What makes a great leader? People want to follow you, work with you, and give you the best they have.
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As a real estate coach whose job is to help effective team leaders refine not only their strategies but the way they conduct themselves, I spend a lot of time meditating on this question. If people are going to trust you with their time and financial security, what are the team leadership qualities that you’d want to bring to the table to let them know they’re in the right hands?
It’s not so easy to answer, is it? That’s what this blog is for. I’m going to share with you six team leader qualities that real estate professionals need to be embodying right now to move their teams, their colleagues, and their communities forward with confidence.
Let’s just dive right in…
Effective communication isn’t just something you should do – it’s a quality you should embody all the time. And in a real estate market as confusing as this one, it’s the most important quality you can possess.
There’s nothing more frustrating than having someone who expects you to do something when you don’t know what they expect you to do. Equally, no buyer or seller is going to trust you if they feel like they’re being left in the dark or you’re leaving important details out.
Communication is about clarity, and clarity is a sign of respect, but that doesn’t mean that communication is all about talking. It’s a two-way street, and both your clients and team members need to feel like they have a voice. So, listen first, then digest the information, then give a clear and thoughtful response.
If you want an exceptional example of how to communicate like a leader, take Jeff and Liz Johnson… They have built such trust and unity within their team that there is zero turnover, and everyone looks at each other as family.
This same level of communication translates over to their clients, whom they take the time to educate and guide through the process of buying a home. At this year’s Success Summit, you’ll get access to Jeff and Liz’s entire playbook of how they communicate their way to success.
If you’re in a place of team leadership, then you’re building something. It doesn’t matter if what you’re building is your number of transactions, a team, a legacy, or a happier neighborhood (but preferably it’s all four). And in order to build something, you need to have a vision for what you’re building.
Steve Jobs looked at his phone and saw it without any of the buttons on it. Walt Disney saw a children’s amusement park and imagined that none of the carousel horses had any chipped paint. This is where greatness starts.
This one comes second because it’s the most difficult thing to use your communication skills for. In order to communicate your vision, you have to understand it and get specific about it. Check out this blog on refining your goals to start bringing your vision to life.
Team leadership is not for the weak of spirit…
When Hurricane Ian struck southwestern Florida, Mary Bartos saw over ten percent of the homes in her market either damaged or completely destroyed – 45,000 homes.
At that point, there are leaders who would’ve cut and run. They might’ve tried to set up shop somewhere else or just dip for safety. But that’s not what Mary did. She stayed behind to offer shelter and provide for those who needed it.
She stepped up as a true leader worth following, one who wasn’t afraid for herself but for those people who needed her. Check out Mary’s full story here and see what being a courageous leader truly means.
We’ve already established that listening is important, but here we’re talking about paying attention to more than just what you’re hearing. We’re talking about paying attention to how other people are feeling and how you yourself are feeling – and how you’re thinking. Are you behaving like a tyrant or a child or a noble leader?
When you’re in charge, people may not have the courage to speak directly to you about what their feeling, and instead they’ll put out subtle hints about their feelings, hoping that you’ll read them. It’s your job to sense it and respond appropriately. Maybe someone is feeling overworked, or maybe they’re feeling like they’re not being given enough responsibility. Your ability to see it and lift up the people around you are what will make you great.
For some of you, empathy may come naturally, but for some it definitely does not. Unfortunately, the people who suffer from a lack of emotional intelligence and humility are usually the least aware of it. Because of this, I’d recommend that EVERYONE get a fully objective third-party to give their honest opinion of how you appear in a professional setting. Make sure it’s someone who isn’t afraid to hurt your feelings. And to help you develop these skills, check out the book “Empathy,” by the Harvard Business Review.
A part of your job is to make people feel at ease and listen to what others have to say. But that does not mean that every decision gets to be made by committee.
There is a reason you’re the boss (or want to be), and part of it is because you have the vision. If something isn’t working or there’s something that needs to change, you’re the only one capable of changing it.
So take input, let your people be heard, and then you make the decision. And when you make the decision, that’s final. Now, I’m not saying you need to personally make every decision – quite the opposite actually. Every day, there are thousands of decisions that have to be made at my company, and I make only a handful of them from the top level. The rest I’ve hired experts for. Which provides a perfect entry to the sixth quality…
Now we’re going to combine some of these into something truly invaluable.
You must have the humility to understand that you don’t have all the answers and to continue growing, it will require you to do things you’ve never done before – which others have.
You must have the courage to reach out, accept this help, and trust in what you’re told. And then you must have the courage to go farther than you’ve ever gone before, even if it’s scary.
And you must have the decisiveness to commit to not only yourself but your community and your team to be the best version of yourself that you can be.
No one can do it all alone. You are the person your team goes to, but who do you go to?
At this year’s special 20th anniversary Success Summit, I have the honor of showcasing some of the greatest leaders in the real estate industry. You’re going to hear from people who exemplify all these qualities and more, and you’ll even get a full breakdown of all the plays they run in the Ultimate Real Estate Playbooks.
Besides all the other team leader qualities listed above, want to know what all these agents have in common?…
A coach…
It’s time to quit wasting time.
When you start with a free real estate coaching consultation, chances are we can help scale yours as well. Schedule yours today!