Does Your Boss Suck?

One of the easiest things to do in real estate is explain why our business isn't where we want it to be.

The market slowed down.

Interest rates went up.

Technology changed.

Leads aren't as good as they used to be.

We have too much going on.

And sometimes those things are true.

But before we blame what's happening around us, maybe we should ask a different question.

How well am I being led?

Because in real estate, the person doing most of the leading is usually us.

We are the boss.

So maybe the better question is...

Does your boss suck?

You Wanted the Freedom

One of the biggest adjustments agents struggle with is going from a W-2 job into real estate.

Before real estate, most of us had a time we were supposed to be at work. We had deadlines, expectations and somebody who knew whether the work got done.

Then we got our real estate license.

Congratulations.

We just opened a business.

Nobody is standing over our shoulder anymore.

Nobody is making us prospect, follow up, send the email, call our database or plan our week.

That's the freedom we wanted.

But there's another side to that freedom.

Nobody is making sure we're actually doing the things we said we were going to do either.

Who Is Leading Your Business?

When business slows down, it's easy to look outward first.

The market.

Interest rates.

Technology.

Competition.

Our brokerage.

Our schedule.

But before we blame any of those things, we should probably look at the person leading the business.

Us.

Did we make the calls we said we were going to make?

Did we follow up when we said we would?

Did we stay in touch with our database?

Did we do the things that actually move our business forward?

Or did our boss allow us to spend the day answering emails, reorganizing the CRM, tweaking marketing materials and staying busy without ever doing the thing we knew mattered most?

I think we're pretty good at finding productive things to do when we're avoiding the uncomfortable thing we know we need to do.

And that's where a good boss has to step in.

What Would a Good Boss Do?

Think about the best boss you've ever had.

They probably weren't standing over you every second of the day.

They probably gave you some freedom.

Maybe they let you leave early on a Friday to spend time with your family.

Maybe they understood when life happened.

Maybe they encouraged you when things weren't going well.

But they also had standards.

If you made a mistake, they gave you feedback.

If you had a deadline, they expected you to meet it.

If you continually didn't do your job, eventually there was going to be a conversation.

That's a good boss.

Being a good boss to yourself isn't about becoming a drill sergeant.

It's about having standards while still giving yourself grace.

Take the vacation.

Spend time with your family.

Celebrate the wins.

But don't confuse grace with continually breaking promises to yourself.

Would You Still Have a Job?

Here's the question that probably matters most:

If you worked for somebody else the way you're currently working for yourself, would you still have a job?

If your boss expected you to make calls every Monday and you continually didn't, what would happen?

If your boss expected you to follow up and you continually didn't, what would happen?

If you promised something would be done by Friday and every week there was another excuse, how long would that last?

Yet we make those same promises to ourselves all the time.

And then we let ourselves off the hook.

Have a Meeting With the Boss

If your business isn't where you want it to be, maybe the first question shouldn't be what's wrong with the market.

Maybe it's:

What has my boss been allowing?

What standards have slipped?

What have I been avoiding?

What promises have I made to myself that I haven't kept?

And what needs to change?

You don't have to overhaul your entire business tomorrow.

Just start becoming a better boss.

Set expectations.

Have standards.

Give grace when it's deserved.

Celebrate progress.

And most importantly, when you tell yourself you're going to do something, do your best to keep that promise.

Because one of the greatest freedoms of owning your own business is that nobody gets to tell you what to do.

And one of the greatest dangers is...

Nobody gets to tell you what to do.

So take a look at the person running the show.

Does your boss suck?

 

A reminder to feed your fire, 

Lyle