Maintaining a Growth Mindset

Over the last few months, we have all had to adapt and change our behaviours to help our businesses survive COVID-19 and the country-wide lockdown. It’s important that at times like this we are open to change, open to learning and maintain a growth mindset.

Maintaining a growth mindset throughout our lives and particularly throughout our career is important, as it ensures we don’t stagnate and get left behind.

We spoke to individuals from across the country to understand how COVID-19 and now two separate lockdown periods made them re-think their working style and how they took advantage of the growth opportunities that arose.

Robert Tulp – Apollo Auctions, Auckland

During COVID we became very aware that our core business activities - Auctions and Coaching teams became difficult due to the inability to be face-to-face with our clients and the public.

We were able to continue to operate (in some capacity) during levels 3 & 4 by conducting ‘Remote Auctions’ and Zoom coaching sessions. This has now evolved (post-lockdown) to us conducting what we now refer to as Hybrid Auctions - we conduct (on-site and in-room) auctions in front of the public, but we also give people the ability to watch online and then participate via telephone bidding.

Our standard practices now include setting up a tripod and ‘cage’ as well as the latest GoPro cameras to stream our auctions to Auction Live platforms and social media.

COVID taught us to adapt and be futureproof - to conduct our business whilst putting the health and social responsibility of our clients and customers first.

Ben Ryan – Tommy’s, Wellington

Kindness, The Path to Long-Term Success.

If COVID-19 and lockdown taught us anything, it’s to be grateful for what we have and be kind to one another. Real estate is a people-business which puts us in a unique and wonderful position where we can make people’s lives that little bit better during this trying time. We deal with buyers and sellers who have all been impacted in varying ways; if we can offer a little ray of light, through kindness and compassion, we brighten the world just that little bit. People will remember who was kind when they needed it. Showing kindness and compassion will attract business.

As lockdown drew people to social media and other online channels, people have spent more time in front of their screens than ever before. What better time to promote your success through social channels but, be mindful of others’ situations. Show compassion and check the ego. People are happy to see you doing well and it’s great branding. But brandishing lavish holidays and how great things are going for you, all the while they have lost a job or a family member to this horrible pandemic, it can very quickly have an adverse effect on business.

Real estate is long game, play it well and play it nicely. Although it’s important to seize any opportunity as it comes, and now more so than ever, it’s more important to drop the commission breath. These are trying times for everyone and being kind and looking to the future will lay the ultimate path to success.

Rick Mozessohn – Ray White, Auckland

Make your bed. Clean your car. Cut your hair.

Being intrinsically motivated looks like simple daily actions that together, culminate in your greater success. Now more than ever, it’s being reinforced that intrinsic motivation endures over extrinsic, every single time. Waiting for your success, doesn’t work.

Consistent success comes from within. Make your bed, clean your car, cut your hair. Navy Seal, Will McRaven says that it’s the “First steps to changing the world.”

Setting a simple routine of effective actions becomes the base to productivity and resilience. Making the calls and knocking on doors becomes more manageable when you have a clean wagon and a tight fade.

Intrinsic motivation means taking control, taking action and creating order in your life. Intrinsic motivation means creating routine, consistency and focus. Intrinsic motivation means tackling the small goals which culminate in your greater success. Making your bed is the first step.

Sarah Bentley-Korff – Professionals, New Plymouth

Lockdown certainly threw a spanner in the works of what we had set out to be our best year yet. Throughout lockdown we spent the time updating databases and systems and preparing for what our market ‘may’ look like post lockdown. Was the market going to take an immediate dive or was it going to continue like it was pre-lockdown? One thing we have focused on is being present in what the market is doing in the current week and month; so far in this financial year we have almost doubled where we were at the same time last year.

For us, the mix of taking much needed family time over lockdown, but working on the business as well, has helped tremendously. All our normal planned conferences and trainings have been redirected to online training, giving the ability to stay focused on work and not have to travel away but also being able to adapt to new ideas in real time has been great. This year, as a result of COVID, we have spent a lot of time working ‘on our business’ instead of just ‘in the business’.

One other focus of ours, as a result of COVID and lockdown, is that we will continue to spend time and invest in our online marketing growth, as this period of time has shown more than ever that all online platforms are only going to continue to get bigger.

