Principles for Leadership

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Hey friend,

Welcome to the 27th weekly edition of Pillow Talk! This is where I share my unfiltered thoughts on life, business, and property management.

This week is episode five of Common Threads🧵

As part of the 2025 Leading Women in Property Management program (LWPM), each honoree answered a questionnaire covering a wide range of topics. We noticed that, despite coming from different generations and backgrounds, they share remarkably similar experiences and perspectives.

This series explores those common threads and shares what it takes to become a leader in property management 💪

Common Threads 🧵 Episode #5: Principles for Leadership

The 2025 Leading Women in Property Management honorees know a lot about leadership. They’ve all led multiple PM teams and held leadership roles in NARPM and other associations.

We asked each to describe their leadership philosophy in their LWPM questionnaire, and they all shared great insights into how they approach leading others.

We studied all twelve responses and summarized them into nine principles for leading in property management:

1. Encourage team-wide contribution. Teams take greater ownership and pride in their work when they feel their contribution matters.

“I really try hard to make sure that everyone gets an opportunity to participate in the discussions and that we can make a decision based upon consensus.” - Amy Hanson

“I believe the best ideas and solutions emerge from the collective thinking of the team. I believe in open communication, encouraging opinions, and empowering each individual to contribute their unique insights to our shared goals.” - Angela Holman

2. Be hands-on. Being hands-on means rolling up your sleeves and getting your own boots on the ground when needed. Leaders can’t be afraid to do the work themselves when delegating isn’t an option.

“My leadership philosophy is hands-on and rooted in empowering team members to reach specific short-term and long-term goals. I believe in routine, proactive communication, looking at mistakes as coaching opportunities, and in developing training techniques that match learning styles.” - Ashley Andreoni-Romo

“Leadership to me isn’t about titles—it’s about setting the example, jumping in when it matters, and making sure the team feels supported to do their best.” - Pamela Greene

3. Set your team up for success. It would be unreasonable to expect any employee’s output to meet your expectations if they don’t have the tools and direction they need to do their job.

“Leadership is about setting others up to succeed. When you create the right foundation with processes, technology, strategy, and structure, your team has the clarity to know where the boundaries are and the freedom to focus on their highest and best contribution.” - Kelli Segretto

4. Lead by example. Leading by example earns trust and respect. If employees don’t trust or respect you, they probably won’t work for you, let alone follow you. It’s also the most effective way to set the tone and culture in your company.

“I will not ask someone to do something that I am not willing to do.” - Misty Berger

5. Lead with the “Why.” The why behind the work provides purpose. Purpose provides motivation and a reason to persevere.

“I never want someone on my team to feel like they’re just following orders without understanding the bigger picture. When people know the reason behind what they’re doing, they’re not only more engaged and empowered, but they’re also better equipped to serve our clients and residents with confidence and care.” - Bess Wozniak

6. Invest in personal and professional development. It improves performance, retention, attracts talent, and shows employees you’re on their side.

“I believe in professional and personal development investments for my team. I encourage all of them to be NARPM members and take as many classes as they can to enhance their personal and career development.” - DD Garzon

7. Prioritize what matters most. Because there are so many things competing for it, a leader’s time must be ruthlessly prioritized. Focus it on things only you can do that have the biggest impact.

“As the leader, it’s my job to set the direction and make sure my team has the resources they need to succeed. I work hard on those two things because I see them as my highest value contributions.” - Jennifer Ruelens

8. Be a servant. This is one of the most proven philosophies for building a positive company culture.

“I think the best way for me to summarize it would be servant leadership. John C. Maxwell really opened my eyes to what that was. Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead book pushed me to explore the areas of leadership that were really uncomfortable for me and led me to a new level of servant leadership.” -Kellie Tollifson

“I believe that leadership is not about authority, but about creating an environment where people feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow.” - Melissa Sharone

9. Lead with compassion. Treat your employees as humans, not numbers. You know, the way you’d like to be treated. This principle fosters loyalty. And loyal employees tend to go above and beyond for you and for the client.

“I believe strong leadership starts with genuinely caring about people, understanding their strengths, challenges, and goals, so they feel supported and empowered to succeed. Compassion doesn’t mean lowering expectations; it means creating an environment where people feel safe to grow, make mistakes, and learn.” - Liz Cleyman

Good night 😴

Lior Abramovich
Co-founder, CEO