When's There No More F__ks To Give | Company Culture

 Hey guys, Carmen here. 

Welcome back to Why I Day Drink,  your bi-monthly, sometimes weekly (squirrel!), newsletter of sorts, made for real estate professionals, by a real estate professional. But if you're in the People business, I'll claim you as one of us. 

Either way, you're in good company. 

Real Estate people are probably my favorite group of people. The best part, they seem to always have this one thing in common: the most amazing sense of humor. They can be anywhere from 80 years old to 20 years old (and you'll never know because 80 year old real estate agents have 20-year-old headshots 😜 )!  They come from all walks of life and from all backgrounds. 

We're a disparate bunch to be sure ... Part of our charm. 

Company Culture: Does Yours Suck?

Have you ever walked into the office and felt your soul being sucked out of your body? Like you can literally feel the energy in the room shift and change with every step you take. And whatever good-mood-cells were vibing decided to freeze up and die?

[fainting goat*]

Oh, hi there 👋 You, too? 

We've all been there, right? Or maybe you're there right now. When the mere thought of going to work causes your GI track to tighten up and wreck havoc with your emotional and physical health, that's a sure indicator that something is wrong. The thing about culture, especially company culture, is that you either have it, or you don't. It's almost hard to explain because it's a feeling, an energy. We are pre-programmed to pick up on it. 

And unlike the grey area of life, culture is very black and white. Pass or Fail. 

Good culture, healthy culture, whatever you want to call it, is knowing there is protection from the top. Do your team leads, Leadership Team, BIC, Broker/Owner Group, have your back? Do you intrinsically know, when push comes to shove, and you need that support the most, you will have it? 

When you can reply with a resounding, "yes!" you know you're at the right place, with the right people. That type of security cannot be bought. Good companies become great companies when the culture foundation is built upon the philosophy of, "because they would have done it for me." 

In short, trust matters. 

And when you have trust, you have security. And when you have security, you have confidence. And when you have confidence, you have happy, productive, and motivated people who spread that same infectious attitude to others. That's when the magic happens. 

Yeah, ok, that's great and all, but how?

Fun fact: All major culture shifts usually happen when new leadership takes over. So if you're in an unhappy place, and you're on your last f__k, you've got three options: 

1. Hope for a merger and acquisition and get folded in to an already amazing company
2. Start looking for another place to call home
3. Be the change you want to see

Fear not, change IS possible. But first, you have to define it. You need to know what it is. What it should feel like. And then communicate it, and incorporate it into EVERY aspect of the company. Every department. Every day. 

Culture is everyone's "job".  

True leadership and culture is distributed from the top down.

First though, you have to believe that your leadership is on board with that evolution.  

Change takes courage. 

I'll drink to that,
~Carm

*no goats were harmed in the making of this blog