Women have proved to be successful business leaders due to their inherent capabilities of building strong public relations and taking bold decisions. They are not just closing the gender gap but also resonating with effective leadership qualities. Many of them are ready to leave their comfort zones for accomplishing their professional commitments. Karen Simon (President and Managing Partner of Emersons Commercial Real Estate Tarrant County Division ) is one such enthusiastic business leader who is creating a significant impact in the corporate world and leading ahead to break the stereotypes in the industry.
Dynamic Educational Background
Karen Simon is a decorated woman leader in the real estate industry who thinks of feminism from a broad perspective and has a dynamic educational background, which was quite rare in her time. She completed her college graduation at the age of 20 and started teaching at a high school in Fort Worth, Texas. She soon finished her master’s degree and started teaching at Tarrant County Community College on the Northeast campus.
In 1983, Karen Simon was the only woman to work as an industrial realtor in Dallas or Tarrant County. Some were part of commercial real estate as office and retail brokers, however, women were less considered among those who put on hard hats and walked into a warehouse or a manufacturing facility.
The Many Firsts
Karen Simon was the first woman to get selected as a teacher in the Liberal School of Arts and Science at Tarrant County Community College. Moreover, she was one of the first to work in the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an Executive Assistant to the regional administrator in Region 10 in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Louisiana. She was in charge of intergovernmental relations , and public affairs.
Furthermore, she was the first woman to head a commercial department while working for Henry S. Miller. Over time, more women have followed Karen’s footsteps in the industrial real estate business. She broadened the scope of her work over her six year tenure and started handling , land, retail, and office responsibilities. as well.
Going through the Grind
Talking about good times, Karen Simon says there are a few advantages of being a woman as they get noticed easily in the work environment. In the Miller organization, women were getting filtered into commercial real estate from retail,office and apartments. It was quite challenging for Karen, however, she enjoyed the process. When she joined Emersons in 2016, there were women in many positions of authority.
Collaborative Efforts
Established in 2004, Emersons is a national commercial real estate platform designed to align resources and maximize values. Based in Dallas, it comprises a dedicated team of experts who are committed to fulfilling the expectations of clients and serving them in the best way. The company works in almost every market in the United States and leaves impactful footprints behind. Its property management, accounting, leasing, and consulting teams are passionate about their work and go above and beyond to deliver industry-leading solutions for clients.
Overcoming the Gender Barriers
Having a record of pushing the ceiling on several occasions and being proud of it, Karen Simon confronted gender-related barriers in the Henry S. Miller company while working as the Head of the Industrial Department. She received little support from her male counterparts there. She began immediately taking classes to learn industrial real estate, taught by brokers at the Society of Industrial and Office Park (SIOP).
Karen Simon attended week-long courses from nine to five where she was the only woman with 36 other men. Soon, she went for the second course in Denver where there were three women (including her) among 43 people. This was a good achievement in increasing the representation of women. Her clients responded positively to her work, however, it was not the same for her colleagues. She had to face several pushbacks from a few colleagues.
A Proactive Approach
Karen Simon is a futuristic leader and her plans continue to grow in addition to the development of a portfolio of properties. She responds to customer demands proactively by reaching out to the people and having conversations with them. It helps her understand the basic requirements of the community and stay updated with them.
She even stays in touch with former clients in her business, takes care of their needs, and tries to provide the service. There is an immense transformation in the job and it has become more challenging when it comes to customer demands. Some agents are working remotely and its changing the whole perspective of doing business with some colleagues.
Empathetic towards other Women
Women are becoming a part of all facets of commercial real estate organizations these days. Even though they are getting noticed easily today, Karen Simon has always helped and mentored other women. Being the only woman in her field, she faced certain difficulties at that time and had no one from her field to help her. She is helpful to other women around her that includes women attorneys, women doctors, and women professors.
An Endearing Mother
Work-life balance plays a crucial part in the lives of businesswomen. According to Karen, it is difficult to achieve a perfect work-life balance as there is no perfect way to do it. However, she keeps trying. She rarely missed an opportunity to watch her childrens football games or any other function in which they were participating. Although being a working woman; Karen Simon was there for children whenever they needed her.
A Good Example for Future Generations
Being an inspirational women leader in the world of male-dominated industries like real estate, Karen Simon Simon has created a great example for the upcoming generations. She continues to look forward to being an exceptional businesswoman who wants to get recognized based on her talent and accomplishments.
According to her, in today’s world where women are playing a crucial role in the major industries, discrimination based on gender and pay-out should be eliminated. Their skillset should be the deciding factor for success in their career and not their gender. Women should be assessed based on their ability to perform.
Ability to lead in Life
According to Karen Simon, a real leader possesses empathy, compassion, and mutual understanding along with the ability to lead in life. It is important to be knowledgeable in the respective field. Moreover, to conquer different heights in their career, leaders should keep working hard and be willing to study everything in detail.
While leading ahead, Karen Simon used to look up to other women as inspiration and keep reading about them. Women who pursued their dreams in the field of law, business, medicine, politics, etc. were part of her inspiration. She mentions the Prime Ministers of Israel and Great Britain Golden Maier and Eleanor Roosevelt respectively as her role models.
