Jan 10, 2023
How my client became the “teammate coach” for his own team
Case Study - Blackstone & Company
Ryan owns a fast-growing real estate company in Northwest Arkansas. During our
coaching period, he hired and integrated 5 agents, 3 operations specialists and two virtual assistants. With his rapid growth, Ryan required practical help with integrating, training and coaching his team.
During our initial consultation, Ryan simply asked for help to accelerate his experience so he could manage and lead his teammates more effectively. He wanted to “have 5 more years of experience” right away. I jokingly (with some truth) replied that this will take approximately…wait for it…five years ;)
Instead, it took a lot less time. Here are some key things we did together:
I reviewed resumes and participated in new-hire interview panels
In one case I did all of the interviewing and down-selected two candidates for final interview and hiring. The candidate was successful in the operations role and later self-promoted to become one of the team’s full-time real estate agents!
We built the team’s first and succeeding annual Goal, Plans & Strategy offsites; a process that became a permanent fixture for the team and sets the annual performance goals and metrics for each teammate as well as the business
We created repeatable processes for several functions including the weekly team meeting that now leverages every team member’s inputs, tracks performance metrics and incorporates clear roles and responsibilities for each teammate. A key feature is ATT (Around The Table) where each teammate describes one success and one challenge for the week. This way the entire team is invested in the success and challenges of each other.
When personnel and interpersonal relationships appeared extra challenging, Ryan and I focused together on problem identification and strategies for success. On occasion, I would support Ryan by coaching the teammate individually as to his/her role in problem resolution as well
Together, we celebrated successes, stormed through difficult issues, and always found ways to be patient and persistent in the goal of team building and employee development
The summary above is not all-inclusive but because I became a virtual and relevant member of the team as “Ryan’s coach,” I was also able to watch and admire his quick rise to the role of leader, mentor, and coach for his team. Today, Ryan has personal and team success metrics in place, buy-in from all of his team members, and regional recognition for excellence, culture, and innovation among real estate investors and agents alike.
After one of his recent team meetings where Ryan demonstrated all the values and competencies of a coach, I called him afterward and said: “Ryan…I’m fired! I’ve worked myself out of the role of being your TeammateCoach because now YOU are the coach for your outstanding team!