Turnarounds present some of the most complex and demanding challenges in real estate leadership. When brokerages or teams find themselves in crisis mode—grappling with eroded trust, accountability gaps, or declining results—the pressure can feel overwhelming. Yet, reversal of a negative trajectory is both possible and essential, requiring steady commitment and strategic clarity.

Drawing from extensive experience advising top-tier brokerages and elite teams, Chris Pollinger shares five foundational steps that consistently underpin successful turnarounds. Each step addresses a critical dimension of leadership and operations that must be realigned for lasting change.

Step 1: Take an Honest Evaluation

The foundation of any successful turnaround begins with a candid and thorough assessment of the current state. Avoid wishful thinking or denial; confront reality unflinchingly. Common signs of a team or brokerage off course include:

• Lack of Trust: The bedrock of all relationships, trust impacts speed and scope of achievement. When team members doubt each other’s intentions or the leader’s integrity, dysfunction escalates quickly.
• Avoidance of Accountability: Small compromises on responsibility grow into systemic erosion when standards are overlooked. Without shared commitment to values, cohesion frays.
• Inattention to Results: What is not measured tends not to improve. Undefined or ignored performance metrics signal trouble ahead.
• Lack of Commitment: A leader’s engagement sets the tone. Apathy at the top fosters disengagement below.
• Fear of Conflict: Avoiding difficult conversations masks deeper trust deficiencies and stifles progress.

Step 2: Actively Rebuild Trust

Trust is rebuilt through deliberate behavioral change, starting with leadership modeling the standards they expect. This requires humility: owning mistakes, prioritizing people over profits, and delivering consistent care.

In service-driven real estate environments, client experience hinges more on personal connection than competence alone. Yet leaders often hold their clients to higher relational standards than their own teams, undermining internal trust.

To rebuild trust:

• Model vulnerability and accountability openly.
• Prioritize genuine care for your people — see them as whole individuals beyond their roles.
• Maintain transparency in communications and decision-making.
• Celebrate small wins in relationship-building.

Step 3: Commit to a Measuring Stick

With trust and clarity established, leadership must define the destination. This involves articulating a clear vision, aligning around guiding values, and setting concrete goals supported by measurable roles and responsibilities.

Assign each team member a key performance indicator (KPI) that captures their most impactful contribution, typically a result metric such as closed transactions or customer satisfaction scores. Supplement this with two supporting metrics driving their primary KPI to form a focused triad of KPIs.

This transparent performance framework creates individual ownership and aligns efforts toward collective objectives.

Step 4: Nurture a Culture of Excellence

Accountability without accountability is meaningless. Elevate standards beyond mere presence — excellence is the expectation, not the exception.

To foster a culture that sustains turnaround momentum:

• Make KPI results and progress visible at the team level.
• Celebrate when targets are met or exceeded to reinforce positive behaviors.
• Engage the team in supporting members who are lagging, turning setbacks into growth opportunities.
• Keep measurements simple yet meaningful to maintain focus.

This collective discipline cements a high-performance mindset that resists regression.

Step 5: Embrace the Suck

Perhaps the most understated yet critical secret is grit — the resolute perseverance in the face of adversity. Turnarounds rarely proceed linearly or smoothly. Leaders will face discomfort, difficult decisions, and confront failures long buried.

Successful leaders channel these challenges into growth, demonstrating resilience that inspires their teams. They recognize that increasing difficulty is a measure of progress and rise higher by rising stronger.

Leadership is the ultimate leverage—both the capabilities and character of the leader define how far and how sustainably a brokerage can ascend.

In short, resilient leaders commit to ongoing evaluation, owning accountability, rebuilding culture, and relentless pursuit of excellence.