Tapping into a Leadership Mindset – Krista Gionet

Shaun Majumder: You're like the Connor McDavid of REALTORS®.

Krista Gionet: The cell phones were like this, and the servers were the size of my office.

Shaun: When I say "micromanaging," you say?

Krista: No, not going to happen.

Shaun: Leadership, it's an important part of every organization. In your industry, in the real estate industry, association executives are very important in bringing people together, working together, connecting with their members. Today, I am so excited because we have a very, very special leader, Krista Gionet. She is the CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®. She's been doing it for 36 years. She's aiming to do it for another 15 years. She is a boss.

Krista is the 2025 recipient of the AEN Award of Excellence award. It's amazing. It's so great. In speaking with her, you're going to meet somebody who is driven, passionate about the industry, passionate about her members, passionate about her community. She is unapologetically proud. I think that's something that is so important in a great leader. Today, Krista and I, we talk about leadership.

We talk about the journey. We talk about the changes in the industry. We talk about how she sees it moving forward. We're really excited. I think you're going to love this conversation. Krista Gionet, she is with us here on REAL TIME. I hope you enjoy. Krista Gionet, welcome to REAL TIME. This is very exciting. I'm so excited to talk to you today because we talk a lot in podcasts all over the world about leadership, about leaders. You, listen, I'm talking to 2025 AEN Award of Excellence winner. I'm humbled.

Krista: So am I. So am I.

Shaun: How do you feel? Tell me about this honour and what it means to you, and how does it fit into all the great accomplishments that you've had over the years?

Krista: I think it's huge. Having been in this industry for 36 years this year, I think I'm being recognized by my peers, who are some amazing people. I was very humbled and very emotional. It was very exciting to receive.

Shaun: Awesome, so you have to forgive me. I'm a little ignorant in the world of associations versus individual REALTORS®. Tell me a little bit about the association that you work with and that you're an executive of, and also educate me a little bit on the general Canadian world of all the different associations. You don't have to tell me about all of them, but associations is something that I find very interesting and how really important they are when it comes to the industry.

Krista: Yes, Windsor-Essex, our association, has 1,700 members. I have eight staff. We provide services to our members, whether it be education, technology training, keynote speakers. We have a board of directors. We have several couple of hundred volunteers on committees who all provide input to set us in the direction we want to go.

Shaun: The members are all REALTORS®?

Krista: Correct.

Shaun: You're there to support everything that they're doing?

Krista: Yes, we try to provide all the services that they need for their day-to-day business.

Shaun: Right, right. Obviously, your peers have seen you as one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world of associations. Tell me about that. What does that mean to you as an executive? Actually, tell me a little bit about your trajectory, how you got to where you are now.

Krista: I actually started in the MLS department. I was there for one year, and then I moved up into the confidential secretary to the EO at that time. I became the assistant for 10 years. I basically had came out of high school, so getting the job was a little bit more difficult. I ended up getting my CAE designation through the Canadian Society of Executives. Then I took the Canadian Real Estate Association, CREA, course and then I got the job.

Shaun: Right out of high school.

Krista: Right out of high school. Well, 11 years later.

Shaun: You're like the Connor McDavid of REALTORS®.

Krista: Something like that.

Shaun: In terms of coming right out of high school, you mentioned that, is that something that is not your normal path?

Krista: No, not a normal path. Normally, people have human resources. They have various college or university courses before they enter into something like that. I had the will for it.

Shaun: When you say "the will," tell me a bit about that. From an early on, part of what you saw as your own personal vision, tell me a little bit about how you saw yourself and what trajectory you wanted to go on.

Krista: I think I found it very intriguing. I actually love what REALTORS® do. On a day-to-day basis, finding people homes is one thing, but from the association perspective, seeing how much they give to their communities, how much they volunteer. That is what I think drives me. It's the passion about how much they do for the communities. I really believe that they're ambassadors of their communities. I don't think that the general public know this as much.

Shaun: No. From your perspective, in terms of those early days when you came out of high school, that says something about your personality. I don't know you. We've never really met before other than our briefing call. It sounds like you're a very determined and very assertive person. Is that a fair–

Krista: That's a fair statement, yes. I am a big advocator in getting things done. I see a vision and I make it happen. Then I guess seeing what I could become versus where I was was something I really wanted.

Shaun: Right, and it sounds like coming up through those ranks, nobody's handing you anything.

