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Tag: ProfessionalDevelopment

Investing in our Leaders: How Executive Coaching can Strengthen Teams

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Organizations across real estate, hospitality, affordable housing, and other mission-driven sectors are seeing leadership transitions happen faster and with more complexity than ever before. Top performing professionals are often hired or promoted because of their technical expertise, operational success, or strategic insight, yet stepping into true executive leadership requires its own unique set of skills.

At Reneris, we understand that effective leadership teams are a result of thoughtful onboarding and intentional support around professional growth. Executive coaching can play an important role in helping leaders navigate periods of transition, strengthen communication, and maximize their impact during pivotal moments in their careers.

Transitioning Into a Larger Leadership Role

One of the most common moments for executive coaching is during a significant promotion.

A professional moving from director to vice president, or from operational leadership into enterprise leadership, often faces an entirely new set of expectations. Success is no longer defined only by personal execution. Instead, leaders are expected to influence culture, align teams, navigate organizational dynamics, and think strategically across the business.

This transition can be particularly challenging for high achievers who built their careers on technical expertise or operational excellence. Executive coaching provides an intentionally structured environment where leaders can strengthen executive presence, delegation, communication, and decision-making while building confidence in a new scope of responsibility.

Organizations that support leaders during these transitions often see stronger retention, faster integration into the role, and healthier team dynamics.

Joining a New Organization

Highly experienced executives face a unique set of challenges when entering a new company.

Every organization has its own culture, pace, communication style, and stakeholder dynamics. Leaders are expected to quickly establish credibility, build relationships, and create momentum, often while learning entirely new systems and teams.

The first 90 days can set the tone for long-term success.

Executive coaching during onboarding can help leaders:

  • Build trust with key stakeholders
  • Understand organizational culture more quickly
  • Prioritize effectively during periods of high information flow
  • Navigate communication and team dynamics
  • Develop a thoughtful leadership approach before reacting too quickly

For organizations making strategic hires, coaching can also protect the investment made in executive recruitment by supporting stronger integration and long-term retention.

Leading Through Organizational Change

Periods of growth, restructuring, mergers, or strategic transformation place significant pressure on leadership teams. Executives are often tasked with balancing operational demands while simultaneously maintaining morale, communication, and strategic clarity. Even experienced leaders can benefit from an outside perspective during these moments.

Executive coaching can provide support around change management, team communication, managing conflict or uncertainty, strategic prioritization and maintaining leadership consistency under pressure

For organizations experiencing rapid growth or change, leadership support can be critical to maintaining alignment and stability.

At Reneris, we view leadership as an ongoing journey rather than a single hiring decision. Whether supporting organizations through executive search, talent strategy, or leadership development conversations, our focus remains the same – helping organizations build strong, effective leadership teams positioned for long-term success.

Delivering Housing for Higher Learning: Reflections from the Student & Workforce Housing Development Conference

Written by admin on . Posted in Blog.

Earlier this month our team joined several hundred of our real estate development colleagues in Los Angeles for the second annual Student and Workforce Housing Development Conference.

The conference opened with a theme that would thread throughout many of the sessions. Students can only turn their focus to learning when their basic needs, like that for safe and stable housing, have been addressed. And with the current challenges around affordability and availability, meeting this need is difficult for many students. Leaders shared that close to 60% of California community college students struggled with some form of housing insecurity and almost 20% grappled with homelessness.

So what do we do? Another very clear theme was this: successful student housing development is deeply dependent on partnership. Conversations repeatedly returned to the importance of alignment between developers, architects, general contractors, educational institutions, capital partners, suppliers, and operators. In a sector where timelines are compressed, projects are complex, and expectations are high, trust becomes a competitive advantage. And the projects that succeeded? They were all rooted in relationships where teams understood one another’s priorities, communicated transparently, and knew how to navigate challenges collaboratively.

Despite the significance of the challenge in front of us, there were many hopeful moments during the conference. It was impossible not to be impressed by the level of innovation happening throughout the industry. Across sessions, leaders discussed creative approaches to financing, the use of modular and prefabricated construction strategies, operational efficiencies that are saving time and making buildings safer, public-private partnerships, and amenity design that balances student experience with economic realities.

