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REALTOR® ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE
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 Teaming Up: How to take Realtor volunteers from competition to collaboration By Sarah Wortman Real estate salespeople are independent by nature; it's what attracts them to the business. Typically they relish the fact that they are their own boss and they enjoy calling the shots. So, what happens when these independent real estate salespeople answer the call to volunteer at their local association and become part of a team? It's no surprise that they can feel a little out-of-place, vulnerable, or even defensive. So, how can AEs make it easier for volunteers to make the shift from competition to collaboration? Team Goals According to John Kennedy, a project and process management consultant who helps senior executives team up successfully, promoting successful collaboration is both a teaming and a leadership issue. "Effective teams are those that have a vision or a common goal to work with," Kennedy explains. He goes on to add that it is important to clearly define a group or team's objectives in coming together and build consensus about the goals to be met. Kathy Aabrams is the director of training for the Dale Carnegie Training Center in Long Island, N.Y., which provides leadership and sales training. She too believes that clearly defining and supporting a common goal is key to group success. While both Aabrams and Kennedy agree that true collaboration occurs when team members are operating out of a sense of enlightened self-interest, Aabrams believes that teams coalesce most successfully when that benefit corresponds with a nobler motive. For example, let's say a group is forming a committee to plan the annual convention. The committee needs to help members realize both the personal and nobler incentives to participating in the planning process. A personal motive might be the opportunity to make contacts that will help expand a member's business. A nobler motive might be to help develop a sense of community for all members by bringing the group together nationally. Aabrams is quick to point out that "teams need clear leadership as well as a vision that is communicated consistently by the leadership." Defining and reinforcing a vision for the group that expresses that nobler motive is vital, especially the reinforcing part. Aabrams points out, "if a team is going to really hear a message, they have to hear it at least seven times before it is incorporated into their work." Teach Good Teaming Wendy Lapidus-Saltz, creativity consultant and president of Jaguar Mind, Chicago, explains that just because a person has difficulty teaming successfully does not necessarily mean that he or she is a difficult person. "Independent business people are used to working alone and thus they often believe that their own brain, talents, and drive are all that is necessary to succeed in any venture," she says. Lapidus-Saltz uses simple exercises to teach those who are accustomed to working solo about the value of collaboration. In one exercise, she asks participants to write down the characteristics of an object. She then asks them to consider how someone they know might describe the same object. Finally, she asks each participant to pair up with another participant and share their descriptions. Inevitably, people are astounded by the discrepancies between the characteristics they noted and those that their partner noted. Lapidus-Saltz also believes strongly in the correlation between idea generation and group buy-in. For example, if a fundraising committee doesn't believe in the fundraising goal established by its leadership, the leaders might challenge the fund-raising committee members to identify a strategy that they could buy into. It is always easier to get people to rally around their own suggestions than it is to get them to buy into something that is delivered from the higher ups. Alternately, if the fundraising idea the group doesn't like is non-negotiable, it is the leader's responsibility to find a way to propose the fund-raising idea in such a way that it becomes attractive and interesting to the members. This is similar to the way salespeople will come up with positive things to say about a property they are selling that they may not particularly like. Team Harmony All of our experts agree that building personal rapport among team members helps foster successful teaming. They suggest that creating opportunities in which members can get to know one another as people rather than as competitors goes a long way in fostering collaboration. Finally, there are those occasions when teams hit roadblocks. Sometimes a team member is more committed to their own personal benefit than to a successful outcome for the group. Who should step in and resolve these conflicts? Aabrams suggests setting up two levels at which problems can be resolved. "The first step is peer correction, or solving the problem among the members of the group. If this is ineffective, a committee chair is the next level at which problems can be resolved." However when problems climb to the top of the organization, should it be the association executive or the volunteer president that resolves the problem? John Kennedy suggests that's a judgment call to be made problem by problem. "Sometimes the president is in the best position to address the issue because he or she is also a broker and understands the unique challenges of the practice. Alternately, the association executive may be seen as having a more objective view of the problem, which can be perceived as a benefit. Use whatever works best," he says. Regardless of which leader solves an individual problem, however, Kennedy points out that both must be committed to the checks and balances set up for the team and must model appropriate teaming behavior for the rest of the group. While teaming presents its fair share of challenges, when we succeed in helping a group of solo performers work in concert, the result is--more often than not--music to everyone's ears. Click here to Send feedback on this article. |
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