Celeste Tanner will be the first to tell you that real growth happens just outside your comfort zone.
Tanner is NAIOP’s 2026 chair and co-founder, president, and chief development officer of Confluent Development, based in Denver, Colorado. She joined NAIOP’s Inside CRE podcast with NAIOP President and CEO Mark Selvitelli, CAE, to share the leadership principles that have shaped her career in the collaborative world of commercial real estate.
1. Opportunity Lies Beyond Your Comfort Zone
In commercial real estate development, where projects demand bold decisions, Tanner said that pushing beyond what feels safe opens doors to opportunities you’d never reach otherwise.
“If you shoot for the moon,” she said, “wherever you land is still further than if you’d never tried.”
This mindset not only shaped her own career trajectory but helped her inspire others to take their own leaps. Leadership isn’t about having every answer – it’s about having the courage to try.
2. Treat Leadership as a Team Sport
Few industries are as interdisciplinary as development. Tanner painted a picture: a general contractor, a banker, an architect, a civil engineer – all driven by different priorities, all sitting at the same table. Her job as a developer? Get them on the same metaphorical bus, heading in the same direction.
“There is an art to that, and it’s something that I really enjoy,” Tanner said. “Being able to lead that team and empower them.”
3. Trust People – and Your Judgment
For Tanner, success happens when you assemble the best people and “trust them implicitly; empower them fully.”
She encourages leaders to ask questions without hesitation, admit when they don’t know, challenge assumptions and ignore show‑offs.
“And at the end of all of that, be 100% confident in making a decision with about 70% of the information,” she said. “If you can do that and embrace it, I think you have a path to success.”
4. Engage Deeply: The Value of Showing Up
Tanner’s involvement with NAIOP began with uncertainty – and a little fear. Walking into her first event at age 26, surrounded by hundreds of strangers, she felt like an outsider. Instead of quitting, she tried again.
“I ended up joining a committee within the NAIOP Colorado chapter and absolutely loved it. It was an amazing experience to be able to just meet people in the industry… and really made me grow and find people that ultimately, I was able to do deals with,” she said.
5. Innovation Isn’t Optional
“We’re in a moment where not just AI, but AI-fueled technology adoption is going to be the linchpin that allows us to maintain success in the way that we build commercial spaces,” said Tanner. Traditionally risk‑averse developers must now adopt new technologies to stay efficient and competitive. In the next five years, companies that fail to adapt are at risk of being left behind.
“I’m also really excited that as people start to adopt and embrace and learn what works and doesn’t work, our members can go to the other 21,000-plus members across North America and share, learn and establish best practices,” she added.
6. Say Yes to What Creates Value
From her work with the local chapter to her involvement at NAIOP Corporate, Tanner kept saying yes because each step brought valuable relationships, knowledge and a stronger sense of belonging to the industry.
“When you continue to see that much value,” she said, “How can you not say yes?”
Tanner’s story is a reminder that leadership isn’t defined by title or tenure. It’s built through curiosity, collaboration and the willingness to participate.
