We’re surging into Leadership Month this March on Inman. Join us as we deep dive into leadership fundamentals, culture, even playlists — all culminating at Inman Disconnect in Palm Springs at the end of the month.
Selling luxury real estate is an exhilarating and exciting career, however, it can be met with numerous challenges that can dampen morale. Long list times, market volatility, even fear, as we’ve seen in the past few weeks with the coronavirus, are all on a long list of things that can impact your team’s mindset.
As a leader, it’s important to motivate and inspire your team to rise above the difficult times and continue to thrive.
There are several steps you can take to achieve this goal while consistently encouraging and coaching your team to push through, ride the wave and, ultimately, come out on the other side better and stronger than before.
Celebrate the wins
Team members want to feel valued and appreciated. Acknowledging hard work and success is vital to boost spirits and strengthen determination amongst your team.
Always be on the lookout for victories, and celebrate them — no matter how big or small. Making this a regular practice ensures your team members feel seen, and it encourages them to seek out these wins among fellow team members, fighting against any doom and gloom that might come with a challenging time.
Our weekly staff meetings are one of my favorite times to spotlight our team and collectively applaud their efforts.
Encourage ownership over mistakes
As a real estate agent, more often than not, you’re operating your business with an entrepreneurial spirit. I always encourage my team members to have autonomy over their decisions and own their mistakes.
At The Agency, we have an incredible group of individuals who are go-getters and work extremely hard to get the job done. It’s crucial to inspire them to focus on solutions, not be afraid to fail and continuously make our business viable.
You have to “dare to fail” to be successful. This entrepreneurial attitude is one of the most important aspects to overcoming difficult times.
The drive to move forward, get results and be limber enough to maneuver through challenges will make you a better agent, but more importantly, a better person in the long run.
Communicate, even when it’s rocky
When a challenging time presents itself, it’s paramount to maintain an open line of communication with your team.
Talking to each other and working through any issues is the most effective way to overcome difficult situations and find solutions quickly.
In this digital age, a team resorts to texting and email for communication due to ease and expediency, however, picking up the phone — having a personal conversation with someone — more often than not, quickly diffuses a situation and leads to resolution.
The failure to communicate with one another leads to missteps and challenges. When your staff isn’t informed on what is happening, that leads to doubt and anxiousness — a breeding ground for low morale.
Maintaining open communication while strengthening your relationship with staff by modeling teamwork, courtesy and respect is the best way to combat this and succeed as a team.
Mauricio Umansky is the founder and CEO of The Agency in Los Angeles. Connect with him on Instagram.
