An Interview with Barbara Henderson

Tell about your background, schools attended, etc.

My husband, Joe, and I are originally from Urbana and have been married for 27 years.

I graduated from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville with a Bachelors degree in social work and psychology. My focus on this was due to my indecision as to what my career should be when I was in high school. I decided to pursue education toward career counseling. I didn't realize how this background would help me in my future career plans, as well as my community volunteer work, until I was in the work force and giving my time in a variety of ways.

In 1978, we moved to the St. Louis, Missouri, area and lived there for 17 years. My husband has been employed with Commerce Bank for 26 years, and his work brought us to Peoria 10 years ago. I've worked for a real estate services company for more than seven years. Nearly six years ago, I became employed by the Devonshire Group, the holding company for six separate companies: Coldwell Banker Devonshire Realty, Coldwell Banker Commercial Devonshire Realty, Architectural Spectrum, HDC Engineering, Associated Capital Mortgage, and Associated Capital Title. My current position is chief operating officer for our holding company. Devonshire has 15 offices in central Illinois, 200 employees, and 350 independent contractors. Our headquarters are in Champaign, and our Northern Region consists of offices in Peoria, East Peoria, Pekin, and Morton.

How did you move from counseling into the for-profit insurance sector?

My original goal was to pursue a vocation as a career counselor. When I was in high school, the guidance to help students understand what career path they should take wasn't comprehensive. But after four years with the Educational Opportunity Center office near St. Louis, it became necessary to move due to Joe's employment. I needed to change jobs, and it was at this time that I made the transition into the insurance industry.

At the time, my father owned a large insurance agency in central Illinois. He shared with me that an insurance company was opening a satellite office in the area where we were moving and suggested I contact them. I enjoyed the operational responsibilities I had with the educational center and knew I could use my social work and counseling skills to interact with employees in the workplace, whether it was helping employees improve their job skills or helping them with job stress. I applied for the position, and this was my start within the insurance industry.

I worked within the insurance industry for 12 years. During that time, I worked for five companies. With each position, I had a focus on operations, as well as interacted in a leadership role with employees. My educational background was perfect. I learned the company that has the best employees has the advantage, and this is something that hasn't changed in the workplace in the past 25 years.

My understanding of intervention for workplace problems and my ability to help employees be more effective in their job situations helped me as I gained more responsibility as a manager. The attitudes of workers have a considerable impact on their potential in the workplace. It's critical to remember that one of the most important resources a company has to manage is its people. Because of this, I've transferred my interpersonal career counseling skills into the workplace.

You have your license in both property and casualty insurance and real estate. How have those credentials assisted you in your career?

The insurance industry and the real estate industry mirror each other in many ways. Both industries use a contract to work with their clients. They're bound by many state and federal laws, which require individuals to be trained and educated. I was fortunate, when I first started working within the insurance industry, that the company I worked for required that all positions within the office possess an insurance license. This credential gave me credibility and assisted me as I moved within the insurance industry into various positions.

The same has been true for my time within real estate. When I started working for the Devonshire Group, I was asked to secure a real estate license. Due to having a license, I've learned much faster what the industry is about and what it has to offer. These are important aspects to know when working within the operations of a company.

My insurance background has allowed me to work for the past seven years in an insurance risk management function. It's something all businesses need to have and something you hope you never have to use. I like insurance. I enjoy looking at the process of transferring the risk from the insured to an insurance company. I handle all the business insurance needs of Devonshire. Devonshire has its business insurance with the insurance agency my father used to own, and I'm working with many of his previous employees. It's really a small world sometimes.

What made you decide to move away from the social sciences and into insurance and real estate?

I worked within the non-profit arena but not in the social work setting many people think of when they hear the words "social work." I had a strong desire to help improve people's lives through the vocation they chose. I like a very fast moving environment, and I enjoyed my interaction with people when I worked for the Educational Opportunity Center. I saw many successes and felt very positive about my work, although I still wasn't in control of the end result. Working within the insurance industry and now within real estate services, I can make things happen and see things through to a positive outcome. I focus on results. If you give a positive outcome on a consistent basis, everything else you desire will come your way.

Even though a young professional today has a much different profile than a young professional 25 years ago, there are still many similarities in her needs. My educational background provided the start of this insight. People who work for us today have their personal talents, knowledge, abilities, and energy to accomplish their job. I provide help to support an environment that will assist people to become our company leaders.

Discuss the work of the Devonshire Group.

The Devonshire Group is a real estate services company founded in 1977. In the beginning, the company was a one-person office providing property management and commercial brokerage services. The focus has always been to provide the finest in real estate services. To do this, affiliations have been built to bring together complimentary services that benefit our clients in a timely and efficient manner. Some of our services today include residential brokerage; mortgage brokerage; title work; engineering (land development, survey, public, environmental); and architecture (corporate, retail, housing). We're a one-stop company for any real estate need. We help our clients find and buy real estate, but we also offer resources to help them design, develop, build, and manage their property. When I'm asked what the Devonshire Group does, I always use the example that if someone wants to relocate to another city, find a home, find land, design a building, construct a building, manage the property, and then lease or sell the building-Devonshire can assist with all of those needs.

