‘Unfiltered’: Yes, it’s hard, ‘but it’s time to move forward’
Watch the conversation with industry icon Sherry Chris as she discusses leading with humility, brand-building and navigating change.
Editor's note: The Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered podcast explores the people and forces that shape the real estate industry. Check out our top takeaways and watch the latest episode from NextHome CEO James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson, NextHome's chief strategic officer.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the Real Estate Insiders podcast belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
On the latest episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Sherry Chris, executive advisor for Anywhere Brands and the former CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate — a brand she built from scratch in 2008 — offers words of wisdom for just about everyone in the industry: new leaders, NAR, women, and agents struggling to adapt to the post-settlement world.
On leadership: "There are two types of leaders: One is someone that leads with humility, and I would put myself into that category. And the other one is a leader that leads with ego."
One style isn't necessarily better, she said — but good leaders shouldn't "come into companies and feel like they have to change everything."
"That's wrong. What you have to do is identify what needs to be done. And so in some brands that I oversaw, growth was the only opportunity because everything else was running perfectly. In other brands, things needed to be changed and, you know, shifted around. But one thing that remains consistent for me is that I surround myself with people who are smarter than me, that have complementary skill sets, that it's a team effort."
On being the only woman in the room: "I used to be the only woman and the youngest person in the room. And, you know, sadly, the youngest person in the room is no longer. And I'm not the only woman actually either. … But back then, I decided that I was going to look at myself as an individual and not differentiate myself by gender and just make sure that I was the best person for the job no matter what. And that's really how I was able to move ahead."
On what she would do if she ran NAR: "What needs to happen, in my opinion, is that the team behind the scenes at NAR works very hard to demonstrate trust and what the future is going to look like. And in all of this chaos that has taken place over the past couple of years, we need to embrace the new business practices that we've been handed and make the industry a better place."
On navigating a changing industry: To all the real estate professionals holding on to the "old ways," Chris reminded the audience that change can be good — remember the pre-internet era of printed listing books? No one wants to go back to that, she noted, leaving listeners with this message: "Hey guys, you know, it's time to move forward. It's hard, but it's time to move forward."