Leadership: It's Changed, but Who's Going to Tell the Real Estate Industry?

The guidelines of effective leadership have changed dramatically in the last thirty years. Top-down decision-making is out; participative leadership is in. Having no standards is out; standards-driven leadership is in. Everyone doing their own thing is out; mutual accountability and teamwork is in. Yet, as I look at real estate offices nationally, I see most leaders still leading as though it was 1970—or earlier. (Specific strategies for real estate leadership to use to switch from hierarchical to participative was the topic of my presentation for the 2007 National Association of Realtors’ Convention).

Compare and contrast. Let’s look at four principles of effective leadership today. These principles have been proven effective again and again by huge companies internationally. They should be embraced by the real estate industry, which badly needs effective leadership in this challenging time:

Vision-lead: Few companies have an articulated vision that’s shared by all in the company. Fewer yet have leaders who have the fortitude to ‘do the right thing’ (as stated in their vision), even if it means turning down a deal. Example: When is the last time you saw a manager fire a top producer who acted unethically? How do managers treat customer complaints—especially if it’s against a top producer? (Ask agents if they feel managers unfairly favor the top producers. Boy, will you get an earful!) In too many cases, the ‘leader’ isn’t leading. The big loser long term: The company, because agents are de-motivated when they feel there is not a level playing field, and consumers will seek out new companies if they feel their complaints are not handled seriously. (read Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Porras and Collins, for stunning examples of vision-integrated companies.)

Everyone is involved in the decisions: This is participative leadership, and it’s the leadership style that is best suited to our real estate industry. After all, with independent contractors, we need strong organizational structures to pull people together. What percent of real estate companies have effective leadership councils, one of the attributes of participative leadership? In my teaching, I’ve found about 2%. What this means it that the vast majority of agents don’t feel it’s ‘their company’, they don’t feel empowered, and they aren’t very loyal.


Leaders will be those who empower others. Empowering leadership means
bringing out the energy and capabilities people have and getting them to work
together in a way they wouldn’t do otherwise.
—Bill Gates, fellow Washingtonian, founder of Microsoft

As you read articles and books on leadership, you will find every successful company today has turned its hierarchical leadership upside down and/or flattened it to become inclusive, participative, and as some people term it-- ‘spiderweb’. (read The Female Advantage, Sally Helgesen).

Standards-driven: During my presentation at last year’s National Association of Realtors’ Convention, I asked attendees if they had productivity standards (minimum expectations) in their companies. Out of 200 attendees, three raised their hands. No wonder agents don’t believe they must be ‘on the team’, pulling their own weight in production.

In a recent study by The Ripple Effective of Negativity Leadership IQ, 87% of the 70,305 executives, managers, and employees interviewed said working with a slacker actually made them want to change jobs; 93% said it hampered their development or decreased their productivity. So, without standards, real estate leaders are de-motivating their good performers!

Here’s what Roy Disney says about effective leadership, from the New Leadership Paradigm:

Leadership is the ability to establish standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of long-term constructive goals in a participatory environment of mutual respect compatible with personal values.

Mutual accountability: Creating a participative environment suggests that everyone must be accountable to their goals. It’s just amazing that managers are frustrated by agents’ lack of business plans and accountability. Yet, as I coach managers, I find that many in each organization don’t feel they need to be accountable to their recruiting goals. (In fact, only about 2% have written recruiting plans!). In addition, owners have not hired and coached them to standards, so the managers just want to ‘leave that part out’!

What is the result of this leadership paradigm switch? A real team, a team with a common goal. Why is it in the real estate industry’s best interests to adapt to this participative leadership style? To preserve the industry, maintain commissions, add ‘pride in belonging’ back to the real estate company, and, most important of all, put the consumer first, where he belongs!

Note: The Virginia Association of Realtors this year invited me to present my 4-day, clock-hour approved ‘people management’ series for real estate owners and managers. The fourth session is an in-depth symposium on how to implement participative leadership strategies for greater productivity and profitability. For information on providing this high accountability, action-based series to your association or company, contact me at 425-392-6914 or Carla@carlacross.com.
I will help your company or association make the necessary leadership adjustments to pull people together into a real, supportive business team.


Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 10 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Increasing Production

For most brokers, managers and team leaders, associate production is the Number 2 problem after recruiting. After many years of requiring a yearly business plan from each of my associates, I changed tactics in 2007. The simple and disturbing result of the yearly business plan is after the obligatory meeting with management, the plan lays dormant in the associates file drawer. The broker/manager moves on to the thousand other things needing attention, and becomes concerned with associate business plans one year later. Now, every associate meets with me to present their monthly work plan, an example of which is shown below. Of course, there is nothing very original about a monthly plan, the key is use and accountability.

