What Leadership Looks Like... and Doesn't Look Like
Sharp contrasts in two recent communications illustrate the problem we face
This will be a public post because I think everyone in the industry needs to understand a few things about why I write what I do. Because I will be the first to admit that some of my criticisms of NAR are pretty harsh. Maybe not as harsh as some of you on social media, but pretty rough for a member of the real estate commentariat.
I also thought I would do this post to show what I think is possible, because it already exists. And if good leadership and good communication is possible, then by God, I think the industry and the hardworking men and women who make up (some of) the general membership of NAR deserve that.
In the last couple of days, I saw two videos of leaders in the industry talking about the NAR Settlement. There have been dozens of videos on the topic, but these two struck me so forcefully as an important sign of what’s going on that I wanted to look at them specifically.
The first is a video from Sharran Srivatsaa, President of Real Brokerage. Sharran is a good friend of mine and I know him well, but he doesn’t know that I’m writing this and might possibly be horrified if he knew.
The second is the official video released by NAR on its website, featuring Kevin Sears, 2024 President of NAR, talking about the NAR Settlement. Well, at least in part.
We will look at both of these in turn, because the contrast between these two videos illustrates so clearly why I am so critical of NAR, why NAR is in such dire need of reform. The members and the industry deserve so much more.
Let’s get into it.
Sharran’s Livestream
For those who don’t know, Sharran has been the President of Real — the fastest growing brokerage in the country the past couple of years — since 2022… basically since he joined Real… huh.
When he was named as President of Real, I wrote on these pages:
He is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met, but one who is 100% grounded in business realities. You’re not going to get a lot of bullshit or generalities with Sharran; you get practical, do this today and be successful, do that tomorrow and make more money, type of advice from him.
I think he might be the best salesperson I’ve ever met, and I work in an industry filled to the brim with some of the best salespeople in the world selling multi-million dollar mansions and dreams every single day. I’m reasonably convinced that he could sell ice to eskimos, if he tried.
I honestly, genuinely believe that if you own a real estate company that is in trouble, and you want to turn it around, Sharran Srivatsaa should be your first phone call. Well, maybe your second call after you call me? Because I’ll likely tell you to call Sharran, depending on what it is you want to do….
His hourlong livestream video, I think, shows us all why I wrote that about the man:
Now, I think he gets a couple of key facts wrong about the Settlement. As a result, he gives advice that isn’t… wrong precisely… but let’s say a bit incomplete. I do not agree with some of his conclusions.
But what makes this eye opening is not about whether I agree or disagree with Sharran.
Watch at least the first 15 minutes of this video. A few things will — or at least should — jump out at you.
His positivity and energy.
His obvious intelligence.
His unbelievably effective communication skills. I could watch this video as a masterclass on how to do online presentations, regardless of the topic.
His absolutely genuine authenticity. Maybe Sharran is just talking a whole lot of bullshit, and just lying to your face. If so, he’s the best liar in the whole world. Because I think he means everything he says 100%.
He ends up offering real solid concrete advice that the audience — mostly agents of Real — can put to use right away. But nothing he says would be problematic for consumers and the media — both of whom he acknowledges right at the start — to hear. He’s not trying to hide the ball here; he’s trying to tell it exactly as he sees it.
And throughout, he maintains that spirit of “grace” that he opened with, and reminds listeners over and over again, Be Kind… not just to others but to yourself. It’s okay to be confused. It’s okay to be worried. It’s okay, but breathe, be kind to yourself, and Sharran and his team are there to help.
I simply love this screenshot:
Because it leads into a thorough (if simplified, as he intended) explanation of what happened, and what to do next. By plainly acknowledging everybody’s fears, insecurities, and emotional reactions, Sharran settles the nerves of the listening agents, calms their emotions, and thereby sets the stage for learning.
If there is a more effective display of leadership by a leader in real estate, I haven’t seen it. I’ve seen some very good webinars like this, but Sharran’s is the best yet.
