Login
iscover
Achieving a healthy work/life balance as a real estate agent can be tricky, which is why one real estate leader always plans forward.
Work/life balance has been a challenge for many real estate agents, as a recent REINZ survey found.
As a result, REINSW president Leanne Pilkington said the challenges in New Zealand are equally a problem in Australia.
“There are brands within the real estate industry that have their own employee assistance programs, and I’ve been shocked at the number of people who have availed themselves of those services,” she said.
Agency boss Matt Lahood knows how easy it can be to get caught up in work and glued to screens.
“I was on the new light rail the other day, and everybody’s got their head down looking at their screen,” Mr Lahood said in a recent episode of Secrets of the Top 100 Agents podcast.
“I’ve made a conscious effort, because it’s just opened up here, to actually sit on it and look out the window all the way.”
Since we are caught up on our devices, many people are not mentally present, which is key to leadership, he said.
Although he has a busy schedule, he plans his life with his family, so he is always present when his family needs him.
“I’m a bit of a planner, and I sit down every six months with my kids and ask them what do they want to do,” Mr Lahood said.
“I’ve done the same thing every year. We sit down around Christmas and say, ‘Look, what do you want to get out of next year? What do you want me? How can I help?’ And I’ll explain what I’m doing, and then everything just seems to fall in line then because there are no surprises.”
He uses the same approach in his work; he communicates with his team so he knows what they want to achieve.
“If you asked me what my number one successful skill in life is, it’s being able to, I guess, find out what people want to achieve to get to where they need to get, and just help them get there,” Mr Lahood said.
“It’s not about me; it never should be about the leader.”
Newsletter
