Reimagine What Realtor Association Leadership Means

With over 90 national committees that involve thousands of members, NAR often struggles with bureaucracy. To represent everyone, NAR’s focus becomes diluted, with individual concerns taking precedence over the organization’s broader goals. Decisions are frequently delayed and entangled with unsubstantiated perspectives and speculative opinions. The current 1,000-member Board of Directors also exemplifies a legacy structure that is sluggish in response, fosters inefficiency, and as a group lacks the ability to ensure that NAR stays relevant, provides value, and operates efficiently.

To enhance its operational efficiency and reclaim its leadership role, NAR should streamline its organizational structure by eliminating many of its committees. Here are key steps to consider for this transformation:

1. Request a Full Board Resignation: Though largely symbolic, this bold step would signal a commitment to redesigning NAR. Bylaw changes would be necessary to facilitate the simultaneous resignation of all Board members, which would need approval from Realtor associations at both local and state levels.
2. Form a New, Focused Board of Directors: Transition the current leadership team (less that 10 members) to a more streamlined and more efficient Board of Directors. In the first year, rotate out half the members, and replace the remaining half in the second year. Prioritize the selection of industry experts and external business leaders over geographical representation or state elections.
3. Evaluate Leadership: After one year, evaluate the performance of the newly appointed CEO. If the CEO is effective, grant her full decision-making authority. If not, pursue leadership that is capable of driving momentous change.
4. Redefine Departments and Roles: Clarify the vision, responsibilities, and goals of each staff-run department, ensuring they are led by skilled experts empowered to enact tangible progress.
5. Eliminate Excess Committees: Within two years, reduce the approximately 90 committees to zero transferring their responsibilities to staff-led department executives. This should be a small, agile group of empowered capable of achieving significantly more than the thousands of part-time committee members.

NAR President Kevin Sears deserves recognition for his commendable efforts in bringing a level of transparency that has been uncommon among recent NAR leaders. However, transparency alone is insufficient. What NAR truly needs is transformative leadership that is visionary, decisive and action-oriented.

To secure its future and maintain industry leadership, NAR needs a team of leaders who can rebuild trust within the organization and inspire the industry through bold ideas and a genuine commitment to meaningful change. This may be the most critical step NAR can take to ensure its long-term relevance and effectiveness.