In the opening session, Illinois REALTORS® President Michael Gobber shared his leadership vision for the year, identifying six leadership traits and explaining his plans for developing strong local association leaders. Influencer and innovation expert Kyle Scheele shared how being open to new and creative ideas can help REALTORS® make better decisions, solve complex problems and enhance their leadership skills.

• Be accountable and take ownership and responsibility for positive and negative outcomes.
• Actively listen to the words being spoken and understand the meaning behind them.
• Collaborate internally with your team and externally with the vendors, third parties and contractors you deal with in business.
• Have the courage to do what is in the best interest of the team and association.
• Be empathetic and recognize how the people around you feel about projects and decisions.
• Be open to innovation. Develop ideas, solve problems and complete tasks that require innovation and creativity.

• Crazy, innovative ideas are the ones that push us forward in our personal life, in our business and as a society and do so by leaps and bounds.
• Chasing crazy ideas expands your window of possibility. Every single idea, whether it is a success or a failure, teaches you something and often it is that you have no idea what is possible.
• Good ideas are like a magnet that attracts other good ideas and other people who have good ideas. The opposite is also true and if you put the brakes on innovation your innovators will flee.
• Innovative ideas open doors and help you connect to people.

Your personal stories are more than just tales to tell someone else. They help you connect and relate to other people and forge stronger relationships in work and life, says leadership coach Lori Robertson. Robertson said influence is about connecting with people, and storytelling is the key to an authentic connection. She shared three steps to developing your storytelling superpower: finding unique stories to share; choosing stories that match the situations; and using vulnerability and relatability to encourage others.

• Use your humorous, sympathetic and inspirational personal stories to connect with clients and others on a deeper level.
• Human beings are wired to share stories and they are the most compelling communication vehicles we have.
• In business, personal stories can differentiate you in a market when other people are doing what you do.

Tech expert Bill Lublin outlined the latest trends in cryptocurrency, augmented reality, virtual reality and metaverses that will affect everyday life and the real estate industry. Technology is changing commerce and doing so rapidly.

• There are benefits to cryptocurrency including anonymity, the freedom to pay for anything anywhere and a permanent record of every transaction on the Bitcoin Blockchain. But there are drawbacks: it doesn’t have intrinsic value, there is a lot of misunderstanding about it, and it is a volatile asset.
• If a new technology doesn’t make sense for your business, don’t invest in it.
• Augmented reality is an enhanced version of the real world and commerce transactions will only become more common there.
• The Metaverse is virtual reality space that uses augmented and virtual reality. Experts predict 25 percent of people will spend at least an hour a day in the Metaverse by 2026.

In the closing session, REALTOR® and Industry Trainer Marki Lemons Ryhal, of EXIT Strategy Realty in Chicago, shared her story of homeownership and discussed the crucial roles REALTORS®’ play in helping everyone achieve the American Dream of homeownership. Illinois REALTORS® will take that message to the public in the next phase of the American Dream ad campaign.

• Share your story – Homeownership creates generational wealth that provides long-term opportunity and financial stability.
• REALTORS® help educate and guide people to achieve the dream and pride of homeownership throughout the state. REALTORS® are responsible for making dreams come true.
• Real estate is a vital economic driver in Illinois, generating billions of dollars back into the state’s economy.