NAR’s Kevin Sears Video
Now, here’s NAR’s video featuring Kevin Sears, the 2024 NAR President:
I put this on YouTube myself because it was not uploaded to NAR’s YouTube channel, whose last video was from two weeks ago about using floorplans to market listings. Because that was what was on everybody’s mind after a $5.4 billion judgment in Sitzer v. NAR.
Nonetheless, if you want to see the original, please go to NAR’s official website: Kevin Sears: Discussing Key Settlement Considerations and Ongoing Advocacy Efforts On the Road.
Before I start, let me also offer my deepest sympathies and condolences to Mr. Sears for the loss of his father. Whatever our differences, we all share the human condition and my heart goes out to him.
Now, I will say at the outset that I don’t know Mr. Sears. I’m sure we’ve met at a conference or something at some point, but I don’t have any recollection of a substantive conversation with him. He seems like a super nice guy, like most NAR leaders I’ve met. I’m sure he’s great. And what I have seen of him in other formats — such as his appearance at Anthony Lamacchia’s event or his recent appearance on real estate coach Jared James’s YouTube channel — suggests that he’s probably pretty good as a communicator.
Too bad we get not a whiff of that Kevin Sears. In this video, it is obvious that he’s reading from a teleprompter, and that he’s reading a speech that he did not write himself. Nobody sounds like that, or has those stumbles or pauses reading something he wrote himself.
The only thing authentic about this video might be the jacket he’s wearing. Even the backdrop looks like it’s green-screen.
So we have fake words against a fake background, written by a PR flack and staged by some “communications” personnel and only half the video is about the NAR Settlement before going into some standard self-congratulatory stuff about advocacy on Capitol Hill that nobody cares about right now. There’s a time to talk about flood insurance; the week after a bombshell settlement news is not that time. I mean, how tone-deaf can you be? How idiotic is your PR team?
If I were Kevin Sears, I would be livid that my own people made me look so fake, so bad, so inauthentic, and so… not like a real person. Why not let me, the President of NAR, do my own hourlong livestream with members where I can break down the Settlement, and tell the members what I need to tell them so they could stop freaking the fuck out and start learning what to do next. If Sharran Srivatsaa, the President of a single brokerage company, can do it, then why can’t I?
Of course… unless you can’t do it, because you don’t have the skills that Sharran has. That’s a whole different issue.
Leadership vs. Positionship
For all I know, Kevin Sears is the greatest leader that NAR has ever elected to be President. I wouldn’t know. Because NAR has done everything in its power to make sure to hide away any leadership skills Mr. Sears might have behind a veil of corporatespeak and choreographed teleprompter videos.
And yet, the fact that Sears as President of NAR has not demanded that he showcase his leadership, leverage his ability to communicate, to empathize, to educate… and started firing staff until they met his demands suggests a failure of leadership.
Kevin Sears is filling the position of NAR President for now. That is not leadership; it’s positionship. Maybe he is a great leader; if so, may that leader show up and right soon.
By contrast, Sharran Srivatsaa is a leader. His position as President of Real is irrelevant to his leadership. If he did not have that title, if he were a random on the street but showcasing the clarity of thought, expert communication skills, and the solid common sense advice that he does in his video… he wouldn’t need a title to have an impact.
I Hate NAR Because I Love REALTORS
I was recently asked point blank by a friend who is a longtime REALTOR junkie: “Why do you hate NAR?”
My answer then is the same as my answer now: “Because I love REALTORS.”
And I don’t mean the curbstoners who happen to carry the REALTOR badge because NAR has sold itself out for more and more member dues dollars. I mean the men and women who genuinely give a damn about their clients, about doing the right thing, about professionalism, about skills, about hard work, and who are genuine patriots who love this country and our civilization as a whole. Because under all is the land, and without that, our entire society is at risk.
