Afternoon breakout sessions on Day 3 of EXPCON 2023 included a packed agenda in the “Path to Achievement” where the focus was leadership and team culture.

5 Steps to Becoming a Better Leader

Hawaii agent Dylan Nonaka kicked off the afternoon with a traditional Hawaiian principle, Kīnāʻole:

I will do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, in the right place, to the right person, for the right reason, and with the right feeling, the first time I do it!

Nonaka had the attention of a packed room while sharing his insights on becoming a better leader:

Get your PhD in leadership
Accept that you are not special
Lead from the front
Practice unconditional love
Develop and practice combat-level trust

Drawing on his past 20 years of leadership experience gained through both personal and professional lessons he elaborated on each step.

“The world is looking for leadership, it’s up to you to provide it or not,” he said in closing.

Dylan Nonaka explains how to lead from the front in his session Wednesday afternoon.

Preparing Your Team for the Future

North Carolina agent and founder of the #FASTAGENT team, Kenny Truong, detailed how he strengthened his team by raising the team standards through a focus on accountability, framework, and adoption. By showing his team members how to take responsibility for their performance, understand the team expectation of excellence, and focus on cultivating mindshare, he was able to propel the team to a higher level of production and culture.

Kenny Truong discusses how he implemented higher expectations to improve his team.

Breaking Through to the Next Level

California agent Daryl Owen grabbed the attention of the crowd as he opened his talk with a personal story of how a serious injury helped him shift his perspective in life. His experience conjured up a new level of dedication to persevere through his setback and succeed in real estate. He explained how this perspective also came into play when he set out to build his team.

He shared what he learned on his personal development journey:

I am 100% responsible for every result and action in my life
My life is 100% a reflection of the choices I make every day
The most important choices are the micro choices
It’s the micro choices made daily that equal BIG results
Programs like 75 Hard have helped me develop a grit for consistency – even when it’s HARD

Daryl Owen explained why growth is the only option.

Creating Legacy With Teams Panel

North Carolina agent Chanel D’Aprix moderated an all-star panel of team leaders including Nathan Abbott, Ibrahim Hussein, Andrew Franklin in a discussion centered around legacy and teams. Highlights included the following insights from panelists:

Insights from Nathan Abbott:

We value authenticity in our team culture … and we use events to connect the team.

Legacy is the impact you’ve made on other people … we have a pay-it-forward environment.
Remove your ego. Lean on others.

Insights from Ibrahim Hussein:

We define culture as a leadership style.
Recognition comes in the form of monthly awards for peer-voted team members who display team values … our team members have a voice.
Scaling hinges on relationships and community.

Insights from Andrew Franklin:

We’re implementing entrepreneurial operating styles (EOS) … sharing the vision with everyone who is a part of the team in order to improve … focusing on collaboration and culture so we’re all rolling in the same direction with the same goals.
Scaling is hard and messy. Culture needs to remain the focus.
We define legacy in continuing the family business … 41 years and going.

From left: Chanel D’Aprix, Andrew Franklin, Nathan Abbott, and Ibrahim Hussein

Cultures That Last

Ontario agent Georgia Tusch delivered a down-to-earth talk about the challenges and successes she’s experienced in her real estate journey. She shared that she learned the hard way that when you build a team too quickly, culture falls by the wayside. “You don’t build culture, you build a team that creates a culture,” she said.

She shared the four necessities for building a team that lasts:

Start with core values
Empower your people
Make hard choices
Invest in long-term relationships

Tusch’s approach to finding alignment for her team came through branding. They defined three style brands that spoke to their culture: conscious, performance, experience. “Culture isn’t just for internal consumption, it’s a brand in itself,” Tusch said.

Georgia Tusch shares how she used a focus on branding to build team culture.

Systems for Sustainability

Indiana agent Austin Cheviron wrapped up the day’s ‘Path to Achievement’ sessions with a thought-provoking talk on alignment and sustainability. “I want to align you…take you from wherever you’re at to wherever you want to go.” While different for everyone, he posed the question, “What are we trying to sustain?” In general, he summed up the answer to be lifestyle, money, and time. Diving into his own personal ways of achieving sustainability in each of these areas, the topic surely stirred deeper personal considerations within each individual in attendance.