Krista: No, I had to work hard. Actually, I have a unionized staff. Back in the '90s, they did go on strike. I thought it was an opportunity for myself to prove myself. I think I worked 90 hours a week during that nine-week period. It was recognized, so that was nice.

Shaun: That's awesome. One of the things, and I was reading through the briefing notes, a lot of your peers. I know this is probably hard for you to talk about, but your peers have identified you as somebody who is such a great leader, somebody who leads by example, somebody who is very assertive and very clear in your path. Have you always been this way? Is that something that you've always had inside of you in everything that you did? Do you look at yourself that way or are you just that way?

Krista: I do look at myself as lead by example. When it comes to my employees, I feel like, you start from the top. You set an example that they see, so they want to become the same way, and give back as much as you do.

Shaun: Yes, how would you just say, if you were describing what makes a good leader?

Krista: Every person is different. I believe that for my own self, I empower my employees to do their jobs. I pick them uniquely for the jobs that I know would work for them. Not everybody works the same way. Everybody works at different paces. Everybody's good at something and exceptional at other things. I basically take a look at our team and see who's got the potential to do what, and then give them the tools to do it and support them.

Shaun: When I say "micromanaging," you say?

Krista: No, not going to happen.

Krista: Not on my watch, not going to happen. I feel there's no need for that.

Shaun: Right. What do you see as the response, because there's probably people that come into the association who've had to deal with that, in other associations, or just even in their jobs generally? What's the reaction when they meet you and they feel empowered?

Krista: Well, I can tell you for a fact, all of my staff have the utmost respect for me as I do for them. I think that they appreciate it. They appreciate that I don't micromanage. I know that they have a job to do. If they need support, I'm here. I have an open-door policy, so they can come to me at any time. I think you have to give people a chance to show you what their skills and assets are, and then let them run with it.

Shaun: As an association executive, tell me about what the metrics are in your mind that say, "Hey, we, Windsor-Essex, we're kicking butt here," or, "We need to pull some other levers here. There's things we can improve on." How do you view an association, and what makes it tick?

Krista: Obviously, every association has a strategic plan. We did a three-year plan, which we'll be doing again at the end of this year. I think that you're led by your plan. For us, we always try and think outside of the box, and depending on what's happening within our community, and what we can do to better our community through our REALTORS®. That's one thing that we do pay attention to.

Shaun: Bettering the community, generally speaking, are there specifics when you talk about bettering the community that you guys have identified in your three-year plan?

Krista: Yes. In our last plan, we wanted to promote the use of a local REALTORS®, obviously, so we had a five-year campaign going on right now on social media and advertising that is promoting the REALTORS®. It's called We Bring You Home. We have that available for our members to use on their own social media sites. Advocacy is another huge one. Three years ago, we really said that we wanted to do a lot with advocacy, which we have been doing for the past three years. I had a meeting just a couple of days ago. We're talking about some big plans with respect to what we're going to look at for 2025 and 2026. It's like some really big thinking-outside-of-the-box ideas, and I hope they pan out.

Shaun: Can you share a little more about what those ideas are?

Krista: One of the items is working with the towns to discuss development charges and possibility of getting a piece of land and using the prefab homes as an example for affordable living, so we're going to try and work with some different organizations to see if we can make that come to fruition.

Shaun: Taking a piece of land, is this with local developers, so the association worked directly with the construction-

Krista: A developer.

Shaun: -developer people to say, "Hey, listen, we want to work together here and promote this new model"? Is that safe to say?

Krista: Right. Yes, so the government, obviously, right now is saying that prefab homes are going to get them built faster, built stronger, and stuff like that. It's the thought of, what does affordability look like? From there, where do we go, right? Obviously, a lot of areas have $800 million, these big homes coming up, but where are these smaller prefab homes that everybody's talking about? Can we make this become a reality to show that there can be affordable homes?

Shaun: What's your feeling about that? Do you think that is a good way forward?

Krista: I think it's great. I think it's great if we can make it happen. We've got a lot of great REALTORS® volunteers. They're dedicated to the mission. Hopefully, we make it happen.

Shaun: What else? Affordability, obviously, is a huge one, and thinking about Windsor-Essex as far as– My sister lives in Kingsville, and so I've been down there quite a bit. There's a lot of land, but what's available? Is there a lot of space to develop these new models?

