It’s the tension every office knows: Your top performer wants more. The team feels undervalued. Someone’s about to leave. But who should it be?
Welcome to Edge Case, a new part of Thought Leaders, where we take controversial industry beliefs and properly debate them. No panel discussions where everyone agrees. No softball questions. Just structured debate with real data and genuine disagreement.
The Format
Dom Thurbon and Fiona Blayney flipped a coin. The winner chose the topic, the loser chose which side to argue. One of them spent 45 minutes defending a position they don’t actually believe.
The Topic
“That star agents deserve special treatment, even if it ruffles feathers”
How Edge Case Works
Six structured rounds:
- Opening statements (90 seconds each)
- Cross-examination
- Evidence and data presentation
- Direct rebuttals
- Final arguments
- Truth reveal (where they share what they actually believe)
Key Moments from the Debate
Dom argues:
“One high performing agent is worth 10 middling agents and an infinite number of low performing agents. They convert more appointments into listings, sell houses faster, and sell them for more money.”
Fiona counters:
“Harvard Business Review talks about toxic high performers creating a 30% drop in productivity across the balance of the business and a 50% increase in voluntary turnover.”
The Data Battle
Dom cites that top agents convert 63% of appraisals into listings versus 42% for average agents. Fiona responds with research showing 72% of property managers leave due to toxic culture, not workload.
The Truth Reveal
At 45 minutes, both debaters share what they actually think (and it turns out one is a pretty good story teller!).
Why This Matters
Every principal and team leader faces this challenge. How do you reward excellence without destroying culture? This debate provides frameworks and data from both perspectives, helping you make informed decisions about your own team dynamics.
The conversation moves beyond simple answers to explore:
- Whether special treatment is ever justified
- The real cost of toxic high performers
- How to build sustainable incentive structures
- The difference between rewarding performance and enabling bad behaviour
What’s Next
Edge Case will continue tackling the industry’s difficult conversations. Coming up:
- “AI will replace 50% of agents within three years”
- “Leaders still don’t tell the truth enough”
After watching, we’d like to know: Which argument did you find more compelling? Did the truth reveal change your perspective?
Edge Case is a new debate series from Elite Agent’s Thought Leaders podcast, hosted by Samantha McLean. Each episode features industry experts arguing both sides of controversial statements to expand how we think about real estate’s biggest challenges.
Have Your Say
Should star agents get special treatment?
Vote in Monday’s Edition of The Brief
Listen/Watch now
- YouTube
- Spotify
- Apple Podcasts
- … and on your favourite podcast player!
Connect with Samantha McLean
Connect with Dom Thurbon
Connect with Fiona Blayney
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