‘The future of real estate belongs to leaders who …’
Digital collaboration expert Erica Dhawan says the key to success is the ability to operate as a “super connector” — embracing AI, but focusing on humanity.
Key points:
- Brokerage leaders must practice “connectional intelligence” if they want to carve out success in real estate, Erica Dhawan explained at the 2025 T3 Leadership Summit.
- They can also strengthen workplace culture by publicly celebrating team members’ accomplishments and recognizing that top producers aren’t the only ones who score wins.
- AI has a lot to offer — but agents don’t have to sacrifice their “superpower” to gain those tech benefits, Dhawan said.
Real estate is a business built on the deeply human qualities of trust, relationships and reputation — which means the next competitive edge won't come from tech alone, but from leaders who know how to connect people more meaningfully in an increasingly AI-powered world.
"The future of real estate," said collaboration expert Erica Dhawan, "belongs to leaders who don't just manage — they connect."
That was the core message from Dhawan, whose keynote at last month's T3 Leadership Summit centered on "connectional intelligence," the ability to drive business results by connecting people — across offices, roles and tools — in smarter, more human ways.
The case for connection
"Your job," Dhawan told the audience of brokerage leaders and other industry executives, "is part therapist, part neighborhood historian, part networker, part super-connector." That complex, relational skill set, she argued, is exactly what gives real estate a lasting edge — and what must be protected and scaled as the industry grapples with AI, hybrid work and rapid consolidation.
In a follow-up conversation, T3 Sixty President and CEO Jack Miller put it bluntly: "Much of the industry has become digital first. But our people didn't join this business to be told what to do — they joined to run their own game." Leaders, he said, have to adapt by becoming better listeners, connectors and curators of ideas. (Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.)
The leadership shift: Four keys to success
Dhawan outlined four "laws" of connectional intelligence that real estate leaders can adopt to drive performance and culture — without resorting to micromanagement.
Value visibly: Recognition used to be a smile in the hallway or a handshake at the office. Now it might be a well-written message, a moment of airtime on Zoom or even sending out a thoughtful agenda ahead of a meeting. Don't assume people know they matter, Dhawan said. "Show them."
Communicate carefully: In an industry full of urgent texts and email threads, clarity is a competitive advantage. Dhawan encouraged leaders to treat digital messages like first impressions: "Reading messages carefully is the new listening. Writing clearly is the new empathy."
Collaborate confidently: Some of the best ideas won't come from top producers — they'll come from the admin who sees where deals get stuck or the junior agent experimenting with AI. "Check your biases about who may know the answer" and create the conditions for ideas to surface from anyone, she said, highlighting how one organization's "cut the crap" initiative invited everyone to share inefficient processes and solutions, generating hundreds of ideas.
Trust totally: In a hybrid, distributed world, trust is less about titles or tenure than through courageous conversations. Dhawan told the story of a leader who starts meetings with good news but also asks, with a sincere desire for the truth: "What's bad news I wouldn't normally hear?" The goal isn't just transparency — it's creating safety for innovation.
Humanity is the key to maximizing the value of AI
AI came up often — as a force to embrace, but also to manage carefully. "Connectional intelligence," Dhawan said, "is what's going to allow us to get ROI out of AI."
Her framework for applying AI in real estate: automate the routine, augment the personal and protect the emotional.
"An agent's superpower is trust," she reminded the audience. "AI can summarize your showing notes, but it can't negotiate a tense closing or reassure a nervous first-time buyer. That's still yours to own."
It's also important for leaders to remember how much agents value their autonomy, Miller said.
"They don't want a boss; they don't want a manager," he added. "They're like, 'I want to do it my way.'"
But they do want a culture that helps them win.
Concrete steps toward a winning culture
Dhawan offered tactical ways to create that culture:
Recognize contributors in fast, public ways — think Slack shoutouts, not annual plaques.
Source ideas from unexpected places — administrative staff, informal affinity groups, peer networks.
Segment communication by digital style — voice notes for one person, a Teams channel for another.
And perhaps most importantly: Let go of proximity bias. "We tend to reward the people we see most often in the office," she said. But the future is about prioritizing "around the quality of output in a very different way."
Whether you're leading a brokerage, an MLS or a fast-growing team, the message is the same: Technology will keep evolving, but your real advantage lies in activating the human network already inside your organization.