Recently, I was at our REALTOR® Mastermind Group meetup where we gather a few times a year to share successes, challenges, strategies, and more, with one another. What an amazing group of people!
One huge topic for this quarter’s meetup was about setting the right team culture. What does that even mean? The word “culture” when used to describe a team environment has become a buzz word during the past few years. When I set out in real estate, I didn’t necessarily decide I was going to start a team—I just wanted to sell houses and the team part came pretty much by accident.
Don’t get me wrong here—one of the best things I’ve ever done is start a team. However, when I did decide to start a team, culture wasn’t exactly the first word that came to mind.
During my sharing session part of the Mastermind, I talked about our team’s structure and when we meet, where we meet, how we meet, etc. I described how we begin our day with the daily huddle every morning at 8:45 a.m., then we meet once a week on Mondays as a team to discuss our files. We do a team workout with a personal trainer on Mondays and Wednesdays, we role-play together on Wednesdays and then call our leads, we role-play again on Thursday, we do team lunches…I was out of breath listing off everything.
I went on to explain that when we have a new team member join our team, we schedule a time to review and complete the paperwork in advance so that that’s not what we do on their entire first day. We give them a team calendar with all of the important dates: meetings, calls, team outings, retreats, etc.
We also have them complete a “Getting to Know You” form, which asks their favorite candy, food and store; their birthday; their spouse/kids’ names and birthdays (if applicable); favorite color, etc. On their actual first day, they’re welcomed with a beautiful welcome basket full of their favorite things, as well as a card signed by the whole team welcoming them. We include a gift card to a local restaurant for them to go out to dinner and celebrate their first day on the new job. On that first day, we also schedule a team lunch for everyone to just be able to go, chat and get to know one another in a more personal setting.
As the Mastermind Group began asking me more questions and taking notes, I realized that our team culture was one of greatness. Wow—what a cool feeling! It’s funny…as I was on vacation last week, I read the book “Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work” by Piyush Patel. This book spoke volumes to me. I even passed it onto my husband to read with his team, as he’s a sales manager in another industry. It was neat to not only see the many ways our team already followed the team culture Piyush discussed in this book, but also see that there are still many ways we can continue to grow. You should get the book, too. It’s a great read and chances are you’ll love it like I did.
I also encourage you to grow a team with a culture of greatness. It’s awesome when you do it by chance, but being focused on creating and maintaining a culture of greatness and productivity will go a long way for both the team leader and the team members.
Brooke Sines is a Workman Success Systems Coach and full-time REALTOR® with RE/MAX of Grand Rapids who has been in the business of working with people all of her life. After working for several years as an entertainment agent, she wanted a profession that would allow her to be home more to enjoy the day-to-day with her family. It was her love of people and real estate that led her into a career as a full time REALTOR®, where in her first year she was awarded the Rising Star award for sales and excellence. Contact her at Brooke@WorkmanSuccessSystems.com. For more information, please visit www.workmansuccesssystems.com.