Our Residential Brokerage division is our largest division, and we work under the Coldwell Banker franchise. In 2004, we assisted 5,954 families in purchasing or selling a home. Coldwell Banker corporate announced last July that our Coldwell Banker Devonshire Realty office on Willow Knolls Drive in Peoria was included in the Coldwell Banker National Top 100 offices-out of 2,494 offices-for Total Units. Our Commercial Brokerage division ended the third quarter in 2004 in the top 10 nationally with Coldwell Banker Commercial. HDC Engineering completed 507 projects in 2004, up from 438 in 2003. Our architects with Architectural Spectrum completed their largest project in their history during 2004. Achievements such as these are only accomplished through the combined efforts of dedicated professionals.

We're a very strong employer in the tri-county area. Due to having 350,000 people in the area, our focus is for Peoria to become our largest region. Peoria already is the largest of the four offices in this area.

The past couple of years have been very good for our mortgage brokerage division, Associated Capital Mortgage, as it continues to grow throughout our company. Interest rates are so favorable that customers are leveraging their homes to make good use of their money. Mortgage lending has many positive trends going at this time. One trend is the availability of funds for a very broad spectrum of customers, including customers that may not have money for a down payment or customers who've had credit issues. There are hundreds of different loan programs in place to suit the needs of many types of homebuyers. Certainly, there's a better opportunity for someone to be a homeowner now than ever before.

At Devonshire, we don't need to go outside of our company for any knowledge or expertise in real estate services. We promote cross selling of services and have proven experience and success in working together. Our people are our competitive advantage.

Talk about your current position: what you do in general and on a day-to-day basis.

My role with Devonshire has been to work directly with the CEO, Tom Harrington, and our commercial services director, Tim Harrington. Tom and Tim are brothers and the owners of the company. In general, I assess, define, and implement systems and procedures to streamline the workflow of the company's many processes and methodologies, thereby establishing the consistency and cohesion appropriate in a highly professional organization. I work to provide constant, honest communication of the good and not-so-good results, and I focus on desired outcomes. I attend management meetings and meet regularly with employees, coworkers, and, at times, potential clients.

I'm very fortunate to work directly with our senior management team, which consists of about 25 managers throughout our company. Because I work throughout the company, I'm able to look at situations from a global perspective. I work to cultivate a team-oriented atmosphere by developing relationships with our managers. I support collaboration and the pooling of resources; organizations function better if resources and knowledge are shared and people work together.

I meet three to four times per day with Tom Harrington. Over the past few years, we've found it easier to meet more often than to try and have one very comprehensive meeting each week. Tom is a working CEO and is very hands-on regarding the operations of the company. My continuous responsibilities center on managing the business insurance, including the professional liability for our real estate agents, engineers, and architects. I oversee the leasing/purchasing of the equipment that keeps our offices functioning and interact with our IT director regarding our technology needs within the company.

You've held numerous positions with Devonshire. Explain how each position has enabled you to move into the next one.

I actually have held six different positions prior to my current role. This probably sounds like a lot; however, when I started working for Devonshire, they'd just completed several mergers and acquisitions to double the size of their company. My role became one of helping them get their arms around what they'd spent several months purchasing. The approach we took for several years was for me to take a leadership role in a division, understand what was taking place, make recommendations, and implement change/integration into the company.

It's for this reason I have a global perspective of our company. I've worked within administration, commercial development, commercial brokerage, marketing, property management, HDC engineering, and architectural spectrum. I've been successful in creating and implementing systems, plans, and programs to appropriately streamline the core. As I completed the work in one area of the company, I moved into another. Tom and Tim provided me the authority in each position to have a positive outcome as the end result.

What are the current trends in commercial/residential real estate? Development?

Development continues to be strong. After 9/11, even the work in the pipeline stopped, but it's bounced back very strong. New construction continues to drive sales in our various markets. Smaller family units have created a demand for smaller, high-quality housing such as condos, town homes, and "zero lot line property" with higher levels of finish-even at the expense of square footage. The downtown areas are becoming popular again, as we see loft condominiums emerging in Champaign, Decatur, and Peoria. New homes have first floor master suites with a trend away from formal areas. We're seeing more open and less defined space. All of this supports the commercial/residential brokerage, mortgage brokerage, development, engineering, and architecture areas of our company.

Current trends in residential/commercial real estate brokerage is one-stop shopping. The consumer clearly wants us to take care of as many of their real estate-related needs as possible. There's a real emphasis on quality of service offered. The role of the real estate practitioner has become more counselor than salesperson. The data is readily available, and our consumers are savvy about the technology necessary to get that data. It's the interpretation of the data that's needed. People also want speedy responses. Tim has established a unique program for his clients' diligent property solutions within commercial brokerage. A client can come to us, and we'll arrange all the services needed-appraisal, environmental testing, design-to buy or sell a property. This is a huge convenience for our clients. We provide quality service with speed in a very professional setting.

