diverse backgrounds e...