ShareOver the past five years, REALTOR® association leadership training has matured beyond the annual retreat for a handful of leadership team members.
To build a larger, stronger pool of future leaders, associations can’t simply focus on the next year’s leaders, they must plan for the next decade of leaders by creating leadership academies, multiyear training courses, and educational opportunities open to all members.
Leading in life
To attract participants, state and local associations are marketing their leadership programs as a way members can learn new skills to grow their business and make a difference in their community.
The Florida REALTORS® Leadership Academy, for example, boasts that it “will empower you to maximize your leadership potential.” The Bay Area REALTORS® Leadership Academy, an alliance of three local associations, says members in its program “will learn to polish their strengths and learn new skills that will prove useful in all aspects of life and career.” And the Maryland Leadership Academy says its program is “first and foremost a personal development program that will benefit participants in their daily lives.”
Covering costs
Multifaceted leadership development programs are expensive to produce, so associations typically charge tuition.
The one-year, five-retreat program from the Kansas Association of REALTORS®, called The Right Track Leadership Academy, costs $279 per participant, while the one-year, nine-module Triangle REALTORS® Leadership Academy’s tuition fee is $600.
Finding and coordinating speakers, developing curriculum, and arranging venues are new tasks that associations absorb or assign to a workgroup of volunteers.
For more on leadership education opportunities in your state, contact your state association of REALTORS®.