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Dear friends and partners,
Exactly at this moment, as I “struggle” to write something meaningful here, I realize I have just celebrated 7 years as the Head Coach of Colliers in Romania. Seven is my magical number that has followed me for most of my life. This summer will mark 17 years since I became part of the Colliers team.
Reflecting on some challenging business experiences from last year, which made me question things more deeply, considering the numbers above and along with the time I had during the holiday season, I’ve taken a step back to think about what core quality a CEO/leader should have, if I were forced to choose just one only. Of course, there are many traits a CEO must embody to do their job well: integrity, adaptive communication, decision making, strategic and flexible thinking, growth mindset, resilience, and I could add two or three more. But if I had to choose just one, I’d say a CEO needs to be a Good Human – someone who makes tough decisions, takes responsibility, but let’s be clear, not someone weak or naïve. I believe that the mix of our local values, Care and Honesty, explains perfectly what should be at the heart of such a leader.
I see that nowadays we care less and less about those around us, about long-term relationships, how “simple” words can impact others, how critical trust is, and how easily we can lose it. Well… Good Humans care about their team, the company they lead, their clients, shareholders, the impact they have, those close to them, and even those around them. Yes, I truly believe that, above all, a CEO must be a Good Human. It reminds me of something Jurgen Klopp once said: “I am the friend of my players, but I am not their best friend. So, my job is to help them to play the best football that they can play.”
On a different note, although one of our predictions at the beginning of the year was increased political noise, given all the elections packed into a single year, expecting more tensions, 2024 surprised us, and the end of the year was totally unexpected. We’ve realized that even when things are going well, even when we have most of the ingredients for success, one excess of the wrong ingredient can completely spoil the dish, taking us to situations we could never have imagined. It turns out that even “simple” choices can deeply affect the generations to come. Good people in this country must take a stand, engage more in our society, give back to those in need, and become Active Good Humans!
Let’s go, Good Humans!
Laurentiu Lazar
Managing Partner
Colliers Romania
Colliers is a leader in global real estate services, defined by our spirit of enterprise. Through a culture of service excellence and collaboration, we integrate the resources of real estate specialists worldwide to accelerate the success of our partners. We represent property investors, developers and occupiers in local and global markets. Our expertise spans all property sectors–office, industrial, retail, residential, rural & agribusiness, healthcare & retirement living, hotels & leisure.