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Carolyn Majda is one of only a few business women currently leading insurance organisations in Australia. She has a solid foundation in leadership, marketing, and business management and is a renowned industry figure who regularly comments on her fields of expertise.
Carolyn realised her executive potential during her first management role for a commercial business, and after starting a family, she decided to fine tune her skills with business and marketing studies. But her passion always lay with real estate, and through the pursuit of body corporate management she got her first introduction to the industry. For eight years Carolyn worked with the MGA Whittles Group who specialise in strata and community title management services amongst high-rise apartments, commercial buildings, and small unit and townhouse developments. Her next professional accomplishment was joining Terri Scheer Insurance in South Australia.
Carolyn has been working with Terri Scheer for over eight years, beginning a role in marketing management (2004) before moving into a dual marketing and operations role in 2005. Four years later she was appointed General Manager. Terri Scheer, the founder of the landlord insurance company, acted as a mentor to Carolyn while the company grew, merged to become part of the Suncorp Group (2007) and survived the economic turbulence of the global financial crisis. Carolyn cites her experiences working for Terri Scheer as both ‘amazing’ and ‘rewarding’. During her time at Terri Scheer Carolyn has been an active member of The Executive Connection – an international business support network made up of chief executives, business leaders, and self-taught entrepreneurs, housing 1200 members in Australia and 15,000 members worldwide.
When asked what makes a successful female leader, Carolyn commented that managerial attributes were no different for women than they were for men.
“I think successful leaders have vision and can articulate it in a manner that both excites and engages a team. They genuinely care about their team, they are accessible, and they act quickly on poor performance. They also recognise, reward and celebrate success. I don’t think the attributes of a successful leader are any different for women than they are for men.”
Carolyn has been working in executive, full-time roles whilst juggling family commitments and a home life, for over ten years. She contributes her work/life balance to marrying a healthy lifestyle with a supportive home-base, and a holistic outlook.
“I have to be organised. I have a commitment to maintaining my fitness as that helps to keep me well, energized and focused. I have a very supportive partner and try to work my travel/career commitments so that it has as little impact on my family as possible. My focus for this year is general wellbeing; I’ve enrolled into a philosophy course and love having a couple of hours a week where I contemplate things so much bigger than me,” said Carolyn.
When asked for advice to young females starting their professional careers, Carolyn suggested maintaining integrity with career decisions, and to surround yourself with people who would nurture your ambitions.
“Don’t try to be someone that you’re not. Surround yourself with people who will support your aspirations. Remember, as you move up in your organisation that your teams are watching you all the time and they will take your lead. Be brave, but not reckless.”
“Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Look for opportunities to get involved either in your local community or business. Many people will disagree with me, but, I don’t believe people who say “don’t be too nice.” It’s an interesting topic for discussion. Being nice doesn’t mean letting people take advantage of you, it’s really more about treating everyone with the same level of respect as you would like to be treated. It’s simple good manners really. And always make time for your friends and family – there is no balance without them”.
As an industry figure Carolyn regularly provides commentary for online sites and forums and has been profiled for the Herald Sun, Property Toolbox, Your Investment Property Magazine, The Australian Real Estate Review, Your Mortgage, RealEstate.com.au, Business SA, Domain.com.au, Sold Magazine, Real Estate Business Online, and Superliving. She has also been a regular judge for the REISA Awards since 2006 – the professional body for more than 2000 real estate professionals in South Australia.
You can follow Carolyn Majda on Twitter at @CarolynMajda. She also welcomes general feedback about Terri Scheer landlord insurance products to carolynm@terrischeer.com.au.
References
1. ^Carolyn Majda. http://au.linkedin.com/in/carolynmajda. Retrieved 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2012-06-13
2. ^Carolyn Majda. http://www.apmasphere.com/Carolyn. Retrieved 2012-06-13
3. ^Damage to rental properties on the rise. http://goo.gl/I8Uc3. Retrieved 2012-06-13
4. ^Banish bad tenants. http://goo.gl/Tyuhb. Retrieved 2012-06-13
5. ^Complete protection for landlords. http://business-sa.com/xpress-newsletter/issue-61-april-2010/remaining-articles/complete-protection-for-landlords. Retrieved 2012-06-13
6. ^Consumer Awareness Key for Terri Scheer. http://www.sold-magazine.com.au/Articles/consumer-awareness-key-for-terri-scheer. Retrieved 2012-06-13