Prue Cunningham is a Development Manager for Stockland’s Western Australian Commercial Property business. With 14 years’ experience in property, Prue is passionate about retail placemaking and environmentally and economically sustainable development. Prue has worked on both greenfield and brownfield retail projects in Perth’s key growth corridors and was responsible for delivering the award-winning $116 million redevelopment and expansion of Stockland Baldivis shopping centre, and the $51 million shopping centre at Harrisdale. More recently, Prue has been focused on leading the masterplanning and approvals of activity centres on some of Stockland’s key projects in WA. Prue is also a committee member on the PCA WA Retail Committee.
Can you give us a thumbnail sketch of your career path?
Studied Commerce at Curtin University, majoring in Property
Briefly worked in property management (retail, residential and commercial)
Got a break via a friend of a friend to work in Project Management pre-GFC… super lucky that my boss took a chance on me. I learned everything on the job from a great bunch of humans who were willing to support me as a massive rookie and share their expertise
Post GFC I took a bit of a sideways step into a contract role with Stockland into the tenancy delivery team. Taking the plunge paid off; I’ve been here for nearly ten years now, having worked as a Project Manager for the first few years, and a Development Manager for the past seven.
How would your peers describe you?
Passionate, opinionated, a bit weird. But good weird. I think.
Most memorable moment of your career?
Baldivis was my first project as DM. It was a challenging project, with more than $116 million spent in just over 12 months, and was a huge time of growth for me both professionally and personally. The night before the grand opening I stood on the roof with the Project Manager Carey Hoare and we watched the sun set and had a little ‘We did it!’ moment. It was the first time I felt I’d passed the gruelling initiation into DM-hood.
Stockland Harrisdale
Biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career?
It seems obvious, but just to be myself. I spent the early part of my career trying to fit in, which was difficult as a young female in the property industry. Property is an exciting and diverse industry, being different is an asset. So now I let myself just be me all the time. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s much easier to connect with and influence people from a place of authenticity. Not everyone will like me, but that’s ok.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever received and by who?
I have three favourites:
1. Maintain momentum. Often an imperfect quick decision will save money and time in the long run.’ It was from my boss at the time, Tim Beattie, and I like it because I think it’s good general life advice too.
2. ‘You are not your job’. Another boss Adrian Timp. I tell myself this every time the proverbial hits the fan.
3. ‘Panic slowly’. Carey Hoare – my good friend and colleague. A reminder to take a deep breath, and just think it through before reacting.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into development?
Do it. It’s fun, dynamic, challenging and tangible. I think it’s a good idea to spend some time in a specialist role or two before moving to a generalist role. It gives you the time to thoroughly understand the detail of some of the moving parts you’ll be stitching together as a DM. For me it was property management and project management. I call on my experience in these areas daily.
What qualities make a good Development Manager?
When I describe my job to my non property friends, I always use the words ‘glue’ and ‘cheerleader’. My theory is my job is to thoroughly brief my team of experts, get them excited about the project then trust and back them to do their thing. Be interested in the little things, ask the silly questions, ponder and analyse. Be willing to make a timely or unpopular decision, back yourself and wear it when you get it wrong. I also think a good DM holds a strong vision for a project, but is flexible enough to tweak the vision to achieve something better or respond to conditions outside of their control.
What’s the single biggest lesson you’ve learnt about leadership?
My attitude is contagious – if I’m pumped my team is pumped, and on the flip side if I’m negative and stressed, it will inevitably rub off on the team. This one took me a while to learn, but now I think of myself as the champion of the project. I need to believe in it and advocate for it so that everyone else will.
What do you think is the most significant barrier to female leadership?
In general, I think balancing parenthood and careers is a big challenge. Simple biological facts are that women have the children, often requiring time away from the workplace as their careers build and peak. And after that, women still bear the majority of the child rearing duties. I see so much potential to think a bit more laterally about job sharing, seeing it as an opportunity to maximise the skilled people we already have while developing up a pipeline of future talent. And I know at Stockland we’re really focused on this.
More specifically to the property industry, I think it’s a numbers thing – we just don’t see as many women to model ourselves on. Women often deal with situations differently, and so we’re sometimes perceived as being less capable, when really we’re just cracking the same nut in a different way.
Who have been the biggest supporters in your career?
I’ve had amazing bosses, mentors and sponsors my whole career. They’ve backed me when I wasn’t quite ready to back myself and pushed me to challenge myself and grow. I stay in contact with all of them and often turn to them for general life advice.
How do you keep your day on track?
I’m dedicated to my weekday routine. Every day I get up early, exercise before work, eat three boring but nutritious meals and walk my dog on the beach in the evening. By keeping the essentials in check via the routine I have brain space to be better at work, and time to channel into social stuff and hobbies.
When are you most creative?
My most creative thoughts of the day is always in the shower, or anywhere in the great outdoors with wind in my ears. I also have these random ‘ideas days’. I’ve worked with the same Leasing Executive Glen Harbord for the past seven years. He sees an ideas day coming a mile away and braces himself for random email lists. I think he secretly loves it though, he always says if I throw enough ideas out there one will stick!
