CARY, N.C. -

At the moment, the top priority at DAA Seattle is finding space to park all of the cars arriving at the auction.

“That is a short-term focus though,” said Brian McConkey, the auction’s human resources manager.

“Under normal circumstances the top priority is developing leaders,” he said. “We are constantly identifying future leaders and molding our team to lead others from a place of love and dedication rather than power and control. That is at the center of everything we do.”

Besides the aforementioned parking challenge caused by the supply boost, more cars and more clients create addition hurdles for the auction.  But DAA Seattle has been able maneuver with a bit of extra effort and teamwork, McConkey said.

“Things at DAA Seattle have been a bit hectic lately. We’ve added a number of large accounts lately and we’re hiring as fast as we can right now to stay ahead of the current workload. That means a lot of our people have been working longer hours than they’re used to and are being asked to take on extra responsibilities that they haven’t done before,” he said.

“Our team has responded amazingly well and we are so proud of everyone here. It certainly hasn’t been easy — you can ask anyone that works here — but everyone has some ownership in what is going on here and there is a tremendous sense of pride throughout the entire team that we are doing something special here,” McConkey continued. “There is a sense that all of the extra work we’re putting in right now will pay off. All that is left for us to do is give people autonomy and let them take pride in their work.

“We constantly encourage and thank our staff and we try to learn from people at all levels of our team by working alongside them and taking interest in what they’re doing. We pay attention to people who are putting in the extra work and reward them for it and publicly recognize them for their outstanding effort. The last thing is encouraging everyone to do these same things with each other,” he said.

Going back to McConkey’s points on leadership and leadership development, that’s part of what makes DAA Seattle unique, he said.

“DAA Seattle stands out as a great place to work because we have great people that work here. It starts at the foundation and leadership of course, but it is throughout every part of the company. When our leaders are committed to treating people right, both employees and customers, those habits and behaviors spread and create a new normal for what a workplace looks like,” he said.

“Normal is now treating everyone respect, working hard for each other, making time to have fun and laugh with each other, and encouraging relationships across departments and management levels. We have lots of policies and benefits and things that are great, but the real reason DAA Seattle is a great place to work is because we have been lucky enough to hire a lot of great people who are committed to loving each other every day,” McConkey said.

View the complete list of honorees here.