Welcome to the Leaders in Real Estate Podcast featuring Lee Hayes Bradford. Lee is one of the most recognizable figures in US Multifamily and Build to Rent property management. With experience over the course of the last 20 years she has led teams for Gingko, Greystar, Quarterra, DR Horton and now Hines. In this episode, Lee shares honest lessons on leading before you feel ready, making unpopular decisions, and why calm, compassionate leadership outperforms command and control.   We covered: How comfortable was Lee in her first leadership role How to handle when things go wrong for your teams Leaders need to make difficult decisions   00:00 – 02:10 Introducing Lee Bradford and the scale of her role at D.R. Horton 02:10 – 04:20 What really drives Lee and why she calls herself a “builder” 04:20 – 07:10 First leadership role and why no one ever feels ready 07:10 – 11:00 Biggest leadership challenge – aligning teams and finding common ground 11:00 – 14:30 Report card time – how Lee leads people to their own answers 14:30 – 18:30 The office floor story – staying calm when things go badly wrong 18:30 – 22:30 Hard decisions, being liked, and why indecision hurts teams most 22:30 – 25:30 “Be brave enough to suck at something new” and leading at the top 25:30 – 28:00 Communication, DISC and adapting your style 28:00 – 30:00 What Lee looks for in future leaders and closing advice     *At the time of recording Lee was President of Property Management or DR Horton.