Good evening,
Tonight I thought I would take a minute and reflect on my last 90 days with Keller Williams Realty Madison Crossroads.
All I can say is wow! I have formerly been through leadership training, trained, consulted and have been trained and consulted. As much as I thought this experience in former employment, and life would help me, I learned very quickly that leadership has a higher meaning at KW. Leadership truly is a team effort, and servant based.
I have made so many mistakes and I hope that you can learn from them, and learn from my solutions that I have had to put in place. The following are some bullet points, take them or leave them.
- Don't assume that people think the way you do! Seek first to understand, this is a discipline that is far more difficult than you would think. If I'm not actively thinking to first understand, I already have my answer 3 seconds into a conversation and usually block out everything past that 3 second mark. The end result is someone walking away feeling blown off, and I just took some chips away from the relationship I had with that person. SOLUTION: I will not speak until there is an awkward silence, at that point you can be sure that it is your turn to respond, or DRILL DOWN if more information is required (the latter is usually the case).
- Lead by Example!!! I looked at my schedule and behavior at the 2 month mark and realized that the same things that I preach every day, I was not practicing. Such as; strict time blocking, accurate databasing, spaced repitious learning, choosing a higher quality of people to get in business with and of course practicing the WI4C2TS inside and outside of the office walls. SOLUTION: I think about what I do before I advise someone on what to do. If I realize that I am not practicing what I am about to preach, I own it right there. "In order to increase your production I would recommend time blocking your lead generation time. Jane I am having difficulty myself in this area, would you consider lead generating with me from 9:00-12:00" Just by taking this approach that relationship grows more than I could even imagine!
- Follow through, follow through, follow through. Since I have been with KW Crossroads we have changed many things, and it really was hard to keep track (I'm a D, I remember). In the mix of 63 agents and well over 400 interactions per week an item such as a lost email, forgotten phone call, or blown lunch can jeopardize your relationships with an agent, demoralize your core group, and overall create a huge disconnect between you and your agent partners. SOLUTION: Whenever I talk with someone, and I tell them that I will do something for them, I request that they email me with the information so I won't forget. When I check my email I make sure to take care of it right then or mark it with a follow up flag. I have "dropped the ball" on at least 5 different occasions in 3 months, now I have a system and respect.
- Be quick to recognize your failures, own them, and learn from them. Early August I rolled out a contest, and in my mind it was perfect, points for all actions that result or would result in productivity, it included accountability, and penalty's for non-action plus they were playing for my productivity based bonus.. FLAWLESS RIGHT?? Oh no, I created the perfect contest for me, not for the agents here at KW Crossroads. For 3 days I went on and on about how this was truly a lack of desire or drive in the agents in the office. It's always easier to see the flaws in others. SOLUTION: Today I sat down with 2 agents I have a great deal of respect for and asked them to explain what they had in mind. It was only when I attempted to understand first, that I realized I created this contest based on the way I was wired. It took a lot to put my ego in my back pocket, admit that there was a better way and completely revamped the contest with these two agents. After I did it, I felt better and I know that I earned trust, respect and we built a little more culture in our office.
In closing, I just want to say that Leadership is a team effort, a positive attitude and passion for what you do will get you half way there. Asking the important questions like "What should we start doing?", "What should we stop doing?", "What can we do better?" and truly listening to the responses will get you even farther. Owning your success, owning your failure, and putting your ego in your pocket will get you the rest of the way! At the end of the day I can smile knowing that I won't make today's mistakes tomorrow! Have a great night and go inspire your team to the next level, whatever that is for them!
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