Working in real estate may not have been Brianne Ika’s first choice, but for the president of Workman Success Systems, and loving wife and mother of three young girls, it was definitely the right one.
Ika understands what it takes to be a true leader, from trusting the members of her team, helping them develop and grow, and staying open to ideas, always listening with intent. “I don’t feel like leadership is a title that’s given. Anyone can call themselves a leader, but real leadership is when others are following you,” says Ika. “You have to look for opportunities to make a difference in the lives and the businesses of those around you.”
At Workman, whether you’re a new agent joining the industry, a coach dedicated to building a successful business or holding a leadership position, balancing the scales of work and life is a top priority. “You have to be so intentional with both your time at work and with your family,” she says.
Paige Brown: What made you choose to work in the real estate coaching profession?
Brianne Ika: This is not a path I ever thought I would take. I never wanted to do what my dad did, and I was never really sure what he actually did. I knew he did some kind of real estate, and he was a speaker, and I wanted no part of that. After deciding to get my license and doing seven transactions in my first two months, dad and I went on the road together. We had an insane couple of years, and together, we built a mind map that has since translated into what is now Workman Success.
PB: What are your goals for 2022?
BI: My personal goals are to continue to develop the team that is Workman Success so that they can take personal ownership of their roles and their positions in order to become better leaders. Our business goals include increasing efficiency, profitability and revenue, and executing on our contracts. To accomplish our revenue goal (a 60% increase), we’re going to have to increase our coaching capacity from 60 coaches to 100.
PB: What type of leadership skills does it take to succeed in the ever-evolving real estate industry?
BI: One of the things that makes what I do so exciting is the fact that it changes constantly. There’s not really one set of leadership skills, but what we do have is the wisdom of the crowd. Our coaches are sharing what’s working, what isn’t working and how they’re navigating all these changes and shifts with the rest of our group. We decided early on that we were going to provide service regardless of opportunity. There were so many people worried about how they were going to survive with all the unknowns, and we attribute our growth over the last two years to the attitude of service regardless of opportunity.
PB: How does your company support your mission statement “to create purpose, prosperity and productivity” for real estate teams across the country?
BI: We help teams understand their core motivating “why” so that they can dig deeper to understand why they are helping people and why they want to do real estate. By building businesses that serve the lifestyle of the team leader, the broker/owner and the agent, rather than building a business that is their lifestyle, we’re helping create that prosperity. We believe that a well-coached, well-run business leads to living that prosperous life. And if you’re going to go to work, go to work and work hard. Every time you say ‘yes’ to something, you’re saying ‘no’ to something else, and our teams work differently because they understand this concept so well.
PB: In what ways do you support and manage your team of 60 coaches?
BI: Every Friday we do a coach training call where we get all 60 of our coaches on the phone and talk about client challenges, wins, issues and what’s happening in the market. We also bring all our coaches to Salt Lake City twice a year for three days of training. Becoming a Workman coach is truly an honor. They have to show proficiency in our systems and tools, and show that they have a business that has the leverage and support it needs so that they have the time to help and serve others. I get to work closely with all our coaches, directors and teams to make sure they are getting the training and coaching they need.
PB: What makes coaches and continued training so imperative for real estate professionals?
BI: Think about any sports professional. Almost all of them have a list of coaches. They know what it takes to be at the top of their game. Why should your real estate business be any different? If you want to be at the top, and you want to be the best of the best, you have to have somebody who is looking at things from a different angle. You want to align yourself with someone who has been there before and can push you, ask the hard questions and get you to think outside of the box.
PB: What differentiates Workman Success Systems from the competition?
BI: While most other companies have a team aspect, we do it better than anybody else because it’s our specialty. Our coaches are active in the real estate world and have created the leverage they need to be able to give back and help others achieve that same leverage. We like to say that in training, you learn something new, but in coaching, you do something new.
For more information, please visit https://workmansuccess.com.
Paige Brown is RISMedia’s content editor. Email her with your real estate news ideas pbrown@rismedia.com
