Performance coach James Short on the habits that help leaders stay strong through an uncertain market

Name: Performance coach James Short on the habits that help leaders stay strong through an uncertain market
Uploaded: 2026-10-19T08:00:16+00:00
Duration: 25 min 5 s
Channel: HousingWire

00:00It's no secret that there's some uncertainty in the market right now.

00:03Interest rates up, down, all around.

00:06Today, my guest is James Short.

00:09He's a performance and leadership coach and coaches brokers, agents, team leaders.

00:14And we talk a lot about how leaders can coach through a market downturn or just an uncertain

00:23market.

00:24And he's got some great advice, some things that I learned as well.

00:28So I hope you enjoy the podcast.

00:41James, welcome to The Real Trending Podcast.

00:44Thank you for having me.

00:46Yeah, yes, definitely.

00:47We've got an interesting conversation today.

00:49But before we start, why don't you tell the audience a little bit about who you are and

00:54a little bit about your experience to set up the conversation?

00:58Well, as you can tell, I'm from the other side of the world in a beautiful place called

01:01Australia, down under, a little place called Byron Bay, which is just down the road from

01:07the actor Chris Hemsworth.

01:08So on the easternmost part of Australia.

01:10But I've been in the coaching space for the past 20 years, coaching real estate brokers,

01:15principals, agents on high performance.

01:19So it's not about the scripts and dialogues, but it's going on about what's going on between

01:23there is, how do we lead, how do we become better leaders?

01:26And that has been an interesting journey.

01:29So it's been some ups and downs and seeing multiple markets come through.

01:34So as we can tell of some of the challenges that we're going through at the moment, but

01:39a lot of these, a lot of the agents who have been around, a lot of the brokers that have

01:43been around for a while can see what's going on and how to navigate this interesting time,

01:48I will call it.

01:49Yes, they've been through it before, right?

01:52So through your experience, tell me what, what have you noticed are kind of the features

01:59or the mindset that the brokers who are successful and agents as well have through difficult times?

02:09Great question.

02:11Process over outcome.

02:12What I see a lot of the time for those agents and brokers who have been through this cycle

02:17before is they double down on their process because they know by doing the process, by

02:22doing the fundamentals, by doing, getting back the basics and not trying to look at the next

02:27amazing thing that's going to do a quick fix, but by coming back to those fundamentals, coming

02:32back to those basics, follow the process, the deals will come, the money will flow.

02:37And rather than just getting so hooked up onto the outcome on how many deals are going to put

02:42through, come back to the process.

02:43That's the biggest game changer I'm seeing at the moment.

02:46Yeah, that makes sense.

02:48I feel like we went through a period where, I don't want to say sales were easy, but they

02:53were somewhat easy during COVID.

02:55There wasn't a lot of back to basics needed.

02:59It was taking orders in a lot of cases.

03:02Now, I'm not saying they didn't do a lot of work.

03:04That's not what I'm saying.

03:05But it was maybe easier than getting business now.

03:09Um, so, you know, if you didn't have a process, what are the recommendations that you have

03:14for those who started during that time and have kind of been doing okay up until, you

03:20know, interest rates just shot up recently?

03:23The thing is, is, is coming back to those fundamentals about picking up the phone.

03:29Well, I find a lot of agents who maybe started in that, those times, they will do everything

03:34else than pick up the phone and actually talk to people.

03:37It's the SMS, it's the email, it's the, you know, sliding into the DMs on socials, but

03:43it's actually nothing beats eyeball to eyeball, belly to belly, face to face, picking up the

03:49phone call, knocking on the door, introducing yourself.

03:52That is the goal.

03:53That is the fundamentals.

03:54That is the basics is because nothing beats a relationship by seeing them or talking to

04:00them in person.

04:01Um, because that's when you can really build rapport really quickly and, and lead people

04:06through this market because the, the ability is the buyers and the sellers want to be led

04:11as well.

04:12They're going, what do I do?

04:13How do I do?

04:14And all that.

04:14And if you're a professional, if you have the authority, if you have the expertise, even

04:19if you don't, it's get yourself knowledgeable in this process to take charge and take lead.

04:26That is the game changer.

04:27And if you can do that, people will follow you.

04:29People will connect with you.

04:30People go, I want to list.

04:32I want to sell.

04:33I want to do deals with this broker because they, they're not fearful.

04:38They're not egotistical, but they're not fearful because they're knowledgeable and they've got

04:42the confidence to put deals together.

