As a real estate executive, you’re likely wondering how you and the various organizational layers of your management team can utilize the talents agents, employees and support staff bring in and how to add fulfillment to their roles.
Because after all, your agents and staff are the keys to unlocking your brokerage’s growth potential — and keeping them happy, fulfilled and motivated goes a long way.
With the days of leadership based on position and title gone, you might be looking for strategies to effectively manage people in a way that brings out the best in them, while supporting the growth and success of your business. Here are a few ideas to keep in mind.
The secrets to strong organizational structures
There’s no doubt that, on a larger scale, leading your team in a way that engages and motivates its members benefits all and supports the success of your entire organization.
Many strong leaders combine a humble and inspirational approach to leading with clear and precise communication on the road ahead. Team members have unique needs, and those needs and concerns can often be addressed by simply checking in with them more frequently and offering the guidance they need.
As you leader, you might find that your natural tendency and focus go toward sales — after all, the livelihood of your business depends on it, and you’re likely to bring in your own strength and experience with sales.
That said, a more holistic approach (one that includes strong leadership on the corporate level and in the field) can present an opportunity for you to capture more benefits on a larger scale.
When done right, motivating your staff on all levels of the organization will lead to increased sales and the growth of your business overall. The key here is to implement an organizational structure that spans all teams and functional groups within the organization.
With that setup, you’ll have strong corporate and support teams that will provide the resources your sales teams need, which in turn allows everyone to accomplish better results than would be possible if they were working in silos.
Finding ways to inspire, motivate and engage your team members
Recognizing that each of your organizational teams has needs and wants — ones that might be in opposition with that of another function, including sales — is the first step.
Although a large number of your sales associates might be highly dependent on their clients’ demands and needs and generally require fast turnaround times from your corporate employees and support staff, your employees’ needs and challenges are often different.
Keeping pace with the activities in the field may frequently push your employees to reach personal limits as they attempt to deliver results. So, what’s a possible solution? Allowing for a less rigid schedule and certain flexibility regarding working hours combined with incentives like performance bonuses can do wonders for your team members who are genuinely trying to meet expectations and do a good job.
What’s more, when you evaluate the system holistically and think of each group and individual as a part of the bigger picture, you’ll be in a position to establish processes that align goals with your people. Not to mention, this will also help decrease points of friction, frustration misunderstandings.
It’s also worth noting that your genuine care and desire to make things better for everyone is a big part of the equation as well. Words only matter when actions speak louder. When you and other leaders in your organization show care and give attention beyond an immediate organizational need, your credibility as a leader improves — and so does your connection with your employees.
And the best part of building relationships on trust and care while communicating clear expectations and needs? By reducing friction and keeping everyone as motivated as possible, you’ll be able to positively boost their productivity and service levels toward your sales team.
When your agents have what they need to succeed, it not only leads to improved results for your brokerage overall, but it also opens other doors when it comes to recruiting and retention.
By fostering an environment that brings out the best in your employees, who generally want to do work that matters and leads to meaningful results, combined with happy agents who have what they need to succeed, you’ll create a win-win situation — and isn’t that what it’s all about?
Marion Weiler is a principal at Weiler International Business Coaching and Consulting in Windermere, Florida. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Facebook.