I forward a copy of the plan document to every sales associate about 4 days before the end of every month, with the same instructions to complete and return their plan to me in person before the end of the month. 75% of the group shows up at my office door without prodding, the rest take a little effort, but everyone meets with me, every month. The advantage is plain, accountability at least monthly with the entire sales staff, with the added bonus of having the opportunity to counsel each associate regarding prospecting efforts, educational needs, and whatever is important to both of us at the moment. After only 6 months the increase in individual production has been striking. The disadvantage is time spent, about 15 to 20 minutes each month with every associate. If your sales staff is large, say over 40, you may not have the time, and will have to delegate. Considering the time most broker/managers spend recruiting and training, it may be worth trading some of that time and improving the production from the existing staff.

Monthly Work Plan

Associate Name: _____________ Plan Month _____Yr_______

Strategy (That which I am trying to accomplish, direction, a Big Goal:

Tactics (What I will do to accomplish the strategy):

Goal 1: Daily Weekly Monthly

Prospecting Time: ______ ______ _______

Contacts Desired ______ ______ _______

Social Networking: ______ ______ _______

Goal 2: What I will do increase my knowledge and capability in the next 30 days:

Last months results:

Listings taken: ____________

Listings sold: ____________

Buyers taken: ____________

Buyers sold: ____________

Total time Prospecting: ____________

New contacts made: ____________

Yearly Goal:

Closed Sides Expected:_____ Closed to date: ______

Desired Income: $________ Income Booked to date: $_____

Formatting issues aside, please feel free to copy or edit the work plan document in any way that works for you.

3 Reasons Why You Should Quit Having Weekly Sales Meetings

Yes, unbelievably, there are three reasons why a broker would want to quit having weekly sales meetings. Why waste your time preparing, planning and delivering meaningful content to your team on a weekly basis if it is all in vain. On the other hand, is it?

First:

Stop providing sales meetings if you want your team to lose continuity and rhythm. After all, that is what one of the goals of a weekly sales meeting is all about; i.e. bringing together your group to motivate, encourage and inform them with meaningful information. It is a proven fact that a professionally run sales meeting can help boost morale, motivate the downhearted, and redirect the lost. Think about a boxer who has been in the ring battling their opponent for a grueling two minutes, being banged and beat-up back and forth from one set of ropes to the next. In reality, that is what many of your agents go through on a weekly basis in the real world. When the bell rings, the boxer’s retreat to their respective corners to get the necessary requirements from their coaches and trainers to get back out there and to improve on what they were doing wrong in the last round. Without a weekly sales meeting, your team will in essence move from one round to the next without a break, advice, support and nourishment to improve and win the fight.

Second:

It’s okay to quit having sales meetings if you want to break the communication link between yourself and your sales team. Most real estate agents will tell you that a big part of their frustration with a company or organization is the lack of communication. “No one told me,” is a sentiment often overheard from within the inner walls of the office talk. Unfortunately the lack of communication leads to a feeling of discontent and that “no one cares about me,” to discouragement and ultimately changing companies or leaving the business. Weekly sales meetings help bridge the gap and foster strong communication ties between the company and the agent. Let’s face it, people want to know what’s going on and being informed shows you care and are concerned about everyone on the team owning a part and being involved in what is happening with the organization.

Third:

Stop your weekly sales meetings if you believe everyone in your organization already knows everything there is to know about real estate and the real estate economy. Let’s face it, why waste your time trying to teach others if they already know all there is to know? Unfortunately, when you take that attitude you’re destined for a fall! I love the quote by Malcolm S. Forbes, “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” Whether you agree with it or not, people want to learn new and exciting things. Real estate is an ever-changing industry and with changes comes the need to help our group and colleagues lean and improve on knowledge and education.

What’s Next?
First, don’t quit offering weekly sales meetings that is unless you want to follow the truths outlined in each of the three reasons noted for quitting your weekly gatherings. Second, don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of time preparing and planning for weekly sales meetings. There are many good companies like http://www.realestatesalesmeetings.com/ where you can subscribe to receive weekly meetings, browse the large database of published meeting content, and be ready to motivate and encourage your team with little or no preparation at all. Finally, remember that sales meetings provide that weekly opportunity for you to connect with your group, and to coach them on through their real estate journey. Don’t concentrate on the numbers in attendance, but the quality of your meetings. When you begin hitting homeruns each week during your weekly sales meetings those in attendance will tell others, and before long you’ll have a room full of agents eagerly awaiting your agenda!

Would you like to receive a couple of free weeks of sample sales meetings from my company http://www.realestatesalesmeetings.com/? If so, send me an e-mail and I will put you on my mailing list to participate in my free offer. Send your request to John@RealEstateSalesMeetings.com.