04:44You know, a lot of times tough markets bring out the, the bad things as well.

04:51Like what are some of the struggles that you're seeing right now, um, that, you know, agents

04:58and, and brokers are having a hard time overcoming?

05:02There is some not nice stuff going out there.

05:04You, we know where a lot of brokers can be bad mouthing other brokers and, and, and trying

05:11to, trying to cut deals and so forth.

05:14And I think karma is an interesting thing and it does bite you on the backside a lot of the

05:21times.

05:21And so what I seeing is, is some, some not nice stuff that's being happening out there

05:27in the market.

05:27But I think for those leaders who step up and lead the way and stay true to their values

05:35and stay true to the process and stay true to the professional that they are, then they

05:42will outweigh anyone who's tries to undermine, still cheat to, to get a deal together.

05:48So I think that's, that's the biggest thing that I'm saying you staying true to your, what

05:51I call your true North and you will succeed.

05:54It might take a little bit longer.

05:56I understand that for doing the short deals and, and not being congruent to the values that

06:02you uphold, but truly believe you stay true to that.

06:06You will have enormous success over the longer term.

06:09Yeah, absolutely.

06:10And, um, you know, with, at housing where we have a lot of housing market data and to

06:17me, the most successful agents are the ones that are able to answer those questions easily.

06:22Um, you know, so what are some other, you know, other than knowing the topic, what are some

06:29basics that you feel they really need to brush up on in a market like this?

06:35Communication.

06:37Communication skills, uh, is, is the most paramount skill that any leader, any broker, any agent

06:44really needs to get a grasp on.

06:47And we talked about COVID and how nice and easy deals were flowing, but in challenging

06:54markets by brushing up in your communication, you know, I was just talking to an agent just

06:59the other day and he was going through some of the conversations he was having with, with

07:05some of his client with, on the phone, trying to get a listing together.

07:10And I said to him, I said, are you actually breathing?

07:15He goes, what do you mean?

07:16He goes, when you went through that dialogue, you didn't take one breath and it was like

07:22you were going a hundred miles an hour.

07:24He goes, I didn't even realize.

07:26I said, and you asked, you didn't actually ask me a question, like a bit of role play.

07:31You actually didn't ask me a question to engage me in the conversation.

07:36He goes, what do you mean?

07:37I said, well, you picked up the phone and you, you went straight into your, your spiel,

07:42but not once you didn't ask me a question to engage me in the conversation.

07:45He goes, oh, we flipped that around.

07:50And within two weeks, he was averaging one to three appointments per week to one to three

07:56appointments per day.

07:58So the ability to actually stop, take some breaths and ask questions.

08:04I believe whoever asks the questions controls the conversation.

08:07And no matter where you want to take the seller, the buyer, you asking them and engage them in

08:14that process, that is gold.

08:16And this is where coming back to understanding your communication styles.

08:20Understanding your emotional intelligence around your communication and asking better

08:24questions through what I call neuro-linguistic programming, NLP.

08:29Those three things, game changer in this market.

08:33Okay.

08:33Explain NLP to me.

08:37Ooh, here we go.

08:38So NLP, I love this.

08:40NLP is what's called neuro-linguistic programming.

08:42We can determine, so neuro is obviously brain, linguistic is language and programming is,

08:49is the beliefs and the patterns that we have.

08:52And so by actually hearing people's language, we can determine some of the beliefs and behaviors

08:58that may be holding them back.

08:59And so when we have an ear, when we can actually listen to our owners and our buyers around the

09:06language that they're having and they're saying and they're communicating, we can really get

09:10to the core of the objection.

09:11We can really get to the core of their problems and their issues.

09:14And then when we understand that, then we can take them on the journey on how to solve those

09:18issues and overcome those problems.

09:20But this is where asking the better questions.

09:22And this is where NLP really comes into place.

09:25When we understand firstly, our own beliefs and our own behaviors that may be holding us

09:30back.

09:31The thing is, you unlock that.

09:34You shift the mindset.

09:35You shift the belief.

09:36You shift behavior.

09:37You become an absolute weapon out there of your craft.

09:41But then when you can actually understand others and take them on the journey and help them

09:46to unlock it, to help them to make that next decision, this is one of the key components

09:51of those successful agents to really understand those language patterns and what to do with

09:57them and asking better questions.

09:58Yeah, I would assume that's not only useful in getting a listing or working with a buyer,

10:04but also negotiating the sale itself.

