Women In Real Estate – Iron Butterflies and Beyond

Roughly sixty percent of real estate professionals are women. Surprised? Or does that sound about right?

The skill-set necessary for an agent seems right up the alley of a woman’s natural abilities. Work long and hard, connect with your customers on an emotional and professional level, persevere when road is bumpy and frustrations are plentiful. No matter what the occupation, women making a place for themselves have had to rely on those attributes to get by.

In her book, Iron Butterflies: Women Transforming Themselves, Dr. Birute Regine talks about the common traits of successful women, regardless of their age, ethnicity or nationality. These women have fought those battles, handled the frustrations and evolved into those “Iron Butterflies” – “radically vulnerable, revolutionary, a strong healer, and someone who welcomes the paradoxical into their life.” Through that revolutionary change, that empowering self-belief, they are able to collaborate, lead and negotiate through the next phase of their lives and careers.

Are you at a point in your career where that sounds like who you are? Or are you wishing tomorrow to wake up, climb out of the chrysalis, and live that life actively?

We all have our paths to take. We all have our particular positive attributes and the things we need to battle, internally and externally. In a world that sees a female Secretary of State and yet still a pay discrepancy between men and women for nearly every profession, it can be difficult to find your own “sea legs” when it comes to your real estate career.

How can we use the ideas of these revolutionary “Iron Butterflies”? Can you step into the impressions left by their shoe prints?

Think about what makes you a great agent—your personality, your experience and yes, even your gender. What you bring to the table is unique and special and it can be cultivated into an even more powerful tool in your arsenal.

And consider these ideas from Dr. Regine’s book—The Four C’s of Becoming an Iron Butterfly.

Connect to Your Passion. A lot of people are doing work they aren’t passionate about. It’s important to connect with something you are passionate about even if it is as hobby.

Collaborate with Women as a Way of Healing. Collaboration enables you to compete. There is a lot of distrust among women, but instead of being worried about betrayal, try to trust. Successful influential women always have a large support network.

Recognize Feminine Power as a Collective Power. “The world of collaboration is all new territory. That is what is Obama trying to do,” Regine says. “It requires a lot of self reflection, openness and it requires going beyond yourself. It is asking what is the common benefit for both of us? We are at a tipping point and moving from a domination-based society to a more collaborative one. There is the myth that you need to do it alone and be more effective.”

Have a Sense of Community and Find the Connectors. Know that you are part of a movement that is happening. On the average, most women are leading the way and often don’t realize they are part of something bigger. Most women show collaborative leadership. It is leadership that is done behind closed doors through mutual empowerment where there’s not a lot of chest pounding. It’s important for companies to find those connectors and start rewarding them.

(Source: Thank you to Dawn Reiss—a Chicago-based journalist who has written for a variety of outlets including: TIME Magazine, Chicago Tribune and Travel + Leisure—and her article, Iron Butterflies: How Remarkable Women Lead).

Recently, I was honored to be featured on page 76 of the “2011 Women in Real Estate” Spotlight Issue by The New York Real Estate Journal. When asked what advice I had for women in the commercial real estate business, my answer boiled down to this: Hone your craft. Be the dynamic resource your clients desire and demand. To achieve that, you need to reach down inside yourself and harness all that wonderful feminine power and emerge as an “Iron Butterfly”.

Believe and succeed!

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