Coffee, Culture and Curveballs

Tag: recruitment

  • The Passive Recruitment Trap in Real Estate Careers

    A bird building its nest is the same as selecting the company you work for. Build your home, don't wait for it to be built.

    There is something unusual about recruitment in the real estate industry.

    In most professions, people identify organisations they admire, research opportunities, apply for positions and then evaluate whether the role is the right fit for their skills, ambitions and values. While networking and referrals certainly play a part, the process is generally driven by the candidate taking ownership of their career and actively pursuing opportunities that align with their goals.

    Real estate, however, often operates very differently.

    For reasons I have never fully understood, many property practitioners expect to be recruited rather than to apply. Recruitment has become a form of courtship, with principals and managers expected to pursue agents, arrange coffee meetings, make presentations, highlight opportunities and effectively convince practitioners why they should consider joining their business. In some cases, the process resembles a sales pitch more than a career decision.

    There is nothing inherently wrong with organisations showcasing what they have to offer. Good businesses should absolutely communicate their culture, support structures, training opportunities and value proposition. The problem arises when practitioners become passive participants in the process and begin to believe that career opportunities should come to them rather than being actively explored.

    What often follows is a surprisingly narrow decision-making process. Many practitioners make assumptions about organisations based on reputation, market perception, hearsay or historical experiences. They dismiss opportunities without ever having a meaningful conversation. They convince themselves that a particular brand would not suit them, that a smaller company cannot offer enough support, or that a larger company would not provide sufficient personal attention. In many cases, those conclusions are reached before a single question has been asked.

    The irony is that property practitioners spend their professional lives encouraging buyers and sellers not to make decisions based on assumptions. We encourage clients to view properties before rejecting them. We ask them to consider all available information before making significant financial decisions. We challenge them to look beyond first impressions and evaluate the facts objectively.

    Yet when it comes to their own careers, many practitioners do the exact opposite.

    Perhaps the biggest concern is that some agents end up joining organisations not because they are the right fit, but because they were pursued most aggressively. The principal who made the most calls, arranged the most coffees or delivered the most flattering compliments often gains the advantage. The decision becomes driven by emotion and attention rather than careful evaluation.

    While it is always nice to feel wanted, being wanted and being suited are not necessarily the same thing.

    The principal who romances you most effectively may not be offering the best training. The office with the most attractive commission split may not have the strongest culture. The company making the biggest promises may not provide the support, systems or leadership you need to achieve your long-term goals. Equally, the organisation that could be the perfect fit for your personality, ambitions and working style may never pursue you at all.

    This raises an important question. Why do so many practitioners wait to be chosen instead of actively choosing?

    Part of the answer may lie in the nature of the industry itself. Real estate professionals are independent by design. Their success is often tied to their personal brand, relationships and individual performance. Being approached by a principal can feel validating. It provides reassurance that your efforts have been noticed and your achievements recognised.

    However, career decisions should never be based solely on flattery.

    The most successful practitioners I have encountered approach their careers with the same professionalism they bring to their clients. They conduct research. They ask questions. They meet with multiple organisations. They evaluate leadership, culture, support systems, training, technology, reputation and growth opportunities. Most importantly, they take ownership of the process rather than waiting for someone else to drive it.

    Instead of asking, “Who wants me?” they ask, “Where can I thrive?”

    That is a very different question.

    A great career move is rarely about finding the organisation that offers the most attractive recruitment pitch. It is about finding the environment where your strengths will be maximised, your weaknesses supported and your long-term goals aligned with the business.

    For some practitioners, that may be a large national brand with extensive resources and structured systems. For others, it may be a smaller organisation offering closer leadership support, greater flexibility and stronger personal development. Neither option is inherently right or wrong. The key is understanding yourself well enough to know which environment will bring out your best.

    The responsibility for fixing this dynamic does not sit solely with practitioners. Principals and managers also need to shift their approach. Recruitment should be less about selling and more about discovery. Rather than convincing people to join, leaders should be helping candidates determine whether there is genuine alignment. Honest conversations about expectations, culture, opportunities and challenges create far better outcomes than exaggerated promises and polished recruitment presentations.