10:07And especially when it comes to helping them set a price for the property and that as well.

10:15Sometimes it's just a matter of ditching the script and actually going with a feel.

10:22You know, yes, so true.

10:26And it's not necessarily the script.

10:29It's just asking better questions because what happens, we get so in our heads of like,

10:35I've got to go to this information all out in such a short time because I've got to get

10:39through these calls.

10:39And if I don't, the boss is going to get to me.

10:42And so we run all these patterns in our own head of getting on that phone call.

10:47If we just stop, if we take a breath and we go, okay, who am I about to call?

10:54What questions can I ask?

10:56And if they say this, what questions can I ask?

10:58And just connect to the person on the phone or when you're door knocking and just to really

11:04listen and be present.

11:05Oh, the amount of rapport that you get, phenomenal.

11:08And then the answers that you get, people open up to you about the wildest things when you

11:14stop, listen and ask better questions.

11:16Yeah, absolutely.

11:17And so you argue that leadership behaviors often matter more in tight market conditions

11:24or more than market conditions, I should say.

11:27So what are the specific behaviors you see strong leaders kind of double down on when,

11:33you know, there's headlines of an interest rate, you know, spike?

11:38So it's really important as leaders, one, to obviously know your numbers.

11:43I see a lot of leaders just, you know, increasing their subscriptions or increasing the expenses.

11:49But firstly, definitely know your numbers because there's so much fat that you can just go, you

11:54know, do we really need this?

11:56Is this going to help us to continue to grow or is this going to, you know, take us backwards?

12:00So that's the first thing.

12:02The second thing is know your vision.

12:04So yes, it's, it could be tight, but having a clear vision and a clear plan, even if interest

12:11rates continue to rise.

12:12Okay, so what, what are we going to do about that?

12:15And the third thing where a lot of leaders don't do, but the best do is then communicate

12:21that vision, communicate that plan, because you've got to rally the troops.

12:25You can't do it all yourself.

12:26And so by actually rallying the team and go, all right, team, being vulnerable, this is

12:32where we're at.

12:33This is what's happening out there in the world, but we're going to get through this.

12:36But this is how we're going to get through this.

12:38This is what it means to you individually.

12:41This is what it means to the company.

12:42And this is what it means on how we're going to lock arms and go through this together.

12:46So those key elements is so important in a market like this.

12:52Yeah, I would assume education just about potential like mortgage products or different, different

13:01ways to go about buying a property for those who may be stunned by the interest rate and

13:07stuck on it.

13:09If the more, you know, the more you're able to communicate that and help them feel, you

13:14know, more confident and buying.

13:18Totally.

13:19And that's, yeah.

13:20And that, that comes down to the plan.

13:22And then that comes down to the individual team member on, so what is their role?

13:28And so what do they need in their plan?

13:30So they feel confident.

13:32So they have the clarity to actually have the resources and the knowledge to go, okay,

13:36well, what I was doing six, 12 months ago is going to be different from what I'm doing

13:41now in the next six, 12 months.

13:42What is my plan?

13:44And so as a leader, yes.

13:46Okay.

13:46You might have 10, you might have a hundred, you might have a thousand in your team, but

13:51it's then looking at, okay, what's the management team doing?

13:54How is their role going to be changing?

13:56Then what's the operational team?

13:57Well, how is their role going to be changing?

13:59Then the people out in the field, the team members out in the field, how is it?

14:03So once again, it's having that clear plan because everyone's going to think it, what's

14:08in it for me?

14:09Every team member go, how's this going to impact me?

14:12Oh my goodness.

14:13And you instill confidence in your team.

14:15You instill clarity in your team.

14:16You instill vision in your team and the steps to take that game changer.

14:21You are on the right path.

14:23Yeah, absolutely.

14:24And obviously retention is equal to recruiting, but recruiting gets harder when the market

14:31is like it is and productivity also matters heavily.

14:36So why do good agents leave successful organizations?

14:40And as a broker, what can I do to retain them?

14:46So that is a great question, particularly for right now.

14:52Most people leave organizations because there's a lack of vision.

14:56There's a lack of clarity of where we're going, how we operate, that vision of this is who we

15:02stand for.

15:03And then the lack of vision within me as an individual agent or broker within that office.

15:10And so when you've got a clear roadmap of for each team member for what that specifically

15:15looks like, you've got someone for a long, long time.

