“ We always said we want to work with people for 18 months before we go into business . But we opened a new business in Toowong with Reuben Packer-Hill who joined us , and the same with Kim Olsen , she ’ s a top 10 salesperson and owns her own office in Clayfield . She is the top agent in the area and she now has a relationship with us in the Collective , some 300m down the road from Ray White Clayfield . And it has worked .”
Leading business owner David Walker ( pictured below ) of Ray White Upper North Shore , based in the prestigious northern suburbs of Sydney , spoke with Ray White NSW / ACT CEO Tim Snell about his lessons in leadership .
“ I have such a passion for property management , the business owners brought me into the business and trusted me . I embraced it and I know how lucky I am - I don ’ t often meet women property management directors and I ’ d like to change that ,” she said .
She knew to grow her businesses , she needed to focus on culture and changing her thinking from being a boss to a leader .
“ I realised that if I get the right people , I can achieve growth . It was challenging going from a boss to a leader and Ray White was a wake up call ,” Michelle said .
“ When I was a boss , I thought I was the most valuable person in the business . I was the highest paid in the team and it was all about me .
“ My advice is don ’ t call yourself a boss and don ’ t act like one . Be proud of your leadership title but you ’ re one of the team .”
“ We have goals but ultimately as a leader I want to see the people in our business do the best they can . We want to be growing our people and a business that everyone wants to turn up to ,” David said .
David started his business eight years ago in a garage and has since grown to six offices and 120 staff . He identified three growth buckets - team , leadership and footprint .
With over 21 years experience , Peter Diamantidis ( pictured below ) started in real estate at the young age of 15 .
After learning the trade from the ground up , Peter has worn every hat there is in the real estate agency and today runs three Ray White businesses at St Marys , St Clair and Rooty Hill .
“ I ’ ve learned so much in the last eight years about leadership and what I can do better - I ’ m still learning today ,” he said .
“ It was very me centred when I started . When we expanded , it was still a bit me-centric . It wasn ' t until I realised that I wanted to have a crack at building a sustainable business it needed to be less about me and that ' s when real growth happened .”
In the 2023 financial year he dominated the group for volume of sales achieving a staggering 336 sales while also taking out multiple awards for his property management business growth .
He spoke to the audience about how he manages to keep growing with a no limits mindset and what leadership means to him . His team has grown from just five to now 60 staff members in 2024 .
Property management is an important part of any real estate business . Ray White Lower North Shore director of property management Michelle Lucas ( pictured above ) is determined to change the view that the industry is the second cousin to sales .
Michelle oversees 20 staff across four offices spanning the Lower North Shore in Sydney .
“ Ray White Group chairman Brian White came to my office when I first opened and he talked about leadership - it ’ s all about leadership ,” he said .
“ So how do I lead my team ? I conduct all my sales and property management meetings , I sit down with each team member to ask them about their goals , I discuss all marketing projects , I am present in their work lives and I am there for the highs and lows .”
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