There’s not one true leader on this planet that does anything on their own. Humans aren’t built with the capacity to maintain unyielding power and control. Those who have tried, inevitably fail sooner or later. However, we are built with a unique capacity for building strong communities that work together to protect the whole and conquer their goals. Within our organization, and the most successful and sustainable businesses out there, it is the leaders who recognize that they are simply one small part of the whole, that learn how to engage well with their team, and make it a thriving community.
Being an Engaged Leader- What Does That Mean?
Prepare for challenges by addressing and communicating them with risk-free, open dialogue and collaboration. Our culture and teams thrive right now within the organization because of the commitment to specific practices that reflect this.
We are here for the long haul and want to emerge as a leader for the future of our industry. Our adaptability is supported through a commitment to communication and transparency. We stand apart as an organization because we are younger- that’s not a negative- it’s an opportunity to set the tone for what lies ahead, and inspire others to follow this model.
It’s on our executive leadership to make sure service levels are at the top. It starts with building connections within the teams we serve. To strengthen our relationships, we must simultaneously show empathy and receive understanding from others, trusting that this two-way street will keep us elevated toward our goals.
Shifts and Perspectives that Build Better Leadership
Being a strong leader starts with ourselves. We must recognize what skill sets we have that are superior. The old adage is to work on your weaknesses. I find it better to work on your strengths and push those forward. You should understand your weaknesses and how they might contribute to your mistakes and your shortcomings so you are prepared to recognize your blind spots, but handle your business through your strengths. Because then you can recognize when it’s time to be humble and bring somebody else in who is better suited for that specific task or blindspot.
In this industry, We must bend with the flexibility of the markets, and hold firm in our culture and mission. This means focusing forward on modernizing our approach to meet the versatile and changing needs of our communities, always looking at homebuyers and prospective homebuyers with an adaptable, and open-minded perspective so we can understand how to meet their needs.
Informed Generation and Acceptance of the Right Opportunities
Visionaries don’t operate from a place of fear, and they don’t operate in their comfort zone. What worked a few years ago does not work today, and what works today will shift again and again in the future, meaning it’s our responsibility to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and to be willing to constantly evolve both your practices and perspectives.
When opportunity knocks, we have to learn whether it’s the right opp[ortunity for us. Ask ourselves: Is it aligned? Are our teams able and willing to devote time and energy to deep conversation? Leave nothing off the table– EPM has employee surveys that give us the data we need to recognize shifts in goals and attack those opportunities.
Digging into the data helps us make swift adjustments. We are human beings, and we will have differing perspectives and blind spots, so promoting risk free-engagement and feedback with these surveys really helps us improve the way we lead our teams so that we can serve our consumers and strengthen our culture.
Unite your Team Generously
Without a balanced and connected operational methodology across all of our teams, we risk becoming destabilized and having to shift our energy inward while we put out small fires within. When we are aligned, working toward the same goals, and putting everything on the table with transparency, candor, and flexibility, we can focus our energy on the opportunities for success that are at our fingertips. Working as one united team, we create a bulletproof service machine that is changing the way this industry functions for the better.