The Joke I Always Tell About Real Estate Teams…That Isn’t a Joke At All

I had one of the most unique experiences you can have in life: playing four years in the NFL. 

One of the biggest highlights of that experience was playing under Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history.

The lessons I learned from Coach Shula impacted me in a very profound and lasting way. They are an integral part of my coaching practice today.

No coach has EVER won more football games than that man. Every day was a master class in how to build and run an elite team.

I spent the last 2 days going back and reviewing lots of YouTube videos on Coach Shula. Coach Shula coached during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s—4 decades, 33 years, 347 career wins, 6 Super Bowl appearances, 2 Super Bowl wins, the only perfect season in NFL history, a .67 winning percentage, and only 2 losing seasons. If there was a Mount Rushmore for NFL coaches, Don Shula would be there.

What is fascinating when you listen to his former players is that no matter the decade or the team they played on…

Their description of Don Shula never varies:

• Clear on his vision and purpose
  
• Intense, relentless, demanding, exacting
• Created a culture of excellence 
• Pursued absolute perfection
• A man of Integrity, always doing the right thing.
• A master communicator
• Adaptable
• Highly organized, no detail is too small
• A model of consistency
• Played within the rules, no exceptions

The list goes on.

As a player, when you pulled into the parking lot every day for practice…

You knew exactly why you were there…

You know exactly what was expected of you…

And you knew the consequences of not doing your job.

You were there for a reason…

To help your team in every way possible to win a Super Bowl.

The message and the delivery never varied.

As a player, I absolutely loved the clarity and simplicity of Coach Shula.

I can still see him screaming on the sideline….

Make the fricking play!!

At the risk of sounding like a complete a**hole…

When I look at real estate teams and how I see top agents approaching the role of team leader…

I shake my head.

Let’s be very clear about one thing…

Being a rainmaker (alpha agent) and being a team leader are two completely different positions.

They are both full time and you cannot fill both roles effectively.

AND…

You cannot have a “winning” team without a great head coach AND great players!!

This is why you hear me say all the time….

If you want to work harder, make less, and have more stress…start a team. It works every time.

People laugh when I say this, however it is not a joke.

This is the reality when you don’t understand the difference between a RAINMAKER and a true TEAM LEADER.

If you want a measure of your leadership abilities, do the following math...

Look at your total team production for the last 12 months.

Subtract out all your individual production...

Subtract out all the production from team members where you provided the lead...

And add up what is left!

That number is a great indicator of your ability to lead.

It’s probably not NEARLY as high as you want it to be.

That’s why I am doing 4 one-hour sessions on Leadership, starting June 20th.

I am going to invoke the spirit of Don Shula in this program.

You are going to learn what leadership means and how you begin to transition into the role of “head coach.”

Stop fooling yourself.

You know you haven’t thought about this stuff.

You built your team on hope and false premises.

Your team is NOT going to perform at a high level just because you started a team and they joined and you want them to exceed all your expectations without having to invest serious time, effort, energy and money into your team.

WAKE UP!!

On a football team, there is a head coach, an offensive coordinator, and a defensive coordinator…

Plus position coaches for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, defensive backs, special teams, quality control…

And the list goes on.

And this doesn’t include any of the administrative coaching positions, like General Manager, Director of Player Personnel, and Director of Scouting.

And you think you’re going to be the star player AND all of the above on your team?

Get serious!! Who are you kidding?

I don’t have to teach you to be a Rainmaker.

You excel in that role.

Team Leader… not so much.

If you have any doubt about that, review the questions at the end of this blog.

It’s not a comprehensive list—I simply want to bring to your attention some of the basic things you need to be thinking about in the role of team leader.

If you struggle to answer these questions…

If you’ve never thought about them before…

You’ve got work to do.

Would it be completely insane to invest $1,000 and 4 hours of your time to dramatically improve your ability to lead your team? 

Join me for the Team Leadership Bootcamp, starting a week from today.

QUESTIONS FOR EVERY TEAM LEADER:

How do I see myself as a leader?

How does my team view me as a leader?

How do I model accountability for my team?

How am I setting a great example for my team?

How am I setting a poor example for my team?

Do I clearly communicate my expectations to my team?

Do team members understand their individual roles and how they contribute to the team's goals?

What are my top 3 team priorities based on how I spend my time, energy, resources, and efforts?

How would I describe my team culture?

How much "buy-in" to the culture do we have from the team?

Do we have clearly defined and documented processes for each aspect of our business?

Do all team members understand their roles and responsibilities within each process?

Are all the steps in each process logically ordered and easy to follow?

What training and support is available for each team member to best leverage the processes we have in place?

How do we regularly evaluate our processes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness?

What makes our team attractive to top talent?

Are our job descriptions clear, accurate, and appealing to top talent?

Is our onboarding process comprehensive and supportive for new hires?

How quickly and effectively do new hires become productive and integrated into the team?

What training and development opportunities do we offer to help team members grow and evolve?

How competitive are our compensation and benefits packages compared to industry standards?

What are we doing to promote retention and team member satisfaction?

What metrics and indicators am I using to measure team and individual performance?

How do I provide feedback to team members on their performance?

How regularly do I provide feedback to team members on their performance?

What are my biggest challenges as team leader?

• Poor listening skills
• Ineffective communication skills and systems
• Micromanaging
• Failing to empower
• Lack of recognition
• Avoiding conflict
• Short-term focus
• Unclear goals
• Not seeking feedback
• Ignoring feedback
• Lack of trust in team members
• Lack of performance from team members