There was a noticeable sense that the industry is being asked to do more with less while still delivering environments where students can thrive. That challenge is pushing organizations to think differently about talent, leadership, and long-term strategy.

As an executive search firm working across real estate, construction, hospitality, and housing-related industries, these conversations reinforced something we see every day: projects move at the speed of people. Innovative ideas only succeed when organizations have leaders capable of building trust across stakeholders, navigating ambiguity, and aligning teams around a common vision. Whether hiring a development executive, operations leader, construction professional, or finance executive, the technical requirements matter, but increasingly, the differentiator is the ability to collaborate effectively in highly interconnected environments.

The conference also served as a reminder that industries like student housing and affordable housing are converging in important ways. Both sectors are grappling with questions of accessibility, rising costs, resident experience, and sustainable growth. For organizations operating in these spaces, attracting leaders who can balance mission, execution, and partnership-building will continue to be critical in the years ahead.

If you’d like to have a conversation with us about how to source, engage and recruit professionals with experience in student housing, we would welcome a call. You can reach me at amber@reneris.us. We look forward to connecting.

Reflections from Housing California 2026: Rooted in Community, Focused on What’s Next

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Last month, the full Reneris team attended California’s largest gathering of affordable housing professionals. The Housing California Annual Conference felt especially meaningful this year. The theme, “Rooted in Community: Realizing California’s Promise Together,” was not just a tagline, but a feeling that carried through every session and into many interactions and conversations through the week.

The clear through line: solving California’s housing crisis requires more than policy. It requires deep collaboration, insight from lived experience, and a willingness to rethink systems that haven’t worked for far too many.

A Conference Grounded in Housing Justice

From the outset, the conference emphasized housing justice, not just as an idea, but as a call to action. Beginning with the Housing Justice Awards, many of the sessions to follow also centered on equity, renter protections, and addressing homelessness at a systems level.

What stood out most was the balance between urgency and intention. There was recognition that while the need for housing is immediate, the solutions must be thoughtful, community-driven, and sustainable. Conversations consistently circled back to closing equity gaps and ensuring that housing policy reflects the realities of those most impacted.

Hearing Directly from Gubernatorial Candidates

An early standout moment of the conference was the gubernatorial candidate forum. Bringing candidates into a space grounded in housing advocacy offered a unique opportunity to hear directly from these potential leaders as to how they intended to address the pervasive challenges around housing in this state. The discussion centered on the critical issues of housing affordability, production, renter protections, and long-term stability across California.

A Focus on Those Doing the Work

A standout session this year held during the last breakout session of the day on Thursday targeted emerging leaders in the affordable housing space. Darnell Williams, SVP of Property Operations at Eden Housing spoke of growing up in affordable housing in Chicago and yet not discovering the industry until pivoting from an interest in criminal justice in college. He encouraged early leaders to lean into opportunities that sparked their curiosity and take the leap to try something new within the industry. Lillian Lew-Hailer of Mercy Housing offered an insightful take on when one might consider the move from an operator role into a director role, exploring the ways managing a team is very different from managing a project, but how both offer great opportunity for impact. In a room where many attendees considered themselves “accidental housers” four industry leaders described paths that could be paved with courage and intention, demonstrating just how far this industry has come. It also reinforced how critical it is to intentionally find and support talent in this space, something we are fortunate to contribute to every day through our work as executive search partners.

Why This Conference Matters

What continues to set Housing California apart is its ability to convene a truly cross-sector group of developers, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, advocates, and private sector partners, all focused on a shared goal.

Leaving the conference, we felt both the weight of the challenges ahead and a renewed sense of optimism. There is no single solution to California’s housing crisis, but there is a growing network of people committed to solving it together. We feel privileged to support many of these individuals as they navigate their careers through this essential field. And that, ultimately, is what “Rooted in Community” feels like in practice.

Who Thanks Whom

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Who Thanks Whom

A recent article penned for Inc by Suzzane Lucas made the bold statement: “Dear Hiring Manager, Perhaps You Should Write the Thank You Note”. She continues: “The traditional thank you note is from candidate to hiring manager. That’s wrong… Just what are you exactly thanking the manager for? Taking the time to talk with you and consider your application for the job, right? But, what were you really doing? You were taking your time out of your day (and often using vacation time from your current job to do so) to try and solve a problem for the hiring manager.”

