A conversation with Helen Xie, Director of Development at Infrastructure Ontario
In real estate development, the path to becoming a Development Manager is rarely linear. Some professionals come through finance and underwriting. Others arrive from architecture, planning, or engineering.
But one of the most common pathways into the Development Manager role is through the Development Coordinator position.
To better understand why, I spoke with Helen Xie, Director of Development at Infrastructure Ontario, about how coordinators build the skills that prepare them for leadership roles in development.
Our conversation explored the technical, operational, and leadership capabilities that coordinators develop early in their careers, and what signals someone is ready to step into a Development Manager role.
From a recruiting standpoint, this is one of the most consistent patterns seen in the market. The Coordinator seat often gives people the exposure to the moving parts of the project. It is one of the reasons clients so often look for candidates who have grown through the development function rather than stepped into it from the outside.
Why Many Development Managers Start as Development Coordinators
According to Helen, many Development Coordinators begin their careers with technical training.
“Many coordinators come from backgrounds such as architecture, engineering, or planning,” she explains. “Because of that, they are trained to think systematically and connect the dots across complex problems.”
Development is inherently multidisciplinary. A single project can involve architects, structural engineers, civil engineers, planners, MEP consultants, and a range of internal teams including leasing, construction, and finance.
Development Coordinators often sit at the center of those interactions.
“The role requires coordinators to ensure information flows between many different parties,” Helen says. “By supporting development managers across different stages of a project, coordinators gain exposure to how projects move from phase to phase.”
Over time, that exposure builds a combination of technical awareness, coordination experience, and communication skills.
“That combination ultimately prepares many coordinators to become strong development managers.”
Helen also notes that Development Analysts can transition successfully into management roles as well, particularly because of their financial and analytical strengths.
“In many cases, the best development managers are those who can bridge both worlds: understanding the technical side of development while also being comfortable interpreting project economics.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This is exactly why employers are often drawn to candidates who can connect technical understanding with commercial awareness. In hiring processes, that blend tends to stand out. A candidate who understands drawings, consultant coordination, approvals, and the financial implications behind decisions is usually far more compelling than someone who has only operated in one lane.
The Unique Exposure Development Coordinators Receive
One aspect of the role that is often underestimated is how much visibility coordinators gain across the entire development process.
Because they support Development Managers across multiple responsibilities, coordinators often participate in:
- consultant coordination
- internal reporting
- budgeting discussions
- entitlement processes
- project scheduling
“They may not be making the final decisions,” Helen explains, “but they are present in many of the conversations where those decisions are shaped.”
Over time, this creates a powerful learning opportunity.
Coordinators begin to understand not just what decisions are being made, but why they are being made.
“They see how technical, financial, and regulatory considerations intersect. That kind of systems level understanding of development is difficult to gain in more specialized roles.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This kind of exposure matters a great deal in the hiring market because it creates range. When clients are hiring for Development Manager roles, they are often looking for people who can operate across multiple functions, not just execute a narrow task list. Candidates who have been exposed to the full rhythm of a project often interview better because they can speak to context, trade-offs, and how decisions actually get made.
Early Career Lessons That Shape Strong Development Leaders
Reflecting on her own career, Helen emphasized two lessons that made a significant impact early on.
The first is the importance of the people you work with.
“The company you start with matters, but the people you work with day-to-day matter even more,” she says.
Having a manager who invests in your development can dramatically accelerate learning.
“The best managers are often the ones who see your potential before you see it yourself.”
The second lesson is the importance of asking questions.
“Early in your career it is expected that you do not know everything. That actually makes it one of the best times to ask thoughtful questions.”
Learning how to ask good questions does two things.
First, it accelerates learning.
Second, it becomes a core management skill later in a development career.
“In development we work with consultants because no single person can be an expert in every discipline. Being able to ask the right questions helps you understand the real issues and guide consultants effectively.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This comes up constantly when assessing talent. The people who advance fastest are usually not the ones trying to appear like they know everything. They are the ones who are curious, coachable, and intentional about learning from strong leaders. When candidates can point to mentors, lessons learned, and how they grew through exposure, it is often a very strong signal of long term potential.
The Skills Coordinators Build That Translate Into Management
The Development Coordinator role builds both technical and interpersonal skills that are directly transferable to Development Manager responsibilities.
On the technical side, coordinators gain exposure to what Helen describes as the three core pillars of development:
- plans
- budgets
- schedules
“They learn how these elements interact and how decisions in one area affect the others,” she says.
Depending on the organization, coordinators may have more limited exposure to budgeting early on, but the foundational understanding still develops over time.
On the soft skills side, coordinators build capabilities in:
- project management
- stakeholder management
- consultant coordination
- communication
Emotional intelligence becomes increasingly important as well.
“Development involves navigating different personalities, priorities, and pressures across internal teams and external consultants,” Helen explains.
Together, these hard and soft skills form the foundation of effective development management.
Recruiter Perspective:
From a hiring perspective, this is where the role becomes especially interesting. Technical skills may get someone into the conversation, but soft skills often determine whether they are viewed as ready for the next step. Clients are rarely hiring a Development Manager just to track tasks. They are hiring someone who can manage relationships, move conversations forward, and keep momentum when priorities start pulling in different directions.
