A Powerful Story of Strong Leadership Propelled a Top Firm’s Real Estate Practice from Good to Great

Ten years ago, I sat in a conference room and heard the magic words that transformed my thinking about the power of industry specialization. And these words are still just as magical in 2023! It opened my eyes to the very core of how a firm’s industry strategy can quickly move the practice from good to great. RSM’s national real estate industry leader was speaking about a valued client − the strengths and complexity of its business model, its challenges and successful growth trajectory. 

I interrupted with a simple question – “Is that client an audit or tax client, or perhaps we provide advisory services?” His answer was also simple but powerful. “We think of it, first and foremost, as a real estate client.” 

In other words, we think of our clients holistically and address each client’s needs with a specific suite of services that positions us as a true business partner. We are joined at the hip to this client, fully invested in providing whatever services are needed to help it achieve its business goals. As a practice, all audit, tax and advisory real estate professionals sat and worked together in RSM’s Chicago office. 

In addition, although the national real estate leader’s personal focus and that of his Chicago team was on large-scale real estate funds, in his role as national leader, he embraced, supported and empowered the smaller but growing real estate teams in the firm’s other regions and markets. 

Rather than touting his own highly lucrative book of business, he stepped up his own game to lead a broader more diverse practice. He was a strong believer in consciously building camaraderie and trust between team members that crossed the common work boundaries based on service lines and geographic markets. He believed in establishing a regular cadence of in-person meetings, which meant taking regional real estate team leaders away from the demands of billable time. The quarterly live-time together was essential to building a strong team. 

I witnessed multiple marquee client wins that came RSM’s way because of this leader’s collaborative, team approach. He confidently contends he would not have won the business on his own − the team approach was essential to winning. Showcasing what his close-knit but diverse team could achieve was more important to him than showcasing his own abilities as a rainmaker.

Another key ingredient to the success of this real estate practice was the inclusion of a strong sales asset. The real estate team had a business developer who was deeply knowledgeable and networked in real estate circles. This talented individual worked closely with the real estate team’s dedicated marketing leader (who also built her career inside the real estate industry) to create and execute a powerful marketing and sales strategy that achieved outstanding revenue growth.