    When recruitment becomes a mutual evaluation rather than a courtship, both parties benefit. Practitioners make more informed decisions, and organisations attract people who genuinely fit their culture and values.

    Ultimately, a career is far too important to be built on who bought the most coffees or delivered the most persuasive sales pitch.

    The best career decisions are made when practitioners stop waiting to be wooed and start taking ownership of their future. They happen when people become curious rather than defensive, open-minded rather than dismissive and proactive rather than passive.

    The next time an opportunity presents itself, perhaps the question should not be whether the organisation has pursued you hard enough.

    Perhaps the better question is whether you have taken the time to discover if it might be exactly what you have been looking for.

    Coffee, Culture & Curveballs reminds me that the most important career conversations are often the ones we almost didn’t have. Opportunities rarely arrive with certainty attached. Sometimes they begin with nothing more than a coffee, an open mind and a willingness to explore what might be possible.

  • Company Culture: Beyond the Candy Floss Illusion

    Candyfloss

    Candy floss looks magical… until you realise it’s just colourful air. Some company cultures are exactly the same. If your company culture tastes sweet at first but leaves you dizzy, sticky, and slightly nauseous… congratulations, you’ve joined the Candy Floss Club.

    There’s something magical about candy floss at a funfair. It’s fluffy, colourful, irresistible, and somehow manages to make us feel both six years old and on top of the world. Joining a new company often feels exactly the same. You take one look at the gorgeous colours swirling in the air — the branding, the smiles, the onboarding presentations, the inspirational slogans printed on coffee mugs — and you think, Wow. I have hit the jackpot. Everything smells amazing, tastes incredible, and shines with the kind of promise that feels almost unbelievable. For a moment, you genuinely wonder why the universe waited this long to bless you.

    That’s the thing about candy floss — and company culture. The first taste is always spectacular.

    But here’s the uncomfortable truth no one warns you about: the more of it you have, the more you start to feel slightly ill. Not dramatically ill. Not “call an ambulance, I regret everything” ill. Just that subtle, nagging sense that maybe — just maybe — sugar alone is not enough to live on. After a few fluffy bites, you realise it’s all the same sweetness, no matter how gorgeous the colour. Pink? Blue? Neon green? Surprise rainbow swirl? It doesn’t matter. It all melts down to the same sticky, overly familiar sameness.

    And culture can be like that too.

    When you first join a company, everything feels enchanting. The values sparkle. The vision inspires. The team WhatsApp group feels like a lively party you’re finally invited to. But as time passes, you begin to notice whether the culture actually has substance… or whether it’s just spun sugar. Beautiful to look at. Fun for a moment. But ultimately offering no nourishment, no depth, and no staying power.

    The thing about candy floss is that it looks enormous — like a cloud you could live inside — but once you take a bite, it shrinks into nothing. Some company cultures work the same way. They appear grand, overflowing with promise, but when you really taste them, they offer little more than air and hyperactivity. Busy calendars instead of meaningful contribution. Inspirational posters instead of genuine purpose. Team-building exercises instead of real trust. A rainbow of colours hiding a single, unchanging flavour.

    And if you leave candy floss out in the air long enough? It collapses into a sad, hardened clump that nobody wants and has to be thrown away. Corporate cultures that rely exclusively on hype, sparkle, and branding eventually do the same. They harden. They become rigid. Innovation dries up. Morale stiffens. People stop showing up fully, because nothing new is allowed to grow. A culture that once felt vibrant becomes a sticky lump of nostalgia, repetition, and “this is just the way we do things.”

    The secret to a thriving workplace isn’t avoiding candy floss — it’s refusing to only eat candy floss.

    A great company doesn’t remove the magic. It doesn’t suck out the fun. It doesn’t replace the bright colours with beige walls and passive-aggressive memos. A great company keeps the candy floss — the excitement, the novelty, the sparkle — but also lets you try the rest of the funfair. It understands that no human being can thrive on sweetness alone. It offers substance, nourishment, variety, and space to wander.

    Think of it like this:

    A good company lets you have the candy floss.
    A great company lets you choose your flavours.
    An extraordinary company lets you wander through the entire funfair and decide which rides matter for your life and your career.

