When my husband asked me what in the world I could possibly talk about with my girls on Facebook chats every night, I told him everything from empires to eyelashes.
(Shhh — don’t tell him. But we talk all day long, too. One of the chat strings has almost 90,000 messages!)
I am blessed to be part of one of the top real estate teams in the country — The Belt Team. Our team will close about $70 million this year, and one of the secrets of our success (and the success of other top teams) is the tribes we build online, take offline and nourish in our chats.
Meet my tribe
Yesterday, I talked about my #SFAM tribe, and today, I’m going to tell you about my other tribe.
#COOBrainTrust
My other tribe is composed of four stellar COOs who ride shotgun on some of the top teams in the country — Nicole Sarenpa of The Sarenpa Team in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota; Katrina Meistering of The Dailey Group in Baltimore, Maryland; and Rebecca Vanderkolk of The Ramsey Group in Charlotte, North Carolina. Combined, our teams will close about $200 million this year.
COO Brain Trust – Nicole Sarenpa – Rebecca Vanderkolk – Christy Belt Grossman – Katrina Meistering
We got to know each other online in my closed Real Estate Admin Group, and we soon discovered that we clicked. The typical executive assistant (EA) has an SC profile on their DISC — meaning “steady” and “conscientious” as primary behavioral profiles.
This group is all high D (meaning “dominant,” “driver” or “direct”). And rather than operating as average EAs (who handle administrative tasks), we are assistant executives (AEs) and CEO or COOs who are operational leaders or are fully responsible for running the team.
This combination is hard to find. We shoot hard and fast, we don’t hold back, and we solve a lot of problems with our teams by consulting with and coaching each other.
There’s an objectivity that is required to be successful. You must be able to receive and process objective feedback. And this is what has propelled all of our teams to higher heights.
I asked my girls to share their thoughts. Here’s what they said:
“When love is like the sandwich that makes the tough reality easier to swallow, and when it comes from some great friends who you know care deeply, it’s easier to get into the mode of moving beyond limiting beliefs — getting ‘comfortable being uncomfortable.’ And every conversation is a chance to stretch our leadership muscle,” Nicole Sarenpa said.
“My girls are there for me to provide cheers and challenges — in equal portions,” Katrina Meistering said. “Cheers when I’ve accomplished something big, broken through a ceiling, pushed myself to the limit and achieved growth I didn’t know possible — even though they did.
Challenges to push myself to the next level, eliminate limiting beliefs from my life, and to quit complaining and start doing. Somehow they know when I need a shoulder to lean on and when I need a swift kick in the you know where.
“They are my sounding board for all things professional and personal. I am a better leader, mother and COO because of these women. My team and my husband know them as ‘my girls.’ When I’m feeling down, frustrated or excited, everyone in my world knows that I’m going to turn to my girls for cheers and challenges.”
“Our nightly chats are golden,” Rebecca Vanderkolk said. “We share our struggles with each other. We can be open, honest and really dive into the challenges that plague us.
“I don’t have to worry about allowing my weaknesses to show because they have similar weaknesses. These women have such skill to ask the right questions that allow me to find clarity.
“Clarity is power. They are not afraid to push me into [being] uncomfortable. It’s open, honest and down right raw sometimes. Then, we talk about what to wear on date night.”
This tribe also chats daily. Not as much during the day, but mostly when kids are put to bed. Like #sfam, we challenge each other, act as accountability partners, troubleshoot and coach each other.
This past month we even arranged to fly in to meet in person for a 48-hour COO mastermind weekend in Bethany Beach, Maryland. I’m not going to lie; we might have had a margarita or two, but most of the weekend was spent breaking through ceilings. And dang the sound of glass shattering is sweet.
So if you’re looking to take your real estate business to the next level — maybe it’s time to find yourself a tribe. If you already have one, feel free to share about it in the comments section below.
Christy Belt Grossman is the chief operating officer at The Belt Team, Keller Williams Realty. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.