Lisa Yardley-Vaiese – Harcourts, Christchurch

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin

I’ve always loved this saying. I am a lifelong learner, someone who is always looking for that next level, that growth opportunity... COVID-19 lockdown - do we survive or thrive?

Once the lockdown started and I was set up to work from home, I was fully aware that I’d have to create structure for the days and weeks ahead in order to function well and stay on track. Zoom meetings were set, daily exercise was scheduled, the 1pm lunch break allowed for the Prime Minister’s daily COVID update. I also produced a daily gratitude Facebook post - a shout-out to a simple pleasure that I’d enjoyed that day. This was so well received. I wanted to create routine, physical and mental management and ensure a positive attitude was sustained.

There was a climate of fear proliferating, powered by the doom and gloom on TV, radio and online news. It readily became apparent that strictly limiting your media consumption diet was wise. In that first week I worked particularly hard. By week two, I realised this is not a sprint but an epic marathon. It dawned on me to be a little gentler on myself. It felt like I was working 24/7 and it was becoming exhausting.

Harcourts decided to run our National Auction Championships online. Initially I was a little overwhelmed about how I was going to fit the necessary training into my daily schedule. Then I reminded myself “expand!” Take this time and utilise it. Every day I trained with my colleague Ned Allison and I went on to win the competition. Next up, Apollo Auctions in Brisbane decided to run an online Auction competition across New Zealand and Australia. “Yes, let’s do it,” I said. I made it through to the semi-finals calling three auctions in three days. Phew.

Our business quickly adapted running online auctions, virtual appraisals and video walkthroughs for our listings. I do feel we have learnt so much about ourselves and each other, adapting swiftly and solidly during these unchartered and unusual times.

Sharee Adams – Barfoot & Thompson – Auckland

Coming ready or not! COVID-19 changed the world in a moment of time. As I adjusted to ‘our new normal’, it was the perfect opportunity to discover what I truly value. I love this proverb that states ‘ As a man thinks, so he is’. How we think can certainly determine our outcomes, if we win the battle of the mind – we win.

These forced shut downs reminded me of five important things;C - Clear the clutter – In the mind and the house! Distraction is the biggest killer of opportunity.

O - Optimise your systems and processes – Our service sells us, but our systems run us. If you do something more than once you need a system for it!

V - Value – Decide what is important to you. Analyse where you spend your time, it is what you value most.

I - Insight – Understanding market conditions is one thing, understanding your clients motivation, or their “why”, delivers greater insight into their decision making.

D – Deal – Make it happen. The deal is made before you go to paper. Going to paper is just the icing on the cake! There are still willing buyers and willing sellers everywhere!

While we were all forced into making new habits over lockdown, maintaining these new habits takes discipline and dedication. Commit to growth. Serve your clients, go the extra mile and the deals will flow. Enjoy life’s ‘pinch moments’ where you can be grateful for the little things. 2020 has reminded me again to appreciate this beautiful gift called life.

Bhakti Mistry – Bayleys - Wellington

Our key pivot during the last few months was our business’ ability to adapt to remote working and deal rapidly and effectively with the challenges it presented. Change is the new normal and being agile is the competitive advantage that our business implemented.

By equipping the team with the correct tools required for our flexible work style, we’ve been able to move quickly from office based, to working remotely and back again. In fact, the systems put in place are still being utilised today, with team members working as efficiently when away from the office and team environment. Because this work ethic was ingrained within the team quickly, our business continued to function seamlessly with our client contact level remaining at similar levels to pre-COVID shutdown, however, without the physical meetings and building inspections.

Holding one another accountable for the day to-to-day running of our business’ was a crucial factor when the Bayleys Capital Commercial team went into lockdown. Our meeting times and days did not change, and we were required to be focused, alert to new ideas, methods, trends and influences that was prime information for us to pass on to our clients and customers. This also allowed us to be aware of one another’s wellbeing, helping to alleviate stress and uncertainty for each team member.

While selling and leasing through the lockdown period was a benefit of this disciplined model, the benefits were seen more so once we were able to get back at our desks. We hit the ground running and have not stopped. Accordingly, transaction levels are back to pre- COVID shutdown levels.

Ultimately, we quickly and seamlessly adapted to our new environment, operating outside of the normal workspace and I believe we have the significant competitive advantage to be able to continue delivering the best service to our clients and customers.