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Gemba Walks
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🎯 This Week’s Strategy:
Gemba Walks
🤝 Boardroom Brief:
Constructive eviction: A legal pitfall every property manager must avoid
Strategy
🎯 Gemba Walks
Get closer to your operations - literally.
In a fast-moving industry like property management, leaders often get pulled into meetings, dashboards, and performance reports. But if you're only managing from a distance, you're missing the pulse of what's really happening on-site. That’s where Gemba Walks come in a powerful tool borrowed from lean management to boost operational awareness, uncover inefficiencies, and strengthen team alignment.
“Gemba” is a Japanese term meaning “the real place.” A Gemba Walk is when leaders go to the actual location where work is being done to observe, ask questions, and identify opportunities for improvement firsthand.
🛠 How Property Managers Can Implement Gemba Walks
1. Start with the Right Intent
The goal of a Gemba Walk isn’t to micromanage, it’s to learn. Approach your visit with curiosity, not criticism. The focus is on understanding the process and hearing directly from the people doing the work.
Action Steps:
✅ Block time in your schedule for regular site visits (weekly, biweekly, or monthly).
✅ Brief your team ahead of time: explain the purpose is improvement, not inspection.
✅ Leave your assumptions at the door go in ready to learn, not lead.
2. Go Where the Work Happens
Whether it's the leasing office, maintenance rooms, or common areas spend time where the action is. Watch how tasks unfold, how tenants interact, and how staff respond.
Action Steps:
✅ Shadow a leasing agent during a tour or tenant onboarding.
✅ Observe how maintenance requests are received and addressed.
✅ Check how amenities are being maintained and how often.
3. Ask Empowering Questions
The real value comes from the people on the frontlines. They often have the best insights on what’s working and what’s not. Your job is to create space for honest conversation.
Action Steps:
✅ Ask: “What’s slowing you down the most right now?”
✅ Ask: “If you had a magic wand, what’s one thing you’d fix?”
✅ Listen actively. Write down patterns and repeat concerns.
4. Document Observations Without Judgment
Capture your notes but resist the urge to make snap decisions. Focus on identifying systems and patterns that need addressing, not individuals who need correcting.
Action Steps:
✅ Log all insights in a shared dashboard or operations sheet.
✅ Tag themes like maintenance delays, tech friction, or tenant pain points.
✅ Wait 24–48 hours before proposing changes, this helps avoid reactive decisions.
5. Follow Up with Action
A Gemba Walk without follow-through breeds distrust. Your team needs to see that their insights lead to improvement. Prioritize quick wins and build momentum.
Action Steps:
✅ Create a task list of low-hanging fruit uncovered during your visit.
✅ Assign team members to lead mini-pilots or experiments for fixes.
✅ Publicly share changes and credit those who raised the issue.
💡 Why This Strategy Works
Boosts morale – When staff feel seen and heard, engagement rises.
Reveals blind spots – You discover issues you’d never spot from a report.
Strengthens accountability – Creates a culture of continuous, collaborative improvement.
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Boardroom Brief
Constructive eviction: A legal pitfall every property manager must avoid
A recent Kiplinger feature highlights a powerful cautionary tale for property managers: when poor oversight creates unsafe living conditions, tenants may have legal grounds to break their lease under what’s known as constructive eviction. In the case described, a luxury apartment complex experienced a sharp decline in safety and services after new ownership replaced experienced managers with an unqualified relative. Broken garage doors, security lapses, and mounting tenant complaints led one couple to exit early successfully, through a professionally written lease termination request.
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