As a REALTOR^®, when it comes to securing a listing we all start to look the same. We offer similar commissions, newspaper placement, MLS access, etc. We all know that, more times than not, what a listing decision is really based on is the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner and You. Do they “click” with you more than the next person? I’ve never had a homeowner tell me that they chose me as their agent, but felt safer with someone else! They choose you because they trust you and look to you for sound guidance.

So, Is there a similarity between how a homeowner picks their REALTOR and how a REALTOR picks their broker? After a while, brokerages all start to look the same as well. There are typically two options: pay a desk fee or pay a commission split to the brokerage. Either way, your job is the same: bring buyers and sellers together. Often, there is little difference in what one brand offers over another. I think it’s safe to say that when a REALTOR chooses a brokerage at which to hang their license, they look for a broker that they “click” with. They look for the person they feel safest with and know they can look to for solid advice. Sound familiar?

Now it’s time to evaluate. If you’re an agent, what kind of leadership does your broker exude? If you’re a broker, what kind of outfit do you run?

Every office falls into one of two categories when it comes to how it operates: it’s either a dictatorship or a democracy. Now, don’t mistake “dictatorship” with Adolf Hitler! That’s not what I’m talking about. What I mean is that you either have one ultimate decision MAKER, or many decision MAKERS. I understand that, in theory, if you have a desk-fee office, the agents are all responsible to and for themselves. And if you have a traditional brokerage, each agent pays the commission split, and thus should have a vote in operational decisions. Right? Well, you’d be surprised. As I talk to thousands of brokers and agents across the United States and Canada I always ask this question, and the response I hear that intrigues me most is this: “If the agent wanted to make their own decisions, they would have started their own brokerage. The fact that they didn’t, means they’ve asked me to lead them.”

What It Really Means to Lead

Leadership can be categorized two ways:

• Actual (actually doing) - giving guidance or direction, as in the phrase “the emperor has provided satisfactory leadership”.
• Potential (ability to do) - the capacity or ability to lead, as in the phrase “she could have exercised effective leadership”; or in the concept “born to lead”.

Leadership is defined as “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members.” Leadership directly impacts costs, revenue generation, service, employee and customer satisfaction, earnings, market value, share price, social capital, motivation, engagement, and sustainability. Leadership is the ability of an individual to set rules for others and lead from the front, not the rear. It is an attitude that influences the environment around us.

Regardless of your political stance on the current war in Iraq (or any war in past history), I’d like to know what you think would happen if, before a platoon attacked their target, everyone stopped to take a vote on how to proceed. Honestly, what do you think would happen? I bet they’d all die because they had poor leadership. If someone is appointed as a group’s leader, they have a choice: They can embrace their role as as a leader and work to make everyone around them better; or, they can “poo-poo” the idea of leading and, consequently, everyone around them will eventually fall.

I found this article by Marc Davison on Inman News. It is a wonderful look at what Marc would do if he were leading a brokerage in this time of uncertainty and turmoil in the real estate industry. Please take the time to read it. (Note: Inman News is a subscription-based real estate news site . If you don’t have a subscription, there is a free version of the article on Marc’s 1000 Watt Consulting Blog.)

Every Broker I’ve sent this article to has said that they completely share Marc’s point of view. But simply saying you agree is the easy part. The challenge is being a strong enough leader to implement what you truly believe in. So…Are you the leader because people look up at your name on the sign in front of your office? Or are you a leader because those people truly look up to you?

Posted by: Marty Moses Jr., VP of Sales and Marketing on October 22nd, 2007 | Filed under: Leadership, Real Estate