A staple of the Keller Williams training, these 6 perspectives are designed to help agents (or anyone in business!) realize their potential and attain the highest levels of achievement. Each perspective stands on its own, and they also build upon one another.
Let’s break down some key takeaways from the discussions had by Seychelle, Vija, Sarah, and Wendy:
Perspective #1: Commit to Self-Mastery
Oftentimes we associate self-mastery with something job-related when really the key is mastering yourself as an individual. It may feel selfish to do such a personal deep dive, but in reality, you’re committing to becoming the best version of yourself, which in turn will change the way you lead and influence others.
Make it a point to understand your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re not sure about them, don’t hesitate to ask others around you — you might just learn something about yourself that you didn’t know! Focus on the strengths and how you can amplify them, and find opportunities to create leverage around your weaknesses, whether it be through people and/or systems.
Lastly, although the focus should be on looking inward to master and gain insight into yourself, this doesn’t mean you have to stop working altogether toward mastery in a skill or task. You may even find that this is a great way to make the journey enjoyable and highlight your strengths, lending to your personal mastery process.
Perspective #2: Commit to the 80/20 principle
The 80/20 principle is the idea that 20% of your activities drive 80% of your results. The key theme here is that things in life are not always distributed evenly. It’s a relatively easy principle to grasp, yet one that can be very challenging to actually live out. Why? Because for most of us, we’re conditioned to start our day with easy tasks, when really the focus should be on the 20% that matters most.
Remember that time is a fixed asset, and your email is a to-do list that anyone can add to. Prioritizing what matters most is crucial, and it starts with knowing what your top priorities actually are! Know what absolutely must be done before the day ends and above all else, make sure those things get done. Also, don’t be vague when identifying your big rocks. Be detailed and break down your tasks to maximize clarity.
Perspective #3: Move from “E to P”
The idea of “E to P” represents the transition from entrepreneurial to purposeful, or as some say, “easy to painful.” As entrepreneurs, we often start by doing what comes naturally to us. The step of transitioning to purposeful (or painful) involves stepping out of your comfort zone, and oftentimes surrounding yourself with people that have abilities, skills, or traits that you don’t, or implementing systems around things that will help you take your business to the next level.
A great example of this is tracking numbers. For most Realtors, we’re highly relational people. The idea of slowing down and using a CRM or tracking your activity seems counterintuitive, yet how else are you going to track your growth and production?
There are 5 ways to go from “E to P,” outlined below:
1. Work on focus. What’s the one thing that you could do that makes everything else easier or unnecessary?
2. Create strategies and actions. How can it be done? What is the best way to do this?
3. Follow the model. What are some proven models and systems that you can draw inspiration from?
4. Create systems. How can you turn your ideas into actual systems? Is your need for a system and/or a person to implement them?
5. Be accountable. How can you track your progress? Who around you can hold you accountable for your goals?
Perspective #4: Make being “learning-based” the foundation of your action plan
Look to just about any great leader in your life, and odds are they have a strong commitment to learning. Whether or not you know it, we all fall into one of the four categories of competence:
1. Unconscious incompetence: You don’t know what you don’t know.
2. Conscious incompetence: Realizing that there are many things you don’t know.
3. Conscious competence: You know what you know.
4. Unconscious competence: We don’t know what we know. The wisdom that comes naturally through experience.
When looking through these categories, be honest with yourself when trying to understand where you might fit. You may be in different categories in various parts of your business. Once you’ve figured out where you stand, learning takes on a whole new level of intentionality.
When looking at a true “learning-based” leader, we see six things in common:
1. Learning-based leaders spend time and money actively on learning.
2. They focus on one or two topics at a time.
3. They surround themselves with people they want to learn from.
4. They amplify and share what they’ve learned with others.
5. They execute on what they’ve learned.
6. They recognize that we have never arrived.
Learning is a never-ending journey, and it doesn’t just apply to work. Applying the same intentionality to your personal life will pay dividends in building that bigger life that we all want!
Perspective #5: Remove your limiting beliefs
We don’t always admit it, but all of us have limiting beliefs. These beliefs are ones that we view as absolute truth, not leaving room for the possibility that something greater exists. They can become a big barrier in the process of not just achieving your goals, but even working toward them.
A good example is that we don’t deserve time off, or that our business can’t thrive without us which prevents us from giving ourselves permission to enjoy life. Such beliefs can also be projected onto others, dooming them to live out the same mistakes. Doesn’t sound like something to strive for, does it?
The best way to overcome these limiting beliefs is to examine and overcome them. Here are six steps to do just that:
1. Admit you have a limiting belief
2. Recognize that it is a belief, not a fact
3. Challenge it
4. Recognize the impact of not overcoming the belief
5. Pick a new belief
6. Take action
Perspective #6: Be accountable
How often do we blame others for our own failures? Perhaps we blame our circumstances? The point here is that it’s very easy to take on a victim mentality and deflect blame. The reality is that these feelings or actions don’t lend to improving your surroundings.
Accountability can be tough, and it’s not as simple as identifying who caused the issue. If you are going to create a solution with staying power, you have to understand the people and conditions that allowed for a negative result to happen, and as leaders, that means looking in the mirror.
Here are five steps to improving accountability:
1. Seek reality. What am I not admitting to myself? We tell ourselves the stories we want to hear.
2. Acknowledge reality. What’s your role in the problem? Denying is easier than acknowledging, but doesn’t lead to improvement.
3. Own it and be empowered by owning it. Own the part you played in the problem, and you gain control over changing it.
4. Find the solutions. What are your options? Who can help you?
5. Get on with it. Action is the best cure for almost anything. What gets you into motion?
We hope these perspectives and the Empire Builders’ thoughtful discussion through them will serve you well! Remember the journey is an imperfect one, and results can take time. Oh, and if you haven’t yet subscribed to the Empire Building podcast, do yourself a favor and start listening to these amazing ladies each week!