I wrote that I was disappointed in the Settlement because it did nothing to solve the #1 problem of the industry: too many untrained, unethical and/or incompetent agents. I don’t hate those untrained, unethical and incompetent agents; I just want them to find something else to do to make money.
I don’t hate Kevin Sears, who I’m sure is a lovely man, and I don’t hate Tracy Kasper who I know to be a lovely woman, and I don’t hate any of the individuals who are toiling away at national, state and local ranks to try to make things better. In fact, I love quite a few of them because they’re the best people I have had the pleasure to get to know. But I do hate NAR in its current form, because it has been an open sewer of incompetence for the past few years.
The true REALTORS who give a shit, and the true leaders in the industry who are trying to make things better, deserve more than what they’re getting right now from NAR. They deserve leaders who can do their own hourlong open webinar with members and break down the Settlement Agreement, calm their nerves with real authenticity and real empathy, and offer good solid advice. If Sharran can do it for Real, then surely someone can do it for all REALTORS everywhere. They deserve leaders who can make wise decisions, hold people accountable for making bad ones, and steer the industry through what is coming.
The Coming Priority
I realize this is probably falling on deaf ears… or perhaps I am preaching to the choir since NAR sock puppets tend not to come around these parts. But I must state the truth nonetheless.
The priority for NAR in the coming weeks and months will likely be to get this Settlement approved, to implement all the rules changes, and to consolidate the gains from this victory (because it really was a victory for NAR legally speaking).
The priority for everyone who is not getting paid by NAR, however, should be to figure out how much of NAR to burn down and how much of the "positionship” to eject, so that the real estate industry can have real leaders again who can truly lead the members and the industry forward.
I suggest starting with the PR and communications teams who allowed the corporate press to shape the narrative, has zero success stories about allowing real people to tell their stories, who allows surrogates like Anthony Lamacchia to go on TV to tell the consumers of Boston that steering will be happening, and makes Kevin Sears into a robotic talking head.
But do not stop there. NAR as it is today is like an overgrown forest that is choking the life out of everything other than the old trees. A fire destroys, but it allows regrowth and renewal of the forest as a whole often healthier, better, stronger and more beautiful than before.
The coming priority for the industry as a whole is to figure out just how hot and how wide the fire must be, and identifying the leaders who could help the regrowth and renewal afterwards.
You all deserve better. We all deserve better.
-rsh
Rob, as a former VP of Communications at NAR, I thought my perspective might have some value here. First, I'm sure everyone working in communications at NAR would be impressed that they have so much power within NAR as to control every message. The truth is communications rarely sets the messaging. In the commission lawsuits the messaging is driven by the Leadership Team, Chief Legal Officer and the CEO. Second, your issue with the communications is far less about the form (Kevin's delivery, whether its green screen) and far more about the message. I'll be the first to agree with you that NAR's messaging throughout the commission lawsuits insulted the intelligence of their members by never leveling with them. It is important to rally members during difficult times, however, NAR just pushed out rosy "we got this," "Nothing to worry about" "hope will never be silent," messages. These messages went beyond tone-deaf. It was messaging malpractice. Third, while you thought Kevin's video was a failure, I thought it was NAR doing its best to level with its members. Does it answer every question? No, but it was far better than "hope is never silent. Finally, NAR as a culture is not prepared for the threat that commission lawsuits presented. NAR is largely able to throw money at a problem and it will go away. They couldn't do that this time. While NAR has many smart people who could see through to the other side of the lawsuits, as an organization and a culture, it is not in their DNA. The failure here is not at the communications level, it is at the messaging level. Those are two very different areas at NAR. NAR will come out of this for the better but, only as you say, if they are honest and leave the rosy, insulting messages behind.
Start by trimming the 900 member board to about a dozen.
Don't make (REQUIRE) NAR dues to be mandatory and be paid to and by the local Realtors Associations. NAR should invoice agents directly to see who voluntarily wants in.