Leadership Development - My Interview & Article for Ontario Real Estate Association Newsletter
Strategic Planning and Leadership Cycle Move In Tandem at the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board
As we have made changes to the leadership development cycle, we have also refined the strategic planning cycle to improve participation and representation. Here are the changes that we made:
• Each Committees’ terms of reference will be linked to the strategic plan.
• Committees will be working from an agenda template to keep them on track.
• Our off-site strategic planning session, held in early January. is facilitated by an outsider to ensure a free-flowing and productive discussion.
• Board Staff met offsite in an informal meeting setting to brainstorm an action plan in the support of the Board-developed strategic plan to bring the plan to life.
• Milton, a smaller community within our Real Estate Board, elects their own representative in a separate election and that individual then brings that perspective.
• The Managing Brokers Council, which regularly meets to discuss common issues, also elects a peer to represent their interests in our Real Estate Board.
Leadership training at the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board (OMDREB) starts long before the end of the year. In fact, the Leadership Development Committee, formerly the Nominations Committee gets at the task in February. Our goal as a Board is to try to get people interested throughout the year. We want to keep the many good volunteers that we have and make room for fresh ideas. In the past, the committee would generally gather in September — which is rather late for November elections — and brainstorm about potential candidates. And, then the arm twisting would begin.
A year ago the Leadership Committee came up with a plan to be in front of our membership as often as possible — and we do so with events targeted to the newest members of the Board. For example, we held a Trade Secret Panel in which we invited those REALTORS® with less than two years experience to hear from a panel of our most successful members. The panel felt recognized for their professional success; the members felt pleased to be hearing from the best of the best on a business topic, and as a Board, we were front and centre with new members, all potential volunteers. At that event, we also introduced the volunteer opportunities, both through a short, formal presentation as well as a sign-up sheet for each committee.
We also decided to take a fresh bite at volunteer appreciation. Our volunteers got a box of homemade cookies from the best baker in town. This simple gesture of thanks got noticed. And, along with the cookies they also received a letter asking them if they would like to serve on the same committee or go a new direction. This approach has widened our search and leaves every committee chair with more candidates to choose from — rather than a narrow circle of those who are already known.
This year we are looking at directing those volunteers more to task forces and smaller projects. Most people’s biggest fear is time and we have to respect that. Our goal is to find the right role for any individual who chooses to volunteer — from president of the Board to the member that vets a survey before it goes to the general membership.
OREA’s Centre for Leadership Development is also a big part of our plans. All committee members are requested to take the free-of-charge Leadership 100, and we’ve budgeted to have all those members take Leadership 200 and 300, if they choose. This financial support makes the Board’sencouragement much more tangible — and we believe it will pay dividends long into the future.
Jenny Kotulak is Chair of the Leadership Development Committee and past president at the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board. Leadership development is her passion.