Courting and Coaching Tomorrow’s Leaders

Four-Part Volunteer Series: This article is the third installment in a yearlong exploration of volunteerism in the REALTOR® organization. Each installment will focus on a different aspect of the volunteer issue.

By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau

A decline in volunteerism, coupled with a dearth of strong leaders, has prompted many REALTOR® associations to reevaluate how they attract, train, and retain leaders. And as a result, many have begun to retool the programs they use to train future presidents, board members and chairmen.

Although leadership training programs may differ, they have a similar goal: to attract people with leadership qualities and shape them into strong visionaries who can navigate associations through ever changing business climates.

Weighing member potential to lead

Identifying which members may have the capacity to become strong leaders is the first challenge of a successful training program.

“They have to have the skills to understand where the association is going, the ability to direct an association, and the people skills to move forward and make things happen,” says Tom Martin, a practitioner with Reynolds Plantation Realty, Greensboro, Ga., and an instructor for the Illinois Association of
REALTORS® leadership training program.

Among the leadership attributes Martin sees as key are a fundamental understanding of the business world, personal business success, creativity and progressiveness in one’s own business, and a willingness to help and give back to the real estate industry wholeheartedly (not just for the personal return on investment that comes with volunteering).

“We want to attract people who are industry leaders, successful and respected by their colleagues, and who have the vision to understand where the industry has been and where it’s going,” says John Fridlington, a CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® staff vice president. Like many associations, California has a robust roster of active volunteers, but it’s struggling to attract real leaders who more closely reflect the changing demographics of California in terms of both clients and practitioners. “Our challenge is to get younger, newer, and ethnically and culturally diverse members into the leadership ranks,” adds Fridlington.

Some associations handpick their program participants, whereas others take more of a cattle-call approach. But one type of member most associations shy away from including in their leadership programs is the “association junkie”—one of the old guard that has been volunteering for decades. Although such volunteers are deeply appreciated, they’re generally considered inappropriate leadership candidates. Why? Since many are part-time dabblers in real estate or semiretired, they’re viewed as out of touch with real estate and the business world. Moreover, successful, full-time practitioners tend to command more respect from members.

The current president of the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® Julia Kriss, CRB , ABRM , for example, manages a highly successful real estate practice. “When she speaks, people pay attention because they know she knows what she’s talking about, as opposed to someone who was in the business full-time 10 years ago and spends most of the time volunteering,” says Christine Todd, association CEO. “If leaders aren’t out listing, selling, and managing; the rest of the members think they’re out of touch, and they don’t respect them as much. Association junkies may give a tremendous amount of time, but that’s no longer the benchmark for successful leadership.”

Todd looks for potential leaders throughout the year and makes a note whenever she spots one. When nomination time comes around, Todd hands a list of prospects to her nominating committee. She acknowledges that an executive vice president’s involvement in the process represents a radical shift from the old way of leaving the process to members, but she says, “That’s an out-of-date philosophy. "[If you] leave the process to others to do haphazardly, you get a hit-or-miss leadership.”

R. Scott Brunner, executive vice president of the Mississippi Association of REALTORS® , uses a similar tactic and says he wants to ensure that the association’s nominating committee has a viable pool of leaders from which to choose. So other members are invited to nominate people, in addition to his candidates. Then all candidates receive a questionnaire that roots out their critical thinking skills by asking them about their views on major industry issues and local concerns.

Although recruiting members for a leadership training program may be the most difficult step, developing and sustaining a program is no cakewalk, either. It takes wisdom to create a program that suits your association’s culture, association executives agree. “Each organization is different, so each program will be different,” says Brunner.

Program styles to polish your leaders in the rough

Mississippi’s leadership program involves five separate sessions throughout the year, whereas the Illinois program takes two days, and Northern Virginia takes a one-on-one approach. Some associations hire outside speakers or even independent companies to handle the entire training program; others rely on staff and past presidents to pass on their personal experience and advice.

Todd at Northern Virginia specializes in small-group training—sometimes one-on-one—to teach the vital skills to incoming leaders and fire them up. She favors very practical training, aptly explained by the title of a class she used to teach at several other associations: “Now That I’m Elected, What Do I Do?”

Todd explains to incoming leaders what their roles and responsibilities are when they become treasurer, committee chair, president, and so on. She also teaches them to take risks, be passionate, and develop a thick skin so that they’re open to criticism. Todd emphasizes the importance of looking beyond the issues of the association and understanding the entire REALTOR® organization—national, state, and local. She says, “They listen up and think, ‘I’d better pay attention because I’m not doing this to get a plaque.’”

A major portion of Illinois’ training involves helping participants identify their strengths and leadership style. Colleen Lessner, president-elect of IAR and president and owner of Main Street GMAC Real Estate, Cary, Ill., went through Illinois’ training program, and says that through interactive sessions and role-playing, she learned a great deal about how to lead.

