NAR has many Michael Jordans. It needs Phil Jackson

October 14, 2008 |

There has been quite a bit of discussion recently about the National Association of REALTORS hiring a Social Media Manager. Jay Thompson wrote a post on Agent Genius that generated a ton of great comments, and Benn Rosales shared his vision for the position.

I left a comment on the posts, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to write. This post is the result. . .

NAR has the right idea

Pamela Geurds Kabati, NAR’s VP of Publications and Web Publishing, was kind enough to leave a comment on the post that I wrote last week. She didn’t have to, but she did, and I appreciate that very much. I appreciate it because her comment shed some very important light upon the entire discussion. Specifically, it added an opinion of someone who actually matters, someone who will actually participate in the decision making process.

I want to highlight something she said in her comment (the bolding is mine):

Another big part of this person’s job will be to listen (underscore) to the conversations happening out there among NAR members, and help NAR as an organization be more aware of that collective intelligence and the role in can play in helping the organization spot trends and shape its policies and positions.

This person will also evangelize to other NAR staff and leadership the value of engaging in the digital space, and it will help educate other staff and leadership about the rules of the road in that space.

In all of the interactions that I have had with good folks at NAR, Pamela included, it has always been clear to me that the membership is the voice of the organization, and staff is their to support their efforts. That is exactly as it should be, and it is a concept that shouldn’t be foreign to us, especially to sports fans. . .

NAR needs a coach

My father was a high school basketball coach for many years. Some of my fondest memories are of playing around in empty gyms, watching practice, and traveling with the team as a young kid. One of the many things my father always said about coaching was that the players play, the coaches coach. The coach’s job is to prepare the players as best as possible for the game. Once the ball goes in the air, it is up to the players to make the plays. The coach is there only for support and direction.

Phil Jackson was an integral part of the success of the Chicago Bulls. Phil coached perhaps one of the greatest dynasties in the history of professional basketball. Of course, having the greatest player of all-time on the team, Michael Jordan, certainly helped. Phil was there to make sure that the talented players all performed at their highest level. Phil was there to direct and guide them in such a way that enabled them to realized their full potential. Phil was there to help them succeed, but when they ball went up in the air, the players had to make the shots.

When you think of the Chicago Bulls, the image that likely pops into your head is that of Michael Jordan, not Phil Jackson. For despite all that Phil did for the Bulls organization, he was not the face of the organization. There is no statue of Phil Jackson in Chicago. The statue is of Michael Jordan. . .

. . .and so it should be with the Social Media Manager at NAR.

Coaches have responsibilities

The SMM should be fulfilling the role of the coach. The SMM should be doing whatever necessary to help facilitate the success of the players- the membership. The role of SMM should be a largely supportive role, just as Pamela mentioned. The most important thing that the SMM can do is help the membership and the staff succeed, which means educating them about social media and coaching them on when and how to best utilize it.

Like any great coach, the SMM is going to have to be willing to listen, and to ignore. Let’s be honest, real estate bloggers, myself included, are going to continue to share opinions even if there is no SMM. I have played on enough sports teams to know that the players always have an opinion. It is up to the coach to decide when those opinions are worth integrating into the game plan.

Players have responsibilities

The players bear responsibility, too. In this case, it is up to the membership of NAR to affect the change that we profess to desire. If the public has a low opinion of our membership, it is up to us to change it. No staff member at NAR should bear that responsibility. We, as a membership, must stop looking at NAR and start looking in the mirror. If we, as members, approach our role in the organization as one that bears greater share of responsibility, then it will be much easier for the person who steps in as SMM to provide support.

Working together, the whole team succeeds

The Chicago Bulls had a talented roster when Phil Jackson arrived. Phil was given the task of putting his players in a position to use their talents fully and realize their potential. NAR is filled with staff, leadership, and members who possess superstar talents. Hopefully, the person NAR hires as SMM will be able to direct those talents in such a way that they shine for everyone to see. The Bulls didn’t win a championship in the first year of Phil Jackson’s tenure with the team. But by the end of the second season, the Bulls were able to stand atop the basketball world for the first of six championships.

My guess is that, being a newly created position, the SMM manager will have a tough road in the first year of the job. There will be a lot of learning that will go on, learning by the SMM, the staff, the leadership, the membership. There will be growing pains. I have no doubt, however, that a SMM will be a good thing for NAR, and a good thing for the membership. It will take a commitment to excellence from all involved, but success can be achieved.

The Bulls made Phil Jackson the head coach because they believed he could help their team win. Phil did just that– he helped, he enabled, he coached; but it was Michael Jordan who always wanted the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

NAR has shown a commitment to change by creating a Social Media Manager position. After reading the comment by Pamela Geurds Kabati, I believe that NAR wants this person to help, enable, and coach the membership and leadership of NAR.

Only one question remains–  Do you want the ball?

Posted by Daniel Rothamel | Filed Under Blog, Industry Issues, NAR, News, Social Media 

Comments

5 Responses to “NAR has many Michael Jordans. It needs Phil Jackson”

  1. Jonathan Bentz on October 14th, 2008 12:41 pm

    Great post, Zebra. I never thought I’d be able to say I saw a blog post that was well put together that combined the worlds of real estate and the NBA. There’s obviously a strong PR-element to the SMM job that NAR is hiring. Problem is that many PR pro’s out there are behind the curve on social media. Finding someone who knows the NAR membership, PR, and how to apply everything on the social media platform. I’m interested to see who receives this job.

    [Reply]

  2. Jay Thompson on October 14th, 2008 2:15 pm

    Excellent post, oh he of many stripes.

    I read it a couple of times, trying to find something to disagree with or develop further.

    But ya nailed it.

    [Reply]

  3. Daniel Rothamel on October 14th, 2008 4:21 pm

    Jonathan,

    Thanks for the comment. You know me. ;-)
    It will most certainly be a very interesting hire. To me, the social media aspects of the job are most important. The other stuff will fall into place.

    Jay,

    Thank you for the kind words, oh ye of the 4 suits

    Yours is an opinion that I greatly respect for many reasons, not the least of which is your very reasonable nature. You would make a good Zebra. ;-)

    [Reply]

  4. Pamela Geurds Kabati on October 14th, 2008 9:56 pm

    Thanks, Daniel. I appreciate your post. It does, indeed, amplify what will be a key role of the social media manager. And I agree, too, that it’ll be a tough job to do and do well, especially right out of the gate.

    Both Hilary Marsh, manager of realtor.org, and I have been following the conversation about this new SMM role at NAR on your blog, Agent Genius, and NAR Wisdom, and it’s terrific to see so much passion about it. Good, bad or indifferent, it’s useful input for us to have.

    Hope to see you at the NAR conference in Orlando!

    [Reply]

  5. Danilo Bogdanovic on October 15th, 2008 6:02 pm

    Great post and analogy! I just hope that the SMM is respected and listened to by the powers-that-be at NAR and allowed to do their job.

    One concern I have is…

    If the SMM spends all their time coaching and teaching NAR, when will they find the necessary time to devote to the job of managing the community who is following? Both are full time jobs and they can’t both be done efficiently at the same time (IMHO).

    [Reply]

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