APC Series: Leading the way

The senior professional route is available to APC candidates who have a senior professional role. What does that mean though – and what competencies do you need to demonstrate? The basic entry requirements for the senior professional route are to have 10 years’ relevant experience, which is reduced to five years if you have an undergraduate degree (or relevant professional qualification) and a relevant post-graduate degree. You also need to be able to demonstrate a strong senior profile, with advanced responsibilities and recognition for your impact and career progression within the surveying profession. The senior professional route is different in structure to the more traditional APC routes, such as structured training or preliminary review. Initially, you have to undergo a vetting stage where you submit an application form to RICS, including your employment history, qualifications, RICS pathway, 400-word senior profile statement and organisation chart/description. Top tips Olivia Proudley MRICS FNAVA FNAEA, director at Proudley Associates and consultant to Property Elite: “While it is a massively intimidating process, the interview should be just a conversation between you and your assessors about your experience. They aren’t trying to trip you up, they just want to make sure you can do everything you say you can in your submission. You will be surprised how different you feel sitting a second time in comparison to the first. I know brilliant surveyors who passed on their third, fourth and even fifth time! It is the luck of the draw as to who you get to assess you and what questions you are asked – the important thing is that you do not give up.” Following acceptance by RICS onto the senior professional route, you have a two-stage assessment process: a written submission (three case studies of 1,000-1,500 words each and a 12-month CPD record with at least 20 hours recorded) and a final assessment interview of 60 minutes. You have 12 months from acceptance by RICS onto the senior professional route to submit for final assessment, otherwise you will need to undergo the vetting procedure again. The three case studies are split into one focusing on your senior professional competencies and two that focus on your technical competencies (although you will still need to demonstrate your senior professional role within these). There are three senior professional competencies (see table) that all senior professional APC candidates must satisfy. These demonstrate your leadership and management skills and provide support for your senior profile. These sit alongside your mandatory competencies and technical competencies (relevant to your pathway and split into core and optional competencies). Leadership There are a variety of leadership styles – the key Is to employ the right one for you and in the right situation. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and their critical success will be affected by the team you are leading. Motivation theory relates to what drives individuals to work towards specific goals or outcomes. A good leader will understand and apply motivational theories such as those of Maslow, Herzberg and Pink. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, in particular, can be applied to a variety of leadership situations, particularly when looking at what motivates individuals and how they can be better engaged within teams. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Senior professionals also need to be aware of organisational design and communication strategies. Organisation design is defined by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development as “the review of what an organisation wants and needs, an analysis of the gap between its current state and where it wants to be in future, and the design of organisational practices that will bridge that gap”. This could be undertaken in reaction to internal or external factors, where an organisation’s strategy or goals change over time, or where consolidation or reconfiguration is required. Senior professionals will be involved in this process, perhaps adopting models such as the McKinsey 7S Framework, Jay Galbraith’s Star Model or the Burke-Litwin model of organisational change and performance. Similarly, robust and adaptable communication strategies are key to effective leadership. These will include positive and clear internal communication, particularly in times of uncertainty or change. Good communication strategies will build a shared sense of purpose and align key stakeholders to wider organisational goals. Senior professionals are a key communication channel to the business, and this could be a key element of the senior professional case study. Finally, senior professionals need to lead and create high-performing teams. Two key theories to be aware of are Belbin’s team roles and Tuckman’s theory. Tuckman’s theory relates to the five phases of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (or mourning). Senior professionals need to understand the stage of development that their team is currently at and be able to adapt their leadership style appropriately. For example, if a team is at the forming stage, individual team members may be unsure of the team’s purpose and will be looking to the senior professional for direction and leadership. At the later performing stage, the team is likely to be functioning efficiently and effectively, and the leader will have implemented structured processes and be allowing team members to take on adaptable and fluid roles. In contrast, Belbin’s theory relates to various team roles, such as the resource investigator, teamworker and co-ordinator (the social roles); plant, monitor evaluator and specialist (the thinking roles); and shaper, implementer and completer/finisher (the action or task roles). As a senior professional, you need to understand the roles that each of your team members currently plays and be able to incorporate this knowledge into your leadership skills. Case studies In summary, all of the above leadership theory, skills and knowledge can be demonstrated in all three case studies. Senior professional candidates will need to demonstrate how they applied the theory in practice, acted as a leader within their organisation, created a high-performing team and used optimised organisational design and communication strategies. The focus should be on the actions the candidate took in practice, rather than extensively explaining their knowledge in the case studies. The theory behind the actions can then be drawn out in the interview questioning. The key is to demonstrate robust and effective leadership skills in all three case studies, with a particular focus in the first senior professional case study. Further reading and resources RICS New Rules of Conduct  RICS Red Book Global 2022 RICS Building Safety Announcement (January 2022) Jen Lemen FRICS is a partner at Property Elite Photo © The Lazy Artist Gallery/Pexels