15:18And so what happens is what leaders don't do, I find in these types of markets, they don't

15:23continually check in with their team members and go, where are you at?

15:28Where are we?

15:29Let's do this together.

15:31This is, hey, how about we, this is the vision we're going to be setting together.

15:34And then this is the roadmap that you're going to get on.

15:37And so that in itself is a clear indication of a great retention.

15:42When it comes to recruitment, it's exactly the same thing because a lot of leaders aren't

15:48doing this everywhere else.

15:51So if you can actually communicate that to people that you may have earmarked of like,

15:56we might need to have a conversation with this person because they would be better under

16:02our roof than where they're at at the moment.

16:04And so that's the recruitment piece of like sharing what you're doing already with others

16:10because I guarantee they're not doing it elsewhere.

16:13Yeah.

16:13And that's all speaks to accountability, but accountability can sometimes come across as

16:18micromanaging depending on how it's done.

16:22So where is the line?

16:24And, you know, what advice do you have for brokers who might not be really sure about that?

16:31Oh, I love this question, accountability.

16:33This is one of my, this is one of my favorites.

16:37So accountability is really interesting because it can be perceived as micromanaging, but where

16:42most leaders fall down is they set the tone and then they set the pieces that they need

16:49to be accountable for.

16:52And this is where I think we would need to flip the switch.

16:55So when a broker comes in, it's like, okay, cool.

16:57What do you want to achieve?

16:58I want to earn X, Y, Z.

17:00Okay, great.

17:00So how do you see yourself getting that?

17:0390% of people who've got some experience know what they need to do.

17:07It's just, they're not doing it.

17:08Right.

17:09And so when you ask the question of what do you want to achieve?

17:12How are you going to see that?

17:13What does that plan look like?

17:14You've actually, they've actually mapped out the whole accountability piece for you as

17:19a leader, which is great.

17:21The next bit is like, okay, great.

17:23So you've got that commitment that you're going to do this, this, and this based on your

17:26plan, based on what you want to achieve, based on your activity that you're going to do it.

17:30Yeah, fantastic.

17:31Okay, great.

17:33So what's going to happen if you don't do your activity?

17:36Because the goal is great, but now we've got to have the accountability piece on the

17:40activity.

17:41Okay.

17:42So then you get them to set the consequence.

17:44Okay, great.

17:45So if you're not hitting your numbers in the next six months, what does that look like?

17:50Oh, well, okay, great.

17:52So what then I do as a leader is particularly initially, I do two-week sprints because people

18:00can commit to activity over two weeks.

18:02And this is the game changer I like to introduce into organizations.

18:06It's called the reward and the non-reward.

18:09So people set the activity for two weeks or what they need to do.

18:12It might be number of calls, might be number of door knocks, whatever that might be.

18:15And so we have a total of calls and door knocks, for example, over the two weeks.

18:21Once you hit that, once you hit that, what's going to be your reward?

18:24It's like, well, what do you mean?

18:26Well, the reward is something because we're creating new habits, we're creating new behaviors.

18:30So we've got to instill the positive aspect of when you actually hit that.

18:34It might be out to the movies.

18:35It might be, you know, take the partner out for a nice dinner.

18:38It might be whatever that might be.

18:39It might be a walk in the park or down to the beach, whatever that is for you, that is

18:44a reward that you're working towards.

18:45And people go, great, got it.

18:48Okay, but on the flip side, what's the non-reward?

18:51If you don't hit it, what are you going to do?

18:54And people look at me and go, what do you mean?

18:56Well, you've got to have a reward and a non-reward, like a carrot and a stick, so to speak.

19:00And so we have set some doozies over the years.

19:05And some of the being, one example was one of the brokers set a non-reward as she wanted

19:12to go to a health retreat.

19:14And if she didn't hit a numbers, she would give that health retreat to her competitor

19:20and she would go in with the envelope of the health retreat ticket and give it to her

19:27competitor.

19:27So two weeks, she set off really strong.

19:31By the end of the second week, her numbers dropped and she didn't hit it.

19:34So she actually had to go into her competitor's office and hand the envelope over to her competitor

19:40and saying, this will never happen again.

19:42This is on me.

19:43Enjoy your health retreat.

19:45Sure enough, didn't happen again.

19:47And she went from zero to incredible results over the next six months.

19:52So it's got to be something that it's going to be like, oh, I can't do that.