At first glance, most would read statements and think “thank goodness this wasn’t a candidate I interviewed; seems quite entitled.” However, inverted of a perspective this author seems to hold from standard interviewing protocol, there is an underlying message communicated by her article.

It may be time to evaluate your hiring process through a new lens.

If we assume it is the candidate’s responsibility to pen the thank you note, doesn’t that inherently mean that we also assume it’s the candidate’s responsibility to be thankful for being granted an interview to begin with?

You may have this mindset and not even realize you have it. A few questions to consider:

  • How much time do you expect a candidate to prepare for the interview with you How much time do you spend preparing for the same interview?
  • You likely have asked the question “So why should we hire you” without batting an eye – how receptive are you when a candidate questions “Why should I come to work here?”
  • Checking candidate references from past employers is a probable interviewing step; candidates volunteer these regularly. What would your reaction be if a candidate asked to check references from those who had worked under your supervision in the past but were no longer with the firm?

These are just a few scenarios to help challenge your paradigm. Lucas ultimately summarized this mental shift: “When we think of all the things we demand of job candidates, we should realize that they are the ones doing the hiring managers big favors. You need that position filled, and these people are graciously helping you to do so.”

Start with Motivation

Secure more insights than exist on paper. Schedule time with your recruiter to go beyond more than “the individual is looking to take that next step in his career” and instead have a solid understanding of what the candidate does not have currently yet is looking to have within your organization. Know what is most important for this candidate to learn from your initial meeting as it relates to what he is looking to accomplish in this career move. Additionally, make sure you know “why you firm” – why this candidate wants to talk with your firm as opposed to others. What is it that initially sparked their interest, and how you can expand on that to have the candidate walk away with their own motivating factors addressed? Finally, know “why not” – any concerns this candidate has in areas such as the cost of living (if relocation is involved), or stability, or any other detail no matter how large or small. This is the opportunity to address them, either openly or candidly, throughout the interview.

It’s the Little Things

Small things stand out, specifically when candidates are in a thriving economy and may have the opportunity to interview with multiple organizations. Take a moment and look at your physical office space through a new lens. Is your boardroom, interviewing space, or personal office dated and could use some modernization? Do you have anything on the walls that showcase your organization’s accomplishments, or highlight your culture? Think through the impression you make as it relates to your physical office space.

When the candidate arrives, give them bottled water without them having to ask for or accept it. When the candidate leaves, consider an exit gift of some sort – a small item with your logo on it or something personalized based on what you know about their interests or background.

The Sell

Take some time to craft concrete answers or success stories around questions such as the following:

  • What are the primary reasons someone would join your organization instead of another firm?
  • What is the specific and measurable career path?
  • What in-house resources do you have that give people a competitive advantage? What external resources?
  • How does your company differentiate itself from other competitors in your niche, and what would this mean to someone joining your firm?
  • What is the tenure of your senior staff? What benefit does that provide a new associate?
  • What future growth plans do you have for your firm? What opportunity does that create for someone?

Even if the candidate does not ask the direct question, you want to remain confident that you are articulating “why you” just as much as you are trying to determine “why them.” If, during the interview, a light bulb switches on and you have the revelation that this is the exact person you need to hire, the better you can articulate your true value proposition the higher the chance that candidate will want you as much as you want them.

Building Great Leadership Teams with Reneris

At Reneris, we specialize in building great leadership teams by unlocking the potential of high-performing professionals. Our mission is to partner with best-in-class developers of housing (multifamily, affordable, senior), hotels, and non-profit organizations across the country to place the right talent in the right positions, driving growth and success.

As part of our commitment to excellence, we are proud to be affiliated with Sanford Rose Associates®, a search firm recognized as one of the top 10 in North America by Executive Search Review. This partnership enables us to leverage SRA’s extensive network and industry expertise, enhancing our ability to find the right leaders for your organization. Connect with Reneris today to learn more about how we can support your professional and organizational growth.

Reneris is a specialized executive search and management consulting firm that provides professional services to clients seeking a high-caliber consultative partner. We have successfully placed candidates in leadership positions in the Real Estate (Hospitality, Multi-Family Housing, Senior Living) and Non-Profit sectors.

Please contact us to learn how Reneris can help you attract executive-level talent for your leadership team.

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