Krista: There is a lot of land. There is a lot of space as well. Even in Windsor, we lobbied the city council on several issues with respect to vacant properties that the city owns. They are releasing some of those for sale now, which can build more homes in those areas that are just sitting vacant. I look around. We've talked about this at our committees. There are so many schools that are vacant. That could create a lot of homes for people.

Shaun: Right. Did you say schools that are vacant?

Krista: Yes.

Shaun: Wow.

Krista: We had a couple of schools closed over the last couple of years and they're vacant. They're just sitting there vacant. I think we keep pushing for the city and the towns to release these properties so that something can come of them.

Shaun: When it comes to the association and its relationship to municipalities, what kind of ongoing conversation are you having with them, and how important is that relationship?

Krista: I would say, at least 10 times a year, we've had roundtables with the mayor. We've had presentations at the county, presentations at the city. I think it's very important to have that rapport with them. We held a civic luncheon in 2023, where we had 250 people come out. We had all of the mayors and the council come. We did some studies for them and addressed a few points with them, and then we developed a five-point plan, provided it to them. They've actually come up and dealt with some of the issues that we've suggested.

Shaun: That's awesome, so they are listening.

Krista: They are. Yes, they are.

Shaun: They probably want it too, right?

Krista: I can't imagine any location across Canada that wouldn't want to make their area better, more affordable, and to deal with all the issues that are going on, the homeless. There are just so many issues that every area is experiencing. We're just trying to do our part.

Shaun: That sounds amazing because it's something that I personally am not aware of. Even before starting this, working on this podcast, when I think of a REALTORS®, I think they're an individual who their goal is to buy and sell homes, yes, to work with the community, but I don't think the public is really aware at how much of a broader impact REALTORS® do have. Can you speak a little bit about that, and also about the value of the individual REALTORS® and what they offer their community?

Krista: Well, to be honest, all across Canada, all REALTORS® are ambassadors of their own communities. They really are. They contribute so much to the community that, like you said, the general public does not know. At the end of the day, I look at our association. Every year, we give and donate to various charities, programs. We have a room at the hospice. Some of our REALTORS® donated the property for the hospice.

We have our rooms at the hospitals. We have equipment we purchased for the hospitals. This is all done by revenue-generated events that REALTORS® come to participate. Then on top of that, our members, they all do their own thing. Some support WE Care for Kids. Some support Transition to Betterness. The REALTORS® are constantly giving back to the communities. They're ambassadors of their own areas.

Shaun: Yes, it sounds like you think it's a given. I guess, unconsciously, if I'm a REALTORS®, I want nothing but the best for my community. It makes every bit of sense in the world for them to do everything they can to support the community.

Krista: They're doing it from their own pure hearts. This has nothing to do with selling a property. It isn't about that. It's about the people and who they are. Our area has been known for constantly giving, and our REALTORS®, but they don't toot their own horns. They don't let people know what they're doing because they're doing it from their heart. They're not doing it to get the recognition. Yet, in my humble opinion, I believe that they should and do deserve the recognition. The stories should be told.

Shaun: Where do you think REALTORS® specifically can do more to boost their own across the board? Is it a Canadian thing, or is it just genuinely being selfless leads you to this place like, "I don't need credit. I'm doing this for the love of the game"?

Krista: A prime example, we are a border city. They are our allies. I know that there's a big controversy right now, but I don't look at it like that. They are our allies.

Shaun: 100%.

Krista: When Flint had a damaged water, we rallied. We shipped water over to them because that's what you do. If you have a pure heart and a good heart, that's what you do. Our REALTORS® didn't think twice. When stuff happens across Canada, we support. It's what our REALTORS® do. They should be proud to be Canadian because we do have big hearts. They just don't let the world know as much as they are doing.

It's funny. When I started in this industry, there was a lot of full-time REALTORS®. That's what they did. This is back in the '80s, so it makes sense, right? When I started, I thought to myself, "Wow, these people spend money before they even know they're going to make money." That's mind-blowing. They're doing advertising. They're taking people in their cars, gas money. The extent that they go to before they even know they're going to get a paycheck, it's amazing.

Shaun: Yes, that's the heart of a real entrepreneur right there.

Krista: How many people are going to work for free until they know whether they're going to get a paycheque? Not a lot.

Shaun: Not a lot, not a lot. You got to believe in it for sure.

Krista: Then still give back to their community.

Shaun: Yes.

Krista: That's huge.

