AUGUST 2019 BusIness 25
10 minutes with...
on from those mistakes that helps you to
grow. The most successful people in
business will have made mistakes at
some point in their careers and will be
better for it.Who inspired you most in your career?
Without any doubt my parents, they
have always supported my career
aspirations. Even now I go to my parents
for advice. They installed within me
self-belief and the attitude that women
can have it all. It might be a struggle and
difficult at times but the best things in
life are the things we have had to fight
for.How do you maintain a work / life
balance – and what do you do to relax?
Firstly, I definitely would not say I have
mastered the work / life balance – that is
definitely a work in progress. I am a
workaholic but that comes from loving
my job. To relax, it is the usual things,
spending time with friends and family,
walks and I am a huge fan of the Halle
and Philharmonic Orchestra. I adore
how classical music sooths you and‘Learning from your
mistakes helps you grow’
K
ate Magill is
associate director at
Mainstay Residential,
a block management
company in the
north west. She is a
workaholic whose
passion for her job has seen her carve
out a successful career in a very male
dominated industry.”
Over a decade since Kate’s induction,
the multi-faceted property company is
now on track to turn over a record
£25.9m this year, with a total employee
headcount of 726.
Kate is responsible for a team of 45
and oversees the management of
Mainstay’s entire northern Integrated
Property Management portfolio – the
company’s fastest-growing outpost.
To what do you attribute your success
to date?
Working for a fantastic company, who
have believed in me in from day one. I
joined Mainstay Residential in my early
20s – I was young, quite shy and
unassuming. In February I celebrated
my 11-year anniversary with Mainstay
Residential and when I look back, I
cannot believe how quickly time has
passed. I believe I have flourished with
Mainstay’s support and guidance but
ultimately, I love the industry that I work
in – this has meant that I am passionate
about what I do. Mainstay has given me
the knowledge and skills to help me
grow and I have backed this up with
honesty, integrity, the ability to think
quickly and to think outside of the box,
whilst being innovative and fearless.
What is the best piece of advice you
have been given?
I have been given so much great advice
over the years. One of my closest friends,
who runs her own successful business,
said to me that doing the business is the
easy part, bringing staff on board and
actually managing staff is the hard part
as not everyone has the same vision or
passion that you have. You have to be
confident in your approach and not let
others question your ability. If I was to
impart advice then I would say,
mistakes happen, we don’t get
everything right all of the time, it is how
you learn from those mistakes and move
Kate Magill, Associate Director at Mainstay Residential
helps you lose all the stresses of the day.
Thursday nights are Halle night.How have you carved out a successful
career in a saturated and very male
dominated industry?
Being the best person for the job
regardless of gender, I know when I do a
job I have done my due diligence which
is paramount in my industry as I am
responsible for managing our
customers investments. The property
industry is a constantly evolving
industry. I have to take ownership to
ensure that I am always up to date with
legislative changes. Personality is also
vital, why send endless e-mails when
you can meet someone for a coffee and
a good old-fashioned face to face chat? I
make sure I am always readily available
to my customers.What is the number one attribute you
seek in members of your team?
Integrity is essential to being successful
as I want my employees to take pride in
what they do. Not only are they
responsible for delivering excellent
customer service, they work for a
company that puts the customer at the
very core of its business. I want my staff
to feel empowered to always do the right
thing and to deliver a holistic customer
experience.What are the main challenges you face
in property management?
Managing our customers expectations.
The Property Industry is presently going
through an incredibly difficult and
challenging time. Our customers have
brought their properties as homes or as
investments and through no fault of
their own they have got caught up in an
ever-moving situation. As a managing
agent we are having to deliver some
really difficult news to some of our
customers and I pride myself on always
putting myself in my customer shoes,
empathising with their situation and
giving them the full truth.What impact have market disruptors /
technology had on your sector / day to
day Property Management?
The advancement in technology means
that we can document absolutely
everything now, from email interactionswith our customers, to uploading site
inspections and cleaning inspections,
defect reporting and managing
processes. We have to be careful
however, that we do not become
complaisant and let technology do the
work for us. Technology can carry us,
and it is an important platform for
helping define our customers
experience but we still need expertise
and skills and a personable manner.
Social media, whilst a fantastic tool and
one which I thoroughly embrace at all of
my developments, can also be a double-
edged sword where information
becomes distorted and misconstrued.What is your why (the reason for
getting out of bed).
I love being a problem solver, being
given an almost impossible challenge
and working through a process to
deliver the best possible outcome. My
job means that I deal with different
people and organisations, no two days
are ever the same, and I enjoy the
anticipation of what is to come.How do you relax?
This is definitely a work in process –
reading, listening to classical music and
getting absorbed in a Netflix boxset.What was the last book you read? Do
you prefer paperback or Kindle?
As soon as Kindle was launched I was all
over it and I love my Kindle. It has
assisted with decluttering but as time
has gone on, I cannot but help miss
reading an actual book, turning the
pages is satisfying. I love my Kindle for
ease and convenience - but a good
old-fashioned book has to be my
preference. The book I am currently
reading is by Philippa Gregory, The
Other Boleyn Girl.What is your favourite holiday
destination?
That’s an easy one, New York. I love
everything about it, the hussle and
bustle, the fast pace lifestyle and the
amazing architecture – both modern
and old.What is your favourite restaurant?
I really like going to Piccolinos in
Manchester, but actually I am more
about evenings in with friends
nowadays, dinner parties as, after all,
staying in is the new going out.Kate Magill