With over 14 years of experience in the strata industry, Kristie is a true inspiring example of someone with a successful career as well as being passionate about it. She describes her role as “guiding my clients to achieve the most practical and commercially viable outcome whilst working within the appropriate legal framework”. In order to fulfill this goal, Kristie believes that being a successful strata manager implies “always striving to bring a degree of empathy to the table”
Starting as a Strata Assistant to become a Senior Strata Manager, Kristie has learnt from her peers and is thankful to her mentors who have strongly contributed to her experience and success over the years.
She recalls being “very fortunate to be mentored by an amazing female strata manager. And she will be forever thankful to her first manager in the industry for hiring an 18 year old with no prior experience and providing her with a unique opportunity to learn and work with skilled strata managers who shaped her early career.
Today, as a recognition of her own success in this business area she has had the pleasure and privilege of mentoring a young female strata manager over the past two and a half years and it has been “one of the most rewarding aspects of my current role”.
In this business field, starting a career as a strata manager, can be very challenging especially as a young female. Kristie remembers: “I had to work three times harder than my male counterparts for my presence to be acknowledged in a room and for clients to take my advice on board, regardless of my knowledge level on any given topic.” But with her positive mindset, Kristie has faced this adversity of “being initially judged as inexperienced or too young to capably manage complex issues”. Her resilience and application required to convince her clients have brought her a great pride and sense of accomplishment.
Kristie defines a good strata manager by their ability to “think out of the box” via a practical and strict application of the law. They should “genuinely care about their clients, have a thorough understanding of the legal framework and master how to apply it in a practical way that supports the owners corporation and residents of the building”.
Regarding her recent success, Kristie considers her role as a strata manager to understand how to practically apply the law so as to ensure that the owners corporation is always appropriately protected, but to also apply the law in a practical and cost effective manner that fosters and supports community living. For Kristie, what distinguishes her from other strata managers is the personal relationship she has built with her clients overtime: “I believe the relationship and trust built with my clients has allowed me to achieve great results both for my clients and also for myself as my career continues to grow.”
Kristie advises those who may consider entering next year’s competition: “I would encourage all strata managers in the industry to keep pushing the boundaries by finding innovative ways to bring value to their clients. Our industry is growing exponentially, and this growth will offer exciting opportunities to explore new ways of delivering exceptional services to our clients.”
As she also recently became a mother, this year has been the most challenging but also rewarding one to date! What an amazing year, congrats Kristie!