    You can hop onto the rollercoaster of growth when you feel bold.
    Stroll into the hall of mirrors and confront your blind spots when you’re ready.
    Grab popcorn for slow seasons.
    Hold onto the carousel pole when everything feels overwhelming and you just need something steady.
    And — most importantly — step out of the gates and go home to your family before returning the next day with fresh eyes and a fresh spirit.

    A healthy culture doesn’t demand that you stay in the funfair until closing time, dizzy and sugar-drunk. It knows when to let you rest. It knows life exists outside the gates. It respects that you are a person, not a performer.

    Effective cultures are not made of big gestures or cotton-candy promises. They are built on substance — trust, autonomy, flexibility, kindness, clarity, and the freedom to grow in the direction that feels right for you. They give you space to choose your path, pick your experiences, develop your strengths, and live your life without guilt.

    So when you’re choosing a workplace, don’t just look for the bright sugar swirl that dazzles you at first glance. Look for what happens after the sweetness wears off. Look for the leadership that nourishes. Look for the team that supports growth. Look for the freedom to explore, the wisdom to rest, and the opportunity to taste more than one flavour. Look for the places that don’t just hand you candy floss — they hand you the map to the funfair.

    Because the truth is simple:
    Candy floss is wonderful… but no one thrives on sugar alone.
    Find the culture that feeds your spirit, not just your senses.
    Find the place that lets you be whole.

    And when you do?
    You’ll keep coming back — not for the colours, but for the substance.

  • Don’t Keep Rotten Apples: Leadership Insights for Hiring

    Don’t Keep Rotten Apples: Leadership Insights for Hiring

    Because coffee is essential for survival, culture makes or breaks a business, and life… well, life always throws a few curveballs.

    There’s a reason the phrase “one bad apple spoils the bunch” has survived for centuries. It’s not just something your grandmother muttered while glaring at your teenage friends — it’s also one of the most brutally accurate business lessons you’ll ever learn.

    Because here’s the truth: one wrong hire can unravel everything. The wrong person in your team doesn’t just slow things down. They don’t just cause a little drama. They rot. Slowly, subtly, but inevitably. And once the rot sets in, it spreads.

    The mistake leaders often make is thinking they can manage the apple into ripening. They polish it, they reframe it, they even try putting it next to fresher apples hoping the good ones will rub off. Spoiler: it doesn’t work. A rotten apple doesn’t become fresh — it just takes the rest down with it.

    Keeping the wrong hire feels easier than dealing with it. You tell yourself their skills outweigh their attitude. You hope they’ll “come around.” You convince yourself that one person can’t possibly influence the entire culture. (They can. And they will. Usually faster than you think.)

    It starts small

    They cut a corner here, they roll their eyes there. They make a sarcastic comment in a meeting, and suddenly the energy in the room shifts. They miss deadlines, and the rest of the team lowers their pace to match. Before you know it, the culture you worked so hard to build has bent around them like a tree leaning toward a rotten branch.

    And here’s the kicker: when that apple finally leaves, the rot doesn’t go with them. Clients remember the bad experience. The team remembers the tension. And your leadership credibility takes a hit, because everyone wonders the same thing: why didn’t you deal with it sooner?

    That’s why firing fast isn’t ruthless — it’s responsible. It’s kinder to the team, kinder to the business, and yes, even kinder to the individual. Keeping someone who doesn’t fit your values is like keeping a goldfish in a shark tank: they’re going to be stressed, miserable, and out of place until you finally scoop them out. Letting them go gives them the chance to find the pond where they actually belong.

    We dress up inaction as compassion. We tell ourselves we’re “giving them another chance.” But let’s call it what it really is: avoidance. Because firing someone feels awkward. It’s confrontation. It’s paperwork. It’s uncomfortable. But the longer you avoid it, the more expensive it becomes — not just financially, but culturally.

    And culture, unlike a P&L statement, doesn’t repair quickly. It takes years to build, and only a few months of one bad hire to unravel.

    So how do you avoid finding yourself with a rotten apple in the first place? You hire for values before skills. Always. You can teach someone how to use a CRM. You can train someone on your systems. You can even coach performance. But you can’t teach integrity. You can’t teach humility. And you certainly can’t teach someone to stop being a know-it-all if that’s who they are at their core.

