Issue 03: The Best Career Advice I Never Received
Welcome to the next instalment of Inspire Your Story – Real Estate.
For a long time, I thought success meant becoming a CEO.
It felt like the title that proved you had made it. The position that confirmed that your experience, leadership and contribution had finally been recognised.
But as my career developed, I began to understand something I wish someone had told me much earlier…
Your title does not define your value. Your results do.
I have built a successful consultancy, delivered major sales programmes, supported organisations through change, advised senior leadership teams on next steps and presented strategies to boards. I get to do what I do, because I’m good at it. The results I achieve are what inform my reputation. Nobody is interested in me just because I’m a CEO; they’re interested in me because I get results.
I have earned a level of trust and respect that did not come from a job title. It came from delivering project goals, solving problems, being dependable and treating people well.
That realisation changed the way I viewed my career.
It taught me that success is not always about climbing the next rung of a pre-defined ladder. Sometimes it’s about creating your own path, building something with your name on it and becoming known for the value you bring rather than the position written beneath your name.
Titles may open doors but results determine what comes next
Titles can be useful. They can communicate experience, responsibility and authority. But they do not tell the whole story.
A senior title does not automatically make someone a great leader. A junior title doesn’t mean someone lacks influence, ideas or ability. Some of the most impactful people I have worked with were not the most senior people in the room. They were the people who understood the problem, asked the right questions and followed through on what they promised.
Over the years, I have learned that people remember how you performed when the pressure was on. They remember whether you added value, whether you supported the team and whether they could trust your word.
They may forget your exact title but they rarely forget your impact.
One of the best pieces of career advice I never received is this:
Do not become so focused on the title that you overlook the opportunity to build a reputation.
A title can be given to you. A reputation has to be earned.
Consider the power of socialising at work
Another lesson I learned is that careers are not built through hard work alone. Early in my career, I believed that if I worked diligently, delivered good results and kept my head down, the right people would eventually notice.
Hard work and competency matters. But so do relationships.
Some people are uncomfortable with the word ‘networking’ because it can sound transactional, as though you’re only talking to someone to see what you can get from them. I prefer to think about it as building genuine relationships with people, staying connected and taking an interest in what others are doing.
Don’t underestimate the power of attending that work event, joining a conversation with your colleagues or agreeing to meet a peer for a coffee. Those moments can feel informal or unrelated to your immediate work, but they often become some of the most important investments you make in your career.
My network played a major part in giving me the confidence and opportunity to establish my consultancy. The relationships I had built over many years became introductions, recommendations, advice and support.
Some people opened doors. Others shared their experience. Some trusted me with opportunities before I had an established consultancy track record simply because they liked me.
Today, I also have what I call my tribe; the people I can go to when I need perspective, encouragement or honest advice.
Running a business can be exciting, but it can also be lonely. Having people around me who understand the journey has made an enormous difference. Your network should not only consist of people you contact when you need something. It should include people you support, learn from, celebrate and stay connected with over time.
The strongest networks are built long before they are needed.
Learn to listen more than you speak
This is something I learned later in my career. When we’re ambitious and trying to prove ourselves, it’s easy to believe that we need to speak often, demonstrate what we know and show how much we deserve to be in the room.
There is a time to use your voice. There is also enormous value in knowing when to pause.
Listening allows you to understand what’s really being said, not only the words but the concerns, priorities and pressures sitting behind them. It helps you ask better questions. It gives other people room to contribute. and it prevents you from rushing to solve the wrong problem.
Some of the most effective leaders I have worked with don’t dominate every conversation. They listen carefully, absorb what is happening and then speak with purpose.
The more senior I became, the more I realised that leadership was not about being the person with the most to say – It was about being the person who understood what needed to be said.
Listening is not passive. It is one of the most valuable leadership skills you can develop.
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Your reputation is everything
Your career will place you in different roles, see you at different organisations and put you in various rooms, but your reputation is what travels with you.
It’s built through the small things; keeping your word, meeting deadlines, treating people with respect and taking responsibility when something goes wrong.
Reputation is also shaped by how you behave when there is nothing immediate for you to gain.
Property is a large industry, but it is also a small world. People move between organisations, former colleagues become clients and junior team members become future directors.
Someone you meet today may recommend you years later.
That is why reputation matters so much.
You can rebuild skills. You can gain new experience. You can recover from a project that didn’t go to plan. But trust is much harder to repair once it’s been damaged.
You may only get one opportunity to make an impression with a particular person or organisation. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. It means you must act with integrity. Own your mistakes. Communicate honestly. Do what you say you will do. Never risk a long-term reputation for a short-term advantage.
Your reputation is not what you write in your biography. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
The advice I would give my younger self
I would tell her not to measure success only by the title she had achieved. I would tell her to focus on becoming excellent at what she did and let the results speak for themselves.
I would tell her to build relationships before she needed them and not to view socialising as time away from her career. I would tell her to listen more carefully, speak with greater intention and understand that being heard is not the same as always talking.
Most importantly, I would tell her to protect her reputation because it would become one of the most valuable assets she ever built.
I once thought I needed to become a CEO to prove I had succeeded. Today, I understand that I have created influence, impact and respect in a different way.
That doesn’t mean titles aren’t important or that ambition should be reduced. It means there is more than one way to build a successful career. Sometimes the path that looks less traditional becomes the path that allows you to make your greatest contribution.
A Final Thought
Careers are built through more than qualifications, promotions and job titles. They’re built through results, relationships, judgement and trust.
Don’t wait for a title to give you permission to lead. Deliver results where you are. Build genuine relationships. Listen carefully. Protect your reputation and become known for the value you create.
Your title may describe your role, but it will never fully describe your impact.
So ask yourself:
If my job title disappeared tomorrow, what would people say I was known for?
I would love to hear the best career advice you never received.
See you next month.
Founder of Inspire New Homes
Coming Next Month…
The Person Who Opened the Door
In most successful careers, there’s a story of a defining moment. A moment when someone offered a piece of invaluable advice, made a significant introduction or extended an opportunity before someone felt fully ready for it. These stories turn the tides of careers.
Next month, I will explore the difference one person can make, why sponsorship matters and the responsibility we all have to hold the door open for someone else.
P.S. I am currently planning the first series of the Inspire Your Story Podcast and am looking for guests from across real estate who are willing to share the honest story behind their career: the challenges, setbacks, pivotal moments and lessons that shaped them.
If you have a story that could inspire the next generation, or you know someone whose story deserves to be heard, please get in touch here.
Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn’t. Let’s change that together
