How brokers can capitalize on their strengths.

In life we all have a free spot, that area of skill that comes to us with very little effort. It is easy to see the people who have put their free spot to use and those that have put it to sleep. The people who utilize it, seem to glide through life.

The individuals who have left this skill sleeping are often heard grumbling that they hate their jobs and would rather be doing anything else. Have you ever noticed how some people view what they do as job and others view it as a career? This perception is based on the compatibility of their skills vs. their career demands. Taking the time to identify your free spot will allow you to do less and accomplish more.

Whether your free spot is negotiating, paperwork, researching, technical ability or people skills, learn to identify your free spot and utilize IT to ITS fullest capacity.

* Test Yourself

* Think of everything you did yesterday.

* List the ten things you accomplished and five you didn't.

* Stack them in order of preference.

* How much time did you spend on each task (Showings, searching, board packages, etc.)?

* What task or tasks did you not complete? (Following up with customers from open houses?)

* Write a list of tasks that you never got to last year (Mailings, Marketing, Follow up with past customers, etc.)

Now take some time and see which aspect of this job is most compatible with your skill set. The goal is to structure your day so you can focus on tasks that come naturally to you. For example, through the above exercise did you find yourself gravitating toward negotiating, pitching for exclusives or successfully diffusing difficult situations? Where did your paperwork fall? Attention to technical details or issues? Did you feel the thrill of passion? Of a job well done? Assessment of your strengths and weaknesses will help you identify which role fits you best so you can have fun at what you do.

The skills required in Real Estate are wide ranging and numerous. I have a tremendous amount of respect for my colleagues who have the ability to multitask; however, very few people are able to maintain the momentum necessary to succeed without the assistance of delegation. When I started in this business, I remember hearing 60% of you will still be here in three months, 30% in six months. After observing I understand why. We do not know how to sort through the work and prioritize. Many of us are on edge, overwhelmed or appear burned out. We work too hard and sleep too little.

We need help with time management. One solution, as quoted by author Karen Salmanhsohn, would be to base our work schedule on The Pareter Principle. This "... explains how successful results come from 20 percent of your actions. When you calm down your mind you develop 20/ 20 vision to see which actions are your 20 percent priority actions. Then you can redirect the saved 80 percent of your time and energy into accomplishing this 20 percent in a faster, smarter way." This allows you to do less and accomplish more. The implementation and practice of this theory has enabled me to zone in on my free spot, to identify and delegate the activities that bog me down and given me the freedom to enjoy my career.

Another secret to success: "psyche-ology." You must stay convinced you're psyched to work on whatever you do.

PASSION=DISCIPLINE! For example, if you love Haagen Daz, it doesn't take discipline to eat spoonful after spoonful. It's passion for ice cream that keeps you going. Ditto for what keeps you going workwise. Some Psyche-ology techniques: (1) Remind yourself WHY you were passionate about your work in your honeymoon period... Then ask why your honeymoon waned. (2) Does your work improve people's lives? Remind yourself how what you do matters. I once overheard a broker say, "this business is all about money." To me it has always been about people. It fascinated me that we both provided the same service, yet our perception of what our roles were, were so varied. (3) Ask yourself WHO you want to be NOT JUST WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. Get yourself resynchronized as a successful, happy confident, communicative, problem-solvin' genius of your craft. A long, healthy and happy career requires that we take a moment to find our passion, identify our skill set (free spot) and learn the art of delegating. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should. Do it yourself is for hobbyists.

When you strengthen the skills of those who work for you by delegating meaningful tasks and assignments, you show respect for those you supervise and you strengthen your entire organization ... whether this organization consists of you and a single assistant, you and a team, or simply outsourcing projects. When we enjoy what we do, we do it better.

Vickey Barron,

Prudential Douglas Ellman