WOI Event Reviews Impacts from a Disruptive Year, Lessons Learned

PARK CITY, UT—The impact of the last year has been felt across the CRE landscaping. During an insightful opening session at the GlobeSt. ELITE Woman of Influence 2021 conference here in Park City, we followed the journey of one CRE leader on her road on her experience this last year, her rise to the top, lessons learned along the way, and lastly, where we are today, and how we can address the effects of Covid-19 on working women. 

Vicky Schiff, managing partner at MREC Management LLC and CCO of Mosaic Real Estate Investment, many of the women she has spoken with—both in and outside of the CRE industry—have realized that they need to be intentional about their careers, and their life in general. 

“As I look back at everything I have done, there are really five lessons I have learned,” she said. “The first is to show up and be present at any critical time.” Another lesson is to “just do it. Be that person that gets stuff done.”

She also pointed out that it is important to discover your unique strength and use that strength and exploit it. “Take that uniqueness and let people know about that and they will remember you,” she said.  

Another point that is important to remember is to always get up again and again. “If you fall, get up. Have resilience. Feel the fear and do it anyway because life is short.”

The last lesson she pointed to is to “just be you. Don’t go along with things you don’t agree with. You don’t have to act like the other side acts and just be yourself.”

According to Schiff, women have more opportunities now than they ever have before—especially in real estate investment and finance. She also advised women to never stop learning.

“It is important to always continue to learn new skills, create new relationships and work with mentors,” she said. “You will come out of adversity wiser and more valuable in your industry.” She also explained that she will be graduating law school in December, and while she doesn’t currently have plans to become a lawyer, it helped her grow and learn a different set of skills. 

“Throughout my career, I have never put being a woman as a barrier,” she said. Growing up with her father, he never acted like it would be a hurdle she needed to overcome so she never felt that way. But she did note that women should never be afraid to ask questions or make mistakes. “That is key to growth. As women in the industry, we actually have to own our mistakes. We all do irresponsible things and all make mistakes but you need to try to fix those mistakes and move on from them mentally.”

And when criticized, she said, you have to take the nugget and take it inward. “See what you can learn from it and throw the rest away.”