In our second installment of BH’s Executive Q&A Series, featuring members of our wildly awesome Executive Team, Melody King, Chief Operating Officer of Property Operations, shares her thoughts on her role, career, and the direction of the company in her own words.
What is the biggest challenge you’re currently facing? How will you overcome it?
My biggest challenge in today’s world is navigating our teams through change. The world is changing every second of every day and multifamily is in a pivotal time of centralization, AI implementation, and the restructuring of an industry we have known to be constant throughout our entire careers.
We will overcome this challenge by continuing to be nimble and by pivoting to meet the needs of the new generation of multifamily. That starts with providing the “why” behind the change and by focusing on the future by initiating conversations that encourage our team to think outside the box and help shape what this wonderful industry will be 5, 10, or even 20 years from now.
What is something you are most proud of working for BH?
I’m most proud of the culture we have built. I’m often asked, “Why BH?” The answer is simple, it’s the people. That may sound cliché, but I’ve never been in an environment of such strong, capable women and men who truly focus on the greater good over their personal gain. It’s an amazing thing to witness. BH has become a very well respected and admired company in the industry and being a part of that greatness is something that makes me truly proud to be a BH’er.
What is your favorite BH value, and why?
That’s an exceptionally tough question. Naturally, “Do Business the Right Way” is a given. But I equally embrace “Have the Guts for Greatness” and “Hear Every Voice.” Having the guts for greatness allows us to blaze the trails and try all the new things fearlessly. We learn from our mistakes and having the guts to try is really all it takes to achieve greatness. Similarly, hearing every voice allows us to learn from other’s past experiences, allowing us to create best practices that are also hard to find in other organizations. I truly don’t believe that either is greater than the other.
What “keeps you up at night”?
The big picture. These completely unanswerable questions of the universe consistently keep me up at night: Am I doing the best I can? Do I provide my teams enough? Are we on the right path? Did I do enough today?
What helps you sleep at night?
I do like to read fiction. A likely unpopular habit is scrolling through social media to find that entertaining dog or jokester of the day that can help alleviate some of the daily stressors. Those things combined with hoping that we did the best we could do and did it with the utmost respect for those around us every day help me sleep at night. I constantly say, “You can only do what you can do, and the rest will work itself out.” Maybe one day I’ll believe it!
What do you like to do in your free time to relax?
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m allergic to relaxing. But, that said, I guess “family” is my version of relaxing. I love spending time with family and my dogs, Mollie, Harley, and Murphy. I’m also an avid DIYer so I’m constantly onto the next project.
Check out last month’s Exec Q&A featuring Dusty Thomas, CFA, CAIA, Chief Financial Officer.