Lessner recalls a role-playing game in which she had to lead a group that was building something with Tinker Toys. She was told to try an aggressive leadership style that involved hollering out commands. “My team finished first, but it was the most unhappy one, and they rated me a zero as a leader,” she says. Lessner was able to try several other leadership styles that better fit her personality to help her develop her own strategy.

Mississippi’s lengthy program is a series of five retreats over the course of one year. The training includes learning the leadership tools of communication, teamwork, and consensus building; understanding the legislative process; and learning how to become a spokesperson for the association and REALTOR® ethics.

Given that leadership training has such a direct benefit for the association, you’d think it would be offered free, and in some states it is. But Mississippi charges participants $600, and Illinois charges $295.

Brunner believes the program fees raise the commitment level—people are less likely to take the training and run if they’ve made a financial investment—and it conveys to other members that it’s a serious, desirable program. It also helps defray the approximately $13,000 it costs to bring in speakers and offer printed resources, plus food and lodging for the longer programs.

However it’s done, proponents of leadership training think it’s vital to keeping REALTOR® organizations successful and of service to members. “The association exists to perpetuate the needs of members, not the association’s needs,” says Todd. “One person told me his goal is to have 2,000 members this year. That’s ridiculous. You can have 2,000 members, but if you’re not serving them, what good is it? Better the association go out of business than members go out of business,” she adds.

Martin and others point out that REALTOR® associations are operating in a far more competitive world than ever before and that they have the responsibility to take the lead in helping members stay on the cutting edge. “They have to provide cost-effective, competent support, research, and products and services to keep REALTORS® at the forefront,” he says. “If they don’t, members will find what they need elsewhere.”

Parting Wisdom: The Take-Away for Participants

It’s not only the association that benefits from leadership training. When participants leave the classroom, they take with them valuable skills they can apply in their business and personal lives. Those business-building leadership skills are an attractive incentive for many members to volunteer.

From leadership training, participants can gain

1. The ability to identify their own strengths and management style and to understand how that style complements or detracts from relationships with those who employ different approaches.

2. A deeper understanding of how the REALTOR® association—national, state, and local—works, and how the various arms complement one another.

3. A network of new contacts with whom they can commiserate and brainstorm, as well as trade referrals.

4. A greater understanding of personality types, which helps them better understand and work with colleagues and clients who may have personality traits that are difficult or different from their own.

5. The ability to develop a following, delegate tasks, and get people to work together.

Eight Steps to Building a Leadership Program

1. Identify what you want to accomplish. For instance, are you trying to get an ethnic mix of leaders that more closely reflects your membership? Are you anticipating particular challenges for which you’ll need leaders well versed in specific disciplines? Are you trying to attract young volunteers who'll contribute to the association for the long haul?

2. Decide how you’ll choose program participants. Do you want to handpick candidates, or do you want to take a cattle-call approach—inviting anyone interested in leadership training to sign on? Do you plan to train a large group to see which individuals shine through, or do you want to focus your efforts on the most likely candidates?

3. Create a budget. Will the program be free to participants, or will you charge a fee? Estimate the costs of training materials, speakers, mailings, event locations, etc.

4. Be creative about choosing speakers to lead your sessions. Consider going outside the real estate realm and looking at local college professors or business leaders from other industries who may bring a fresh perspective.

5. Increase the odds that graduates will contribute to the association. Don’ t train leaders and then wait three years before giving them a leadership position. Plug them into the organization as quickly as possible so that they can test-drive their new skills.

6. Scope out future leaders all year at conventions, meetings, and other events. To identify potential leaders, collect business cards throughout the year from members you meet who exhibit the kind of thinking and leadership qualities you value. When it’s time to recommend candidates, you then have a roster of competent nominees from which to choose. Ask current leaders for input on potential leaders, and keep in touch with program grads with phone calls or personal notes. That will strengthen participants’ commitment to the program and also pique the interest of future candidates and draw them in.

7. Be creative about your leadership training program. Don’t bore your participants to tears with hours of tedious lectures. Instead, creatively structure your sessions. For instance, to test knowledge and be sure that participants absorb the curriculum, consider using an interactive game show format, along the lines of Jeopardy or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Mississippi uses a Jeopardy -style game, and the Illinois Association’s program includes role-playing games and team-building scavenger hunts to keep participants attentive and enthused.

8. Be sure you impart some very basic, practical skills. Talking philosophy is fine, but be sure that your treasurer and committee chair walk away from training with a keen understanding of precisely what their roles are, what their tasks are, and how to perform their duties.

Umlauf-Garneau is a Chicago-based freelance writer.