I live in the Salt Lake valley, and I love it. Utah is known for having “the greatest snow on Earth,” and every winter my whole family looks forward to getting out on the slopes to ski and snowboard.
One of the best parts of living in the Salt Lake valley is that the mountains are so close. It’s only a few minutes’ drive to go play at the ski resorts, and the snow-covered mountains that surround us make a beautiful sight during the winter.
But those same mountains contribute to one of the least wonderful things about this part of the world: the winter smog. Every winter, smog develops in the valleys, the result of air pollution trapped by those mountains and a phenomenon known as temperature inversion.
Normally, air temperature cools as elevation increases. But in an inversion, the opposite is true: air nearer the ground is cooler than the air above it. The result is that the cool air is trapped by the air above it, meaning that particulates like dust and pollution can’t circulate and disseminate. The longer a period of inversion lasts, the worse the air gets. It’s hard for it to not take a toll—no one likes cold, mucky weather and haze that doesn’t break.
Inversions are disrupted when another stronger weather pattern passes through. The accompanying wind and precipitation move the stagnant air around and allow pollution to disperse. In a good winter, a storm will pass through Salt Lake every week or two, helping keep the air fresh. But sometimes we might go several weeks without anything to break up the smog.
I’ve worked with many real estate teams over the years that feel like they are stuck in a smog. Much like the phenomenon of temperature inversion, the team’s atmosphere may be stagnant. They are trapped by their work and have no real drive or focus. Sometimes they are irritable with each other or discouraged in their work. Other times there just isn’t a sense of energy or enthusiasm in the office.
I think this is something every team experiences from time to time. So, it’s worth asking: what can team leaders and brokers do to “clear the air” when their teams get caught in an inversion?
I’ll answer that question with a line from the classic Bill Murray comedy Groundhog Day, about a man cursed to relive the same day over and over: “Anything different is good.” Many times, all your team needs to shake it out of its funk is something a little different to break up the routine, just like a change in weather clears the air in the valley. Establishing patterns of behavior is good, but there is a line between routine and monotony.
For example: instead of asking about transaction progress and new leads during your huddle like always, perhaps one day you do a brief team building activity. This could range from sharing items from your vision boards to taking an online quiz to determine which superhero you all are. Whatever it is you do doesn’t have to take very long, but taking a little time to break up the routine and allow team members to unwind a little can help reduce stress and bring the team together.
You might even take your team building to the next level. Leaving the office to go have fun for a couple of hours could totally clear out your team’s inversion. I know teams that go out for sushi once a month, get pedicures together, and participate in bowling leagues. Maybe your team wants to try every Korean restaurant in your city. Maybe you have a goal to set a record in a local escape room. You might think about creating a budget for activities and let a new team member plan an activity every month. The more regularity you mix things up, the more stimulating and cohesive a work environment you’ll be creating.
Being a leader means building others up and helping them succeed, which sometimes means letting them take a break and focus on things that aren’t work. If your team’s atmosphere feels a little stagnant, it might be just the thing.
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems, a real estate consulting company that specializes in performance coaching and building highly effective teams. Contact wssm@workmansuccess.com for more information and free downloadable resources.
