Fletchers’ 12-office network is the reigning REIV Agency of the Year and Website winner (for the third time). Our company began franchising in 2010 and has been a real thought leader in technology, branding and agent development over the last decade.
The following are my views and methods regarding leadership:
Change Management
We have read so much about how people fear change. That is bunk, as far as I’m concerned. People don’t fear change so much, but rather the unknown. I take the time to work with my people to understand what is involved with the change process: the reasons why change is necessary, the physiological effects of change on people, how we will be implementing the change process, what will be expected from them and how they can play a useful part in the process. People appreciate and respond to being treated with respect and care in relation to how they are going to deal with changes that will no doubt lead to them doing very different things in their jobs. If people feel part of the process with a role to play in creating the new paradigm, they respond amazingly well, particularly when the change process is supported with an aligned approach.
The leader who can inspire an organisation to embrace and love the change process is a leader who works with an organisation, which will survive.
Allignment
One of the real keys to leadership is ensuring that the programs and policies implemented support the direction in which the change process is taking the organisation and have been developed with input from the end users.
Thomas A. Edison said, “I start where the last man left off.”
Most people are sceptical about the latest change, as they have seen so many that management has inflicted upon them before moving on to the next one – or worse, they leave as new management arrive with yet another new approach.
Each element of change must be in support of the last and preparing the way for the next. The people must believe in it: that the changes will be implemented and are part of a well-conceived grand plan.
The Plan
Nobody knows the job as well as the person performing it and no one knows the organisation like its people. They need to be involved in developing the plan, which everyone will ultimately need to own if it is to succeed.
Leaders must lead, but not in a vacuum. Seeking input into the direction the organisation will take from the stakeholders will help to ensure the plan is well conceived. It’s often not possible to know how the plan should unfold early in the process, and as a new leader you are in desperate need to lead from the front and to gain the confidence of your people.
The way to progress is to ensure the path you are going down has sufficient flexibility, but is focused enough to be moving the organisation forward. People respect a leader who is honest about where the organisation is headed, even if the leader is not yet completely sure.
For one organisation I led which required a lot of change, I took all members of my firm through seminars on where our firm was headed, using a solid arrow, which had an upwards bent, as a symbol of the approach we were going to take in moving the firm forward. The solid aspect referred to the fact that we all had to move together; there was no room for those who didn’t wish to join in and move forward. The upward bend showed the direction we were going in, while recognising the fact we didn’t yet know the exact path. The length of the arrow was in realisation of the fact that some would perhaps get where we were going faster than others, but all those within the organisation would get there.
We began the process by educating the entire firm on what was involved in the strategic planning process and the role they would be playing. We broke the organisation into natural manageable units; that is sales, property management and internal services for the planning process. Each of our teams developed plans which were then brought together into an overall firm strategy designed to enable the team plans to succeed. Quarterly reporting as to the progress of the plans, six monthly reviews and yearly updates are all part of the process.
