At the beginning of the pandemic, I read a blog post about leadership preparedness. One quote from Sherry Budziak of .OrgSource stood out to me: “For CEOs, this is a once-in-a-career opportunity to demonstrate that you can lead your organization through an unprecedented challenge with courage and confidence.” This has motivated me to execute, execute, execute!
But this isn’t just about CEOs demonstrating leadership. Clearly, this is a chance for everyone to show up and demonstrate resilience at a vulnerable time.
That includes you, our members, who are finding creative ways to still conduct your business, from virtual showings with drones and FaceTime, to revised office policies to ensure everyone’s safety. By ensuring your clients have the opportunity for a basic human need (a home), you’ve shown the continued value of a REALTOR®.
Yes, all this has been stressful, but we’ve seen so many of you answer the call to leadership. There’s also a silver lining: the ability to continue to connect, albeit virtually, with your loved ones, to continue to celebrate those who mean the most to us.
I’m reminded of longtime Chicago REALTORS® Marion and Joan Valle who recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Marion is one of the founders of our Foundation, and a past president of CAR. Together, they founded Valle Realty. This achievement is a testament to the importance of having great partners — in business and in life.
The last few months have been quite interesting. There’s been a seamless pivot to virtual everything — Board of Director and committee meetings, all-member town-hall events and forums, online learning and CE, mastermind sessions and advocacy efforts, to name a few. This experience is sure to change the trajectory of how we interact and conduct business in the months and years ahead. It’s forced us to get even more creative with how we deliver value to you — and how we can partner together to thrive in the current climate.
This is COVID-19. But, this is also REALTORS® adjusting and persevering like only REALTORS® can. That’s Who We R.
We want to help you share your stories. Send us a note at ChicagoREALTOR.com/TellYourStory and tell us how you’re helping your clients through the pandemic. We’d love to hear from you!
MICHELLE MILLS CLEMENT, CAE
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Association of REALTORS®