“BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND” I am not sure if Stephen Covey (of & Habits of Highly Effective People fame) first coined this phrase or not, but he is the first one I ever heard it from and it has stayed with me ever sense. Doesn’t it make sense?! We don’t (at least most of us don’t) strikeout on a vacation without having any idea where we are going. Similarly, you are looking at a major change in your life here and while you may not know specifically where that is leading, you need to at lease know it what direction to point yourself.
I have put together a couple of self-assessment tools for you to help you figure out if property management is right for you . . . or are you right for it! Take a few moments and work on these. I think you will find them well worth your investment of time!
Here you are:
GIFT AND TALENT CONSTRUCT
This is a self-examination exercise. We are not necessarily going to be interpreting your answers for you. This is a job for you in a quiet, reflective place. In our busy world, it is difficult for us to slow down and reflect. Well, this needs to be one of those times. Go to a quiet place where you will be comfortable and can hope not to be disturbed for an hour or so. This construct may or may not give you the answers and direction you want right away. What it will do, though, is open your mind to a different way of thinking about yourself and what you have to offer others. This is a process, not a simple fix.
Answer the following questions as honestly as you can and see what kind of possibilities turn up for you. Don’t limit your answers, just write the first things that come to your mind, don’t over-think this. If multiple answers come flooding in, write them all down and work through them later.
- What activity are you typically engaged in when you experience the quickening of time or lose track of time. This quickening of time is from losing yourself due to enjoyment or passion rather than from stress or being overwhelmed by too much to do.
- When you enjoy the quickening of time, are you typically by yourself, with your friends, colleagues or your spouse? Who is It?!
- If money were not an issue, what would you absolutely love to do with most of your time?
- What gifts and talents have you been blessed with, that you could use to be a blessing to others (musical talent, good ability to communicate, great marriage, an aptitude for math, a gift for hospitality, a gift for putting things into processes, etc.) ?
- In what ways do you think you could use these things to bless others either in the workplace or otherwise?
We define a “Life Transition” as an event in your life that changed your life, but did not change who you were. This is just a part of life; new job, a promotion, moving to a different residence, etc. We define a “Life Gate” as an event in your life that changed who you are and you can’t pass back through that life gate in the other direction and get back to who you were before. An example of this is a parent, child or spouse dying, having a child, breaking up with someone or changing careers or sub-careers.
Create a timeline for your own life and mark all of the “Life Transitions” and “Life Gates” in your life and how they changed you for the positive and the negative. Later, think about the positive aspects of each change.
Click here to review a sample of a construct on my own life: Career Life Gate Construct
You may also want to refer to the posting previous to this for the discussion on this construct.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEMPERAMENT ASSESSMENT
This assessment deals with your temperament. Do you have the temperament that is conducive to being successful and fulfilled as a property manager?
For each question below, place a number from 0 to 5 in the right margin to indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the statement.
0 = STRONGLY DISAGREE and 5 = STRONGLY AGREE.
- If I have planned my day and several things come up that prevent me from accomplishing my plan, I’m OK with that and just go with the flow.
- I don’t mind taking time after I leave the office for the day to deal with issues from work.
- I am wary of people’s motives. I am reluctant to take them at face value at first.
- I have worked in either real estate or home-building before in my career and have a strong aptitude in those areas.
- I am very much “customer oriented” and do everything in my power to exceed my customers’ or clients’ expectations.
- I like a high-energy job where the scope of what I do varies from day to day.
- I like to be challenged each day by new experiences and situations to resolve.
- I understand basic remodeling and redecorating of homes and what is required to get the work done.
- I understand financial statements and know how to figure out if they show a profit or a loss.
- I have or would like to have my real estate license.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT TEMPERMENT ASSESSMENT
Scoring yourself:
If your score is between 40 and 50, then you are most-likely well suited for a career in property management. You will still have a learning curve but Go-for It!!
If your score is between 25 and 40, you are in the gray area here. Getting into the mindset for property management will take some work and adjustment on your part. We can all make changes in our lives, but getting your head wrapped around the temperament requirements will probably prove to be somewhat stressful and challenging for you. You can do it if you want it badly enough.
If your score is below 25, property management may prove to be a pretty tough challenge for you. Feel free to test the waters by working as an intern with a property management firm. I would challenge you to look at the questions you answered with less than a 3 and do some soul searching in those areas. Are you willing to change in those areas or is that just who you are, and would you be happier doing something besides property management?
If you are finding this blog interesting, you will want to visit our website and discover the other helpful property managment tools and assessments that are available to you.
Thank you for reading!
PatandKrisLarkin.com 