Looking for silver linings

When difficult things happen you get to test yourself and your ability to react in the way you say you will. You get a chance to practice what you preach.

This week we say goodbye to one of our teams that we really loved working with. Everyone on our team has respect for them. They are natural leaders with integrity and professionalism. They are real. They are nice people. They are ‘our kind of people’.

Any time that someone has left IA, I have found a silver lining. There was a reason that was obvious – usually it was simply they were not suited to remote working. Usually, it was good for them and good for us.

This one is not like that – well, it must be good for them – but it’s not good for us!

The team that we farewell appears in our marketing. Many salespeople who have joined us over the years have spoken to this team’s leaders before starting with us. They were one of our first branches. We experimented with them.

But nevertheless, for a number of factors, some of them I can only suspect but may never really know, they made the decision to move on.

“Should you decide Independent Agent is not for you, you can freely change your mind. We understand people will not be with us forever…. You can take your database with you when you leave, there will be no restraint of trade. We are prepared to negotiate with you over any existing listings…. We like to think that if our salespeople leave us, they will do so in an open manner and on a positive note. And we would wish you well.”

This obscure passage from an old brochure was put to the test this past few weeks, but throughout I held in my mind the idea that across the country, we were politely shaking hands and wishing one another well.

So today we gave over the final pass codes and online keys so they could keep their email addresses the same. I saw the last and final CRM download notification pop up on my phone. The licenses will be switched over today.

I called and just said how great it was to work with them. We reminded each other that we remain colleagues, and that we are more than just the organisation that we aligned to. We vowed to stay in touch.

And I know we never talk about people leaving in this industry – their names are never spoken! I have left businesses and been ‘dead’ to management for years. In case you have not figured it out yet, when it comes to real estate, we do things a bit differently.

I also know that we have been responsible for unsettling a fair number of business owners over time too, this is the game that I have chosen to play.

The best bit: I found a silver lining. I learnt the hard way that my team and I could off-board a team with impeccable professionalism and at a pace that suited the team leaving. We could do this with a heavy heart, no negative comments, and we could still smile as we did it (mostly).

If you are reading this Trevor and Tracey, once again, I wish you well.