    Recruitment isn’t about filling a seat. It’s about protecting the orchard. That means digging deeper than résumés and shiny interview answers. Ask questions that test values. Look for curiosity. Look for resilience. And if you see red flags? Don’t paint them green.

    Because once the apple is in the bowl, dealing with it is a lot more painful than simply never putting it there in the first place.

    Still, even the best leaders make mistakes. Everyone hires someone who turns out not to be the fit they hoped for. That’s part of leadership. The real test isn’t whether you’ll ever hire the wrong person — it’s how long you’ll tolerate them once you realise they’re the wrong person.

    And here’s where the humour fades into hard truth: the faster you act, the faster the culture heals. The longer you delay, the more the rot spreads. A quick, clean decision might sting, but a slow, drawn-out one poisons the whole team.

    It’s like pulling off a plaster. You can peel it off millimetre by millimetre, dragging out the pain, or you can just rip it. Either way, it’s coming off. Only one way makes sense.

    The leadership lesson is blunt but clear: don’t keep rotten apples. Fire fast, hire intentionally, and protect the culture as if the entire business depends on it — because it does.

    It may feel harsh in the moment, but in reality, it’s the kindest choice you can make. For your team, for your clients, and even for the apple itself. Because nobody wins when rot is allowed to spread.

    So next time you’re tempted to “give it another month,” ask yourself one simple question: do you want to run a thriving orchard, or a compost heap?

  • The Art of Recruiting the Right People

    The Art of Recruiting the Right People

    Everyone is unique. Find the right match for your culture.

    Because coffee is essential for survival, culture makes or breaks a business, and life… well, life always throws a few curveballs.

    Recruiting isn’t about filling seats. It’s about shaping the future of the business. The people you bring in define the culture, the reputation, and the ability of the business to grow. Which means every hire is either a step forward… or a step back.

    And let’s be honest: we’ve all had that one hire who looked fantastic on paper but turned out to be about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. That’s why the rule is simple: don’t just hire smart people — hire the right people. Experience in the industry can be the biggest setback when trying to move forward.

    Culture is like Wi-Fi: you can’t always see it, but when it’s weak, everyone notices.

    A company’s culture is the invisible framework that drives how people think, act, and treat clients. When someone aligns with that culture, they amplify it. When they don’t, they disrupt it.

    The best hires see their career as an ongoing project, not a final product. They’re the ones who read, ask questions, seek feedback, and occasionally send you an article at 11pm because they’ve just discovered a new trend (you can curse them for the late-night email, but you’ll secretly admire it too).

    A team made up of these kinds of people raises the bar for everyone else. Growth-minded people are contagious — in the best possible way.

    The business world changes faster than the hairstyle choices of a teenager. If your team can’t adapt, you’ll be stuck playing catch-up.

    The right people don’t just tolerate change — they lean into it. They’re the ones who suggest smarter ways of doing things, who aren’t afraid of new tech, and who look at disruption as a chance to get ahead. The wrong people, meanwhile, will still be clutching their flip phones while the rest of the industry moves online.

    It’s like dating…

    Recruiting is like dating — if you rush it, you’ll regret it. Filling a vacancy with the first available option usually ends in heartbreak (and possibly legal fees). Be intentional.

    • Hire for values, not just skills. A great CV means nothing if the values don’t line up.
    • Ask culture-driven questions. “Tell me about a time you chose long-term gain over a quick win.” If they stare blankly, you’ve got your answer.
    • Look for curiosity. People who ask good questions in an interview are more likely to keep learning.
    • Test resilience. Ask how they’ve handled failure or change. If they’ve “never failed,” either they’re lying, or they’ve been asleep for most of their career.
    • Don’t rush. A short vacancy is less painful than a long-term mistake.

    The right hire is like planting a tree: the benefits grow over time and provide shade for years to come. The wrong hire is more like planting a weed: it spreads quickly, chokes the good stuff, and takes forever to remove.

    The impact of recruiting the right people shows up in team energy, client satisfaction, and business sustainability. And the impact of hiring the wrong ones? Let’s just say it’s the gift that keeps on giving — and not in a good way.

    Examine the detail.