Appreciating Your People

I met an agent who was complaining about her “Big Boss”. She was wondering why she could not “knock some sense” into him.

In my mind, I was thinking, “If only you know his presupposition about agents, you will understand why he thinks and acts in this way.”

I felt this way because I would never forget the first time I met her “Big Boss” – an educated and respected person in our industry. We were having lunch to discuss about some business matters.

At one point, he went off-tangent when we were talking about his agents. He started calling them “idiots”, “monkeys”, “cowboys”…

Since he was referring to his agents, I did not feel I have a right to stop him. If he had started to condemn agents as a whole, I would have given him a piece of my mind – and it would not be a pleasant one.

That incident has kept me wondering.

Many real estate principals do not truly love or care for their agents.

A lot of business leaders would treat their subordinates as a “resource”, “tool”, “platform”, “money-making machine”, “capital”, among other terms. They were not seen as humans with flesh and blood.

By that, I mean every one comes with a story. He/She journeys through life with his/her hopes, fears and concerns.

Deep inside, he/she wants to do good and do well. He/She struggles to move on to a better life.

All of them have a dream and sometimes, we cruelly kill the dream inside them.

We need to be grateful for our people.

We need to value and appreciate them for their services and contributions – no matter how small it is.

As a leader, I hope to bring out the best from my people and help them achieve the best in life. I want to be a friend and to help them live a meaningful, exciting and fulfilling life.

 Please teach and help me.