Keep an Eye Out for Future Leaders

When it comes to leadership, few AEs can match the experience and involvement of Walter T. Baczkowski Jr., RCE, CEO of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. This second-generation AE (his father, Walt Sr., was the AE of the Pittsburgh Association of REALTORS®) has a career that spans 40 years and five REALTOR® associations. He was on the board that launched realtor.com®. He was on the committee that created the RCE designation, and, as the AE of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®, he was instrumental in establishing the REALTORS® Relief Fund after 9/11.

So it was no surprise to anyone—except maybe Baczkowski himself—when it was announced at the AE committee Forum in Washington, D.C., in May that he was the 2018 Magel Award of Excellence recipient. “Apparently, my president and president- elect nominated me. It’s very humbling. I had no idea,” he says. “I just do my job the best I can.”

Baczkowski’s job takes up 60 hours of his week. “I’m in the office at 6:30 a.m. to give myself an hour to get work done, because once the staff comes in they want my time, and members need my time.”

His busy association holds an event almost nightly and lately, events have attracted an average attendance of 1,000 members a month.

One successful program, which attracted more than 600 people, featured developers talking about planned projects and the local housing boom. Another event about blockchain and bitcoin had three sponsors to cover all the costs and drew 300 attendees.

How does the association create programs that attract so much member engagement?

“We go out and listen to members and learn their issues,” says Baczkowski. Every
time he meets with brokers, he asks: “What’s working at the association and what’s missing?” From that information, he and his leadership develop a strategic plan that addresses member needs.

The association’s five-year strategic plan, called “Vision 20-20,” is printed on a 10-by-4-foot board in the association office. “When I’m in a staff or directors meeting and someone brings up something they want to do, I ask, ‘How does that fit within our strategic plan?’ ” says Baczkowski. When a director wants to start a new project, Baczkowski points to the plan and says, “Okay, but then, what do you want to get rid of?” This tactic helps leaders focus on the long-term goals and weigh the value of each program, he says.

Having a solid plan and listening to members are two reasons the San Francisco association is so successful. Another is its leadership.

“There are a lot of AEs who believe that you shouldn’t get involved in picking leaders and that you should stay away from the nomination process, and maybe that’s true,” says Baczkowski, “but you better be doing it behind the scenes.”

Baczkowski believes strongly that AEs need to identify and encourage the people who will make good leaders, while also identifying and containing the people who won’t.

To identify the members with leadership potential, Baczkowski reads the committee minutes and regularly attends committee meetings to see who are the ones driving change and getting things done. One year, he noticed a lot action coming from his MLS and technology committee and identified the key driver. He approached this member personally and encouraged her to join the board of directors. “Bottom line, I recognized the commitment and encouraged leadership to give this person additional opportunities, and now we have someone who’s in a position to be an SFAR president,” he says.

Association leaders can rise up from any direction. “Some come up from the Women’s Council and some from Professional Standards; you never know where your next great leader will come from, so you have to be actively involved,” says Baczkowski.

Great leaders have extraordinary commitment, says Baczkowski, but sometimes presidents become so involved that their own businesses suffer. “I tell them that it doesn’t have to be that way if you count on us, the staff, to help you.”

In all of the REALTOR® associations that he has led (Toledo, Metro Detroit, New Jersey, San Diego, and San Francisco), Baczkowski puts a lot of time and effort into hiring the right staff. “Start with hiring the right people, engaging the best leaders, and developing a solid plan,” advises Baczkowski as the three pillars for success.

Walt Baczkowski will receive his Magel Award in November at the 2018 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Boston.