One important trend in mortgage brokerage is the regulation of residential mortgage lending. Mortgage lenders want to be known for good lending practices. To insure this, the mortgage industry is constantly updating and implementing regulations developed to protect and inform the customer.

You've excelled in both the non-profit and for-profit arenas. What are the differences of the two?

I don't see a lot of difference. I believe non-profit and for-profit need structure, accountability, planning, and the best people possible. I approach my volunteer work as a job; I possess very strong work ethics and values. I believe if I'm going to become part of an organization's board or committee, I need to provide a service. I'm very hands-on with my job, and I prefer to be very hands-on as a volunteer. Too often, I see non-profit organizations spending staff time doing work that can and should be done by a board member or volunteer. It's too difficult to raise funds today to use those funds to give a convenience to a volunteer. When we hire someone to work at Devonshire, we provide a detailed job description of expectations. I support and promote doing the same in a non-profit organization. I take my volunteer work as seriously as I do my position with Devonshire. I believe with both non-profit and for-profit, if you work for results, then everything you want will come to you in the end.

What's the most challenging aspect of your career?

The most challenging aspect of my career has been the process of continuously improving, and by that I mean continuously learning. I always keep in mind: What do I need to know to do my job well? What would be useful to know? What would be interesting to know? I want to make the best decisions possible, I want to be useful to others, and I want to bring value to the company.

I don't have a lot of extra time, so finding time to learn hasn't always been easy. One must make time. To maintain my insurance credentials, I have to take a three-day continuing education class each year. To maintain my real estate license, I'm required to take 12 hours of continuing education every two years.

It's very important if you work, live, and volunteer in a community to stay on top of current events. Three years ago, several other individuals and I started a "Leads/Networking" group. We meet the second Friday of every month at 7:30 a.m. This group is made up of individuals from a variety of industries and professions, and it has a great wealth of knowledge. We meet for a little over an hour, and what I take away-and hopefully contribute-can't be found on the front page of the newspaper. It helps me continually improve.

What do you consider your greatest career accomplishment? Personal accomplishment?

My greatest career accomplishment has been seeing the personal impact I've had on others. I feel my leadership ability influences others to perform. I work to instill confidence in others. I like to share my knowledge, interact with employees, and structure an environment to encourage motivation. People need to motivate themselves; when I see this happen, it's very rewarding.

My greatest personal accomplishment is my marriage of 27 years. I married my best friend. He's a confidante and has been there to share my experiences. My husband and I work to support each other in our careers and community volunteer work. We value each other in many ways and respect what each is working to achieve.

How would you counsel young women today beginning their careers?

Higher education is critical. Learn as much as possible because knowledge is power. No one can take knowledge away from you. Volunteer for any training, workshop, conference, etc. You'll always learn at least one thing.

Relationships are so important. The five positions I held in the insurance industry in St. Louis all came from knowing someone who called me to interview or to refer me for the position. People do things for people. Make and keep as many relationships as possible. Also, as part of this, find a mentor. Our residential brokerage manager and our mortgage brokerage manager promote mentoring within their divisions. A mentor can help you set and monitor goals.

Learn, learn, and learn everything you can about technology. Our management doesn't use our administrative staff for support help. We use our administrative staff to provide services to our clients. Our management is very hands-on, and we center our professionalism on automation. Embrace technology, and utilize it to function every day.

Establish a business plan. Women beginning their careers will have a much better chance for success if they follow a written business plan. Always have specific goals and the steps to reach those goals. Refer to the plan daily to achieve the highest success.

Your community involvement currently is with the ICC Educational Foundation and the Pediatric Resource Center. What are your thoughts on volunteerism?

Volunteerism has made a difference in my life. I decided a long time ago that a main focus for me would be to help children who can't make it alone. I spent many years working with the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis. Since moving to Peoria, I've been involved with the Pediatric Resource Center, a program for abused children. Most recently, I've been involved with the Illinois Central College Educational Foundation, which promotes access to higher education and enhancing the quality of education at ICC. All three support the needs of children/young adults who can't make it alone.

I hope I've contributed to the progress each of these organizations has made. The Devonshire Group promotes community involvement and has made this an annual goal in many of its divisions.

What I don't find appealing are uncommitted volunteers. They enter into a volunteer situation for only self-serving reasons. If you volunteer today, you must be willing to work for the organization and give your talent freely. A problem volunteer can be a virus to an organization.

Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?

I'm always observing young people today and their focus on their future. This is a perfect time for bright, service-oriented people to consider a career in the real estate industry. Research shows in the next 20 years, millions of new households will be added to the marketplace, and mortgage debt is predicted to increase by trillions. The Devonshire Group is planning for the future, and we welcome the opportunity to share the real estate services industry with any one interested.

On a more personal note, I moved to Peoria when I was 41 years old. It wasn't easy to secure a new position, make new friends, and become familiar with a community. I'd like to thank Judy and Art Oakford for taking me under their wings and guiding me along the way. Judy is a role model like no other for women. I try to reciprocate their kindness when I meet new members of the Peoria community. Peoria has excellent opportunities for women. If we work together, we'll continue to make things happen. TPW