The Development Knowledge Coordinators Should Build Before Becoming Managers
While Development Manager roles can vary between companies, Helen believes there are several core areas coordinators should understand before stepping into the role.
One of the most important is the entitlement process.
“Entitlements sit at the heart of development,” she says. “Understanding how projects move through approvals, zoning considerations, and regulatory requirements is essential.”
Closely connected to entitlements is consultant coordination, since much of the entitlement process is driven through external consultant teams.
Development Managers must be able to guide and manage that work effectively.
Beyond that, exposure to budgeting, scheduling, and internal reporting processes is also valuable.
“But if a coordinator has a strong grasp of entitlements and consultant management,” Helen notes, “they are already well positioned to transition into a manager role.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This lines up closely with what many employers ask for when they define readiness for a Development Manager hire. Entitlements and consultant management are often two of the clearest markers because they show whether someone has moved beyond coordination and started understanding how projects are actually driven forward. In many hiring processes, those areas are weighted heavily because they are harder to teach quickly.
The Skills That Often Go Unnoticed
Some of the most important capabilities coordinators build are less obvious.
One example is exposure to the project pro forma.
“The pro forma is one of the key decision making tools in development,” Helen explains. “Without understanding the financial model behind a project, it can be difficult to understand why certain design or entitlement decisions are made.”
Even if coordinators are not responsible for building the financial model themselves, visibility into it provides valuable context.
“It allows them to see how design choices, timelines, and approvals affect project feasibility.”
Another important but often overlooked skill is communication discipline.
Development Coordinators interact with many consultants and stakeholders.
“Not every consultant needs every piece of information,” Helen says. “Being able to tailor communication helps projects move more efficiently and reduces unnecessary complexity.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This is where the separation between good and great comes. Pro forma exposure, commercial awareness, and communication discipline may not always be the first things listed on a resume, but they often come out in interviews. When a candidate can explain not just what happened on a project, but why certain decisions mattered financially or operationally, it changes how they are perceived.
How You Know a Coordinator Is Ready to Become a Development Manager
Helen believes there are several clear signals that a Development Coordinator is ready to step into a Development Manager role.
The first is confidence in decision making.
“Development managers make decisions every day, often with incomplete information. Being able to assess a situation, make a thoughtful decision, and stand behind it is a key indicator.”
The second is leadership presence.
Development Managers frequently lead meetings with consultants and internal teams.
“Being able to guide discussions, ask the right questions, and maintain direction in meetings is a strong signal that someone is ready for the next step.”
Third is depth of experience.
Ideally, a coordinator should have experienced at least one full entitlement cycle or multiple phases of a project.
“That exposure helps build the judgment required to manage similar processes more independently.”
Finally, there is a shift in mindset and accountability.
“As a coordinator, you support a manager,” Helen explains. “As a development manager, you become the person responsible for ensuring the project continues moving forward.”
That shift requires ownership, accountability, and comfort managing uncertainty.
The Responsibility Shift Before Promotion
Before coordinators are promoted, they should already be demonstrating ownership.
That includes being proactive rather than simply completing assigned tasks.
Strong coordinators begin anticipating what needs to happen next to keep a project moving.
“They start connecting the dots between consultant work, internal processes, and project timelines,” Helen says.
“That level of initiative is often one of the clearest indicators that someone is ready to step into a Development Manager role.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This is often where hiring decisions are really made. Employers are trying to assess readiness, not just tenure. Someone may have the years on paper, but if they have not demonstrated ownership, decision making, or leadership presence, clients can hesitate. On the other hand, candidates who may be slightly lighter on years but clearly show accountability and sound judgment often create far more confidence.
The Reality of Development: Managing Uncertainty
When asked what she wishes someone had explained earlier in her career, Helen’s answer was simple.
“Development is fundamentally about managing uncertainty.”
Projects rarely unfold exactly as planned. Approvals can take longer than expected. Market conditions shift. Consultants uncover new challenges.
Success in development is less about having perfect information and more about guiding projects forward despite ambiguity.
“Understanding that early helps shift your mindset,” Helen says. “Instead of trying to control every variable, you learn how to navigate complexity and keep projects moving.”
Recruiter Perspective:
This is an important point for both candidates and employers. The strongest Development Managers are rarely the ones who have seen a perfect project. They are the ones who know how to respond when timelines move, assumptions change, or approvals get messy. In hiring, that ability to stay composed and keep momentum through uncertainty is often what separates operators from true leaders.
Final Thought
For many professionals in real estate development, the Development Coordinator role is more than an entry level position. It is a training ground.
It builds the technical awareness, project management skills, and leadership capabilities required to eventually lead projects.
And as Helen’s experience shows, when those skills are developed intentionally, the transition from Coordinator to Development Manager becomes a natural progression.
From where I sit as a recruiter, this pathway makes a great deal of sense. It reflects how development talent is actually built in the real world, through exposure, repetition, judgment, and increasing ownership.
For companies, it is a reminder to invest in coordinators as future leaders. For candidates, it is proof that the Coordinator role is not just a starting point. Done well, it is one of the best foundations for a long-term career in real estate development.
