Want to Reach Peak Team Performance? Focus on Wellness

August 11, 2020

When Adam Hergenrother started his real estate career in 2006, he realized building a team would be essential to his success. 

“If I wanted to achieve the levels of success I envisioned, I couldn’t do it alone,” he recalls.

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The collaborative approach worked. Hergenrother opened the first Keller Williams office in Vermont, Hergenrother Realty Group, and has since expanded to 203 agents in 28 locations. This year, Hergenrother set a goal to close 3,000 units with agents achieving at least 12 closings per year. Even amid a shifting business environment, the team is well on its way. To date, they are at 1,192 units and show no signs of stopping.  But, most importantly, he is committed to helping agents remove ceilings to achieve their goals.

To support every associate’s trajectory, the Hergenrother group prioritizes wellness in the workplace and believes this focus has paved the path for their momentum. Below, he shares his philosophy on wellness, the impact it has had on his organization, and ways teams can experience similar results with Outfront Senior Editor Lalaina Rabary.

The Hergenrother Group

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Outfront: Wellness means a lot of things to a lot of people. What does it mean to you?

Adam Hergenrother: It is nothing but a conduit for personal growth. 

We use business as a playground for our inner work and overall growth. As we work to let go and surrender to the moments in front of us, we are able to lead our team, our clients, and our communities from a place of clarity and strength. Decisions become easier. Productivity increases. More lives are transformed. 

To be well means knowing that no matter what happens in the external world (a lawsuit, losing a client, divorce, a huge commission, a new car, the birth of a child, etc.) it doesn’t define or disturb who we are inside, who we are at the core. Wellness is being able to stay centered amidst the noise of the world, to need nothing and enjoy everything. When you can operate from that place of being, you become a fierce competitor in life and business.

OF: You have such a strong definition and clarity around what wellness means to you; it sounds like it’s proven to be powerful and transformative. How so?  How has your focus on wellness transformed your team? 

AH: At the foundation, our focus on inner wellness and personal growth has raised the level of consciousness of our entire organization. While hard to measure, I can’t help but think that is part of the reason why we were able to put 865 homes under contract in the past 90 days during an unprecedented time in our country.

More specifically, we ran a health challenge and our team collectively lost 402 pounds in about three months. Beyond that, they created amazing new habits and had increased energy that ends up leaking into all areas of their life.

We’ve had team members drastically improve their health by training for Ironmans and eliminating sugar or becoming vegan. We focus on creating morning routines full of journaling, meditation, exercise, and centering the self. We have had countless individuals completely transform their relationships with their children and partners based on doing the hard inner work of shifting their perspective and letting go of the outcome. Several years ago, I began practicing Transcendental Meditation, which led me to bring that practice to many other people in our organization. Our shared practice of meditation and mindfulness has led to radically open conversations in business and in life, which ultimately expands the business world we play in. 

Personal growth (wellness) really comes down to changing someone’s thinking, which opens their mind to changing their behavior, which ultimately changes their being. Once you have brought a new level of awareness to someone, they are forever changed and will no longer be able to operate at their previous level of thinking. Having this level of impact on another human is what our organization is all about. 

OF: Why is it important for teams to make wellness a priority now?

AH: Especially during times of uncertainty, it is easy to feel like we have no control over what is going on. It’s easy to feel hopeless, outraged, fearful, and frustrated. And all of those emotions are valid. We’re human beings – we have emotions! Own them, acknowledge them, but don’t become them. Focus on what you can control by leading yourself first. Owning your emotions means owning your energy. Keep an eye on the energy you are bringing into a situation or conversation – this means your actions and reactions, how you interact with other people, how you show up and serve and lead, and the respect you show to others.

OF: You listed so many wonderful ways to incorporate wellness into your team. Where do you recommend leaders start? 

AH: It all starts with you. Begin by embracing this powerful and empowering belief. When you work on yourself first, you will naturally share your highest and best self with others.

Be the reason that others want to go to work every day. Be the reason your friends make healthier choices. Be the reason that your family chooses to be better every day. Be the reason that others grow and live a limitless life.

Regardless of what is going on in the world, you can choose to own your energy and lead from a place of kindness, clarity, certainty, and peace. 

Want to hear more about leading a winning team? 

Watch Adam’s conversation with Keller Williams CEO Gary Keller. Here, he talks about lead generation and how to motivate a team during a shift. 

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