19:56But that's the thing when I have a non-reward, particularly in two-week cycles, that's gold

20:00because the broker actually sets it themselves and then they commit to that.

20:05And all you need to do as a leader is like, call it on it.

20:08Like you said this, you got to action that.

20:10Fair enough.

20:11So that's not micromanaging.

20:12That's enrolling your team in how to actually be accountable.

20:16Yeah, I love that.

20:18And so a lot of brokers have moved away from leaderboards and that because the same people

20:23are at the top all the time and they find it demotivating.

20:27What's your opinion of leaderboards on the wall in a brokerage?

20:33It really depends on the culture that you're trying to create.

20:36And if you're trying to create a high-performance culture and if there's no buying with the team,

20:42then you need to probably look at, is that going to be beneficial?

20:46If everyone's bought into that situation and everyone's on board, definitely leaderboards

20:51because brokers are competitive in nature.

20:55But if you have a gap in different brokers and different broker levels, have the leaderboards

21:02in those certain levels.

21:04So what I mean by that, if you've got your top performers that are earning average, so

21:08for example, a million dollars, have them compete against each other.

21:12If you've got brokers that are earning between $500 and a million, put them together.

21:18Don't put them all in the same mix because what's going to happen, yeah, those leaders

21:22are going to always win.

21:23But when you segment it, when you break it down and you provide resources for those types

21:28of brokers on those levels, that's when they all move up.

21:32It is a game changer when you segment it that way.

21:35I love that.

21:36So you have a book called Leading Your Tribe and you focus on building teams that stay.

21:41So what makes people feel generally connected to a business rather than, I say employed,

21:47but they're not always employed because they're independent contractors.

21:50So what helps with that connection?

21:53Really great question.

21:55Biggest thing is obviously appreciation and acknowledgement, knowing that they are a person,

22:00not just a number.

22:01The other thing is the vision.

22:03So ensuring that there's a clear vision within the organization.

22:07And the next piece is the communication piece.

22:10So ensuring that one, we're taking each of those team members through their own personal

22:17journey that's aligned to the company's journey, but making sure that that is clearly communicated.

22:22So having the posters on the wall, having it in your manual, that's not going to cut it.

22:26It's the ability to check in and go, hey, Tracy, how are you doing?

22:30You know, are you on track?

22:32Are you off track?

22:32Where can I help?

22:33Where can I support you?

22:34So that they continually feel like they're part of something.

22:38They're part of the community.

22:39They're part of the organization that they feel worthy.

22:43They feel appreciative, but they're on a journey.

22:45And it's not all going to be, it's not going to be all unicorns and rainbows.

22:49We're going to get in and roll the sleeves up.

22:51But when we're clear on our vision, when we communicate our vision, when we feel appreciated

22:55and we're prepared to do the work, that's when it really goes from good to great.

23:01Yeah.

23:02So my last question is just, if you were advising a broker right now for the next 12 months or

23:10an agent, what are the three main priorities they should have right now?

23:15Great question.

23:16Firstly, is rally the team.

23:19So bring everyone in to ensure, okay, this is where we're at.

23:24This is where we're going.

23:26And this is what it means to you.

23:28And have that clear vision and have that clear plan for the organization and for each

23:34of the team members.

23:35Obviously, know your numbers.

23:36Really important in a market like this.

23:38Know what you can cut.

23:40Know what you need to double down on in relation to investing.

23:44And then lead by example.

23:46So what I see a lot of the time in markets like this, there's a lot of talk, but then

23:51the leaders go, oh, I'll put my head into the sand and not do anything.

23:55But by you leading by example is really going to rally the team around you and you're going

24:01to be okay.

24:02Okay.

24:03Great.

24:04I'm going to do a lightning round.

24:06So this is just the first thing that comes to your mind.

24:09Most underrated leadership skill?

24:11Communication.

24:14Biggest mistake leaders make during a downturn?

24:18Head in the sand.

24:20Hire for experience or attitude?

24:23Attitude.

24:25Better motivator, recognition, autonomy, or money?

24:29Recognition.

24:31Okay.

24:32And then one leadership habit every broker owner should stop doing tomorrow?

24:40Incongruency.

24:42So saying one thing and doing another thing.

24:45Yeah.

24:45Makes sense.

24:46James, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast today.

24:50You had some great advice.

24:52I really appreciate it.

24:53Thank you for having me.

25:02You

Performance coach James Short on the habits that help leaders stay strong through an uncertain market

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