Eight Years In: Lessons from CRE, Corporate Life, and Growing Up at Work

This past week, I celebrated my official eight-year anniversary with Colliers.

And yes, I say official because apparently those several months as a temp-to-hire don’t count 😉 (I will die on this hill.)

Just the other day, we were celebrating a few team birthdays, and I couldn’t get over how young some of them are. Which immediately sent me spiraling (in a reflective way) back to the fact that I was 22 years old when I started at Colliers. Twenty-two. Baby-faced. Eager. Convinced I had it all figured out.

Looking back at where I started and where I am now, it’s clear: a lot has changed.

There have been team changes - some for the better, some… not so much. There were seasons where I wasn’t just treading water, but full-on drowning. And there were seasons of growth: promotions, expanded responsibilities, and the privilege of supporting regions from Cleveland down through Cincinnati and Dayton, all the way to Louisville.

I’m not entirely sure if I still count as a “YP” in the office or the industry... but compared to some of the long-tenured legends around me, I still have a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG way to go before the word retirement even deserves space in my brain.

(Although, if you’d asked 18-year-old me, I was convinced I’d be retired by 32… which—technically there’s still a chance?)

In honor of eight years in CRE, corporate life, and figuring it out as I go, here are eight lessons I’ve learned along the way. These aren’t meant to offend... just honest takeaways from the last eight years.

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1. Clarity is everything

Clear writing. Clear expectations. Clear next steps.

When things feel “hard,” it’s usually because something is unclear. Most frustration in work isn’t about effort... it’s about confusion.

2. Relationships will outlast roles and titles

Titles change. Companies restructure. Deals fall apart.

The way you treat people is what actually compounds over time... and trust me, it never goes unnoticed.

3. Corporate life will take everything you don’t protect

Your time, energy, creativity, and boundaries will all be consumed if you let them. No one is coming to save your calendar, your bandwidth, or your mental health. Protecting those things isn’t selfish... it’s strategic.

Also: we are not doing brain surgery... Your BOV/Flyer/Tourbook can wait another day if it must. #JustSaying

4. You’re allowed to outgrow the version of success you once chased

What motivated you early in your career might not fulfill you now and that’s not failure. That’s growth. Redefining success means you’re paying attention.

5. Building something of your own changes how you show up everywhere else

A side project, a personal brand, a passion project... whatever it is, creating something that’s yours sharpens your judgment, builds confidence, and reminds you you’re capable of more than staying in someone else’s lane.

6. Confidence is quiet

The most competent people don’t need to announce it. They ask better questions, listen longer, and move decisively when it matters. In rooms full of noise, calm is power.

7. Processes matter. Period.

If you don’t have systems (processes, trackers, organization, some version of a to-do list) you will burn out. Process creates freedom. It reduces decision fatigue. It makes big jobs manageable and busy seasons survivable.

8. You don’t have to have it all figured out... but you do have to keep going

Careers aren’t linear. Confidence comes and goes. Some seasons feel like momentum, others feel like survival. Both count. What matters is staying curious, staying kind, and not quitting on yourself when the path gets uncomfortable.

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There are plenty more lessons I’ve learned, and I’m sure many more ahead of me. If you ever want to grab coffee and trade stories, perspectives, or hard-earned wisdom, hit me up. I mean it. As my LinkedIn says, I’m fueled by coffee ☕️.

Here’s to growth, grit, and figuring it out one year at a time.

—CC