Addressing the 2011 Council of Delegates at the recent Fall Leadership Summit & Council Meeting in Washington, D.C., CREW Network President Collete English Dixon recognized delegates for their role in leading a successful year for the organization, “Your leadership, participation and forward-thinking are the reason we lead the Network that works.” Among its exhaustive list of accomplishments include the development of gold standards for chapters, the launch of CREW Network’s executive level mentoring program, the development of two Playbooks; Gold Standard Chapter and Programs, and the development of CREW Network’s fifth white paper.
As the CREW Network organization continues to grow both in its reach and its stature, the idea that this organization is only as strong as its weakest chapter added a new dimension to the delegates’ focus this year. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so went the measurement of a successful chapter. With so many definitions of success, chapter leaders needed some standard of measurement by which to determine how their respective chapters measure up against all others across the Network.
Delegates spent the year identifying what they believed are priority areas for a gold standard chapter, defined what each of these priorities entailed and what they believe should be the “gold standard” measurement for each. Based on the results of these discussions, a CREW Network task force began developing the Gold Standard Chapter Playbook, which will detail what constitutes a gold standard chapter and provide a roadmap to achieving that status. This Playbook will be distributed to the full membership by the end of the year. Delegates also received a preview of the new Chapter Dashboard created by CREW Network that allows chapter leaders to view their chapter’s membership counts, specialty representation, event attendance and more to assist them in measuring their chapter’s progress toward reaching the established gold standards.
Delegates can also expect to receive a Programs Playbook by the end of the year, which will identify best practices, tips and suggestions for delivering strong programming at the chapter level.
The Industry Research Committee has been working diligently on its latest white paper titled “Success and Satisfaction of Women in Commercial Real Estate: Retaining Exceptional Leaders.” The committee identified approximately 20 leading companies in the industry and, together with the 2011 CREW Network Board of Directors, conducted interviews with the CEOs and other top executives at these companies to find out why they believe women rate their levels of career success and satisfaction lower than men, based on the findings of CREW Network’s 2010 benchmark study. Not only have these interviews resulted in excellent industry feedback and insight into company practices, but it has enabled CREW Network to get its research read by leaders in the industry. Watch for this white paper to arrive by the end of the year.
President English Dixon shared other exciting news with the delegates, which included the announcement that CREW Network has been admitted as a member of the Real Estate Roundtable; a prestigious group of leaders from the nation’s top publicly-held and privately-owned real estate ownership, development, lending and management firms, along with the leaders of major national real estate trade associations. Members of the Real Estate Roundtable come together to address key national policy issues relating to real estate and the overall economy. This is a major step towards raising CREW Network’s stature and influence within the commercial real estate industry.
Delegates were also the first to learn the results of the 2012 CREW Network Board selection process. Serving with 2012 President Diane Butler of CREW Dallas will be:
· Susan Hill, 2012 President Elect, CREW Houston
· Collete English Dixon, 2012 Immediate Past President, CREW Chicago
· Kris Beason, Director, CREW Seattle & Sound
· Lou Ann Dent, Director, CREW Baltimore
· Lori Kilberg, Director, CREW Atlanta
· Tina Makoulian, Director, CREW Philadelphia
· Judith Nitsch, Director, NEWiRE Boston
· Angela O’Byrne, Director, New Orleans CREW
· Heidi Timken, Director, East Bay CREW
Karin Schulz, 2011 CREW Foundation Chair presented the Foundations outcomes for 2011. Nearly 300 CREW Network members have donated to the Foundation so far this year and CB Richard Ellis has agreed to match donations to the CREW Network Scholarship Fund, up to $75,000 per year. Schulz urged delegates to encourage their chapter members to donate so the Foundation is able to receive the full match. Ten CREW Network chapters have each pledged $20,000 to become founding chapters of the scholarship endowment. These chapters include: CREW Atlanta, CREW Austin, CREW Chicago, CREW Dallas, CREW Denver, CREW Houston, CREW Philadelphia, CREW Seattle & Sound, Vancouver CREW and CREW Washington, D.C. Additionally, Schulz recognized Diane Butler of CREW Dallas and Jane Snoddy Smith of CREW Austin, who each donated to become founding donors of the endowment.
Following the council meeting, CREW Seattle & Sound member Jessica Hickey of 1029 Consulting, Inc. led delegates through a brief exercise addressing the process of incorporating the newly established gold standards into their chapter planning and execution. Delegates were placed into small working groups where they discussed what they believed would be the biggest implementation concerns regarding the standards, what challenges they believed they would face in overcoming the concerns and the simple solutions to dealing with the challenges. Delegates identified concerns ranging from attaining chapter buy-in to balancing competing priorities. The challenges they anticipated facing included fear of change, communicating at all levels of membership and attracting senior members. Once the delegates identified these concerns and challenges, the solutions naturally surfaced; develop face to face relationships, in-person meetings with committees and board members to ensure good communication, and encouraging the use of the chapter’s logo on member business and v-cards, just to name a few.
As delegates wrapped up a very successful year and reflected on their personal and chapter’s contributions to the organization’s progress, it became very clear that CREW Network is living its brand. It’s one thing to claim CREW Network is the Network that works; it’s quite another to prove it. Through the accomplishments of the 2011 CREW Network Delegates, to the forward thinking leadership at every level of the organization, and the members who refuse to settle for “good,” we all share in the commitment to strengthen the CREW Network organization, elevate its brand and prove without a doubt that CREW Network is indeed the Network that works.
Denise Kahler, CREW Network, Marketing and Communications Director
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