Keller Williams Realty is the ideal example of a company on the road from good to great. Gary Keller, the founder of Keller Williams and the chairman of the board, has played a great role in the companies growth into "the fastest growing real estate company in the United States , with sales and commissions growth topping 700% since 1995."

As the company's figurehead, Keller has revolutionized the real estate business model, bringing to the table new ways of educating and compensating agents in order to create a more stable culture within the company. By focusing his attention on the success of the company with programs such as KWU (Keller Williams University) and profits sharing up to seven levels down, Keller has displayed his role as a Level 5 Leader. When Keller saw the knowledge levels of agents in other realty companies, he took a proactive step and created a university through which all Keller Williams agents are prepared to do the work for which they had been hired. Therefore, retention is high and more homes are sold by Keller Williams agents.

His efforts are not channeled towards his own ego, but instead to the good of the company. His professional will is clearly unbeatable, with his company growing so quickly and the happiness of the employees, he is working hard for Keller Williams rather for himself. This emphasis on the company rather than his personal ego displays Keller's personal humility. A fun-loving family man, Keller is a Level 5 Leader because of his ability to lead without imposing too harshly on the company and its employees. Instead, Keller comes up with novel ideas and implements them throughout the vast company. When something goes awry, Keller does not blame to others, but instead looks in the mirror and apportions responsibility and from this, makes ingenious decisions about how to solve the problem.

Driving through suburbs across America, the name Keller Williams Realty can be seen splashed across the front lawns of hundreds of thousands of homes. In fifteen years, Gary Keller has created a real estate company unique from any before it, and with its continuing goals of "To build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living," and a Level 5 Leader such as Gary Keller making sure these goals are met, success will be found for many more years for Keller Williams Realty.

My "Ideal" CEO

Leadership in any organization is vital to it's success, and this is no different for the Real Estate industry. If I were to work for real estate organization, the CEO's mentality would surely shape my work habits, view of the organization, and perception of the industry as a whole.

In order to get the most from my work, my leader must inspire me to work for the organization by instilling its values in my everyday work ethic. An environment of "extreme employees" would not fair well to my work, instead it would be intimidating and exhausting. Instead, the CEO would encourage autonomy and creativity in my work, allowing me to work extra hours as needed, yet not requiring an extremely demanding schedule as shown in extreme employee environments.

My ideal CEO would be a firm leader, but not to the point of negativity towards employees. Employees would be rewarded for their hard work, negotiation, and beneficial work for the company, yet minor mistakes would not heed harsh punishments. He or she would have excellent negotiation skills yet be able to connect with employees on a deeper level with high emotional intelligence and be able to gauge how to deal with each employee based on previous interaction. Most importantly, the CEO would ensure that his or her employees were all working towards the same goals and ideals in order to better the company as a whole and create a more cohesive workplace. While I would be working towards this common goal, my ideal CEO would still be able to see how I could best benefit the company by understanding all of my identities, skills, and knowledge.

Due to the fact that there are many different departments in any large real estate organization (i.e. Sales, PR, Legal, etc.) the CEO would have to be knowledgeable about each aspect of the company and stay informed as these aspects are constantly changing and issues arise in every department. This knowledge would make me feel much more comfortable about the leadership in place. Lastly, the CEO would have to understand the world of real estate and ingrain his or herself into the culture, something which is difficult to do but makes all the difference in an effective leader.