Shaun: For all the REALTORS® watching this, guys, not only a pat on your own back, but you're hearing it from an executive, and did I mention 2025 AEN Award of Excellence winner? So good, and there's a reason why. Again, when you talk about this, I think you are leading by example. I'm hoping REALTORS® out there are watching this and going, "Yes, you know what? We do need to give ourselves a little more credit. We do need to prop ourselves up, if not, even just within the community." I'm sure there are other awards too, but it's not just about one award. I think it's a culture thing, don't you?

Krista: It's a culture thing, 100%. That's why I say REALTORS® across Canada, because I've met some fabulous people over the years. They're all the same. They all have the same heart. They all have the same mindset. I hope they toot their horn too.

Shaun: Oh, for sure. For sure.

Krista: I'm going to continue to do it on their behalf.

Shaun: You got to do it.

Krista: That's it. As I should.

Shaun: She's going for 2026. She's going to win 2026 AEN Award of Excellence. Oh, I do love it. Now, wait, how many years have you been doing this?

Krista: This year, September, it will be 36 years.

Shaun: 36 years?

Krista: 36.

Shaun: Did you start when you were eight?

Krista: Not quite.

Shaun: What? Amazing. When you started back in the day, what are some of the biggest changes you've noticed in the industry over the years, like in 36 years?

Krista: Oh, good Lord.

Shaun: I know there's been lots, but–

Krista: A ton, yes, a ton. We were DOS-based, put it that way. There was no internet. Think about that, right? The cell phones were like this. The servers were the size of my office, and it's crazy. It has evolved so much.

Shaun: Right.

Krista: Rightfully so. There's so much different legislation now. FinTrack didn't exist. It's just evolved immensely since I started.

Shaun: For the better, for the worse, what do you think?

Krista: For the better. I think for the better. Progress is good. Things have to change. You can't be afraid of change.

Shaun: Technology is creeping in everywhere.

Krista: Everywhere.

Shaun: It always has. Now, do you see the future of the real estate industry with the advent of AI? Do you feel like that's going to change a lot of things within the industry from your association's perspective?

Krista: I don't know if it'll change the industry per se, but it is a tool that members can definitely benefit from. I see it in the future. I see it. It's here now. People are using Copilot. They're using ChatGPT. We're not just talking about writing up descriptions for your listings. There's so much more that they can do with it. I do see that it will be something that will be implemented into our own systems.

Shaun: Are you encouraging your members to participate and learn?

Krista: For sure. Any kind of learning is good. It doesn't matter what technology it is. The more you grow, the better you are.

Shaun: Have you been ongoing with your education as do you– is that something you have to do to keep up with your certifications, or is that just something that you do because that makes you a much better leader?

Krista: I do it because it's in my contract, and I love it. At the end of the day, there are things that are mandatory. There are mandatory trainings that you have to do. There are seminars you have to take. There's legal that you have to have every year to make sure that you're ahead of the curve for what's coming and stuff like that. Yes, continued growth and education is number one.

Shaun: There's things you have to take, but are there things that you're like, "Ooh, I can't wait to learn more about X, Y, and Z? Tell me about that.

Krista: Yes, so technology. The Inman conference, I attend every year. I attend it because I love it.

Shaun: What's that? Tell me about that.

Krista: It's a technology conference. They always introduce new products that are out there or technologies that are out there. Those are things that I enjoy and love.

Shaun: Can you give me some examples? As a total layperson, maybe even some REALTORS® are not aware of.

Krista: Well, some of the software is like Copilot. When you go there, if you've never used it before, you just learn that this is another ChatGPT, if you will, that does even more. It's things like that.

Shaun: What would be a practical use of that?

Krista: I think all of these tools and the AI tools are think smarter, work harder, opposite. I think that's key because it's a very busy industry. Realtors aren't nine-to-five. I think it's beneficial for them to utilize these tools to save time and money on their end.

Shaun: I would imagine now because, currently, it seems to be all about the data. It's all about data. I know REALTORS® are all about data and listings and comps and interest rates and pricing and all of these trends, the real estate market. Not only that, but the dollar, oil, price of oil, all of it is connected.

Krista: All of it.

Shaun: To have that at your fingertips is probably an amazing thing. There's probably people who are not jumping on board either. There's probably traditionalists who are like, "No, no, no, I'm keeping the big phone." What do you say to those people?

Krista: No. Yes, I know. Again, they're all members. We had, back in the day, produced MLS catalogs. We had our own print shop to produce these catalogs. We had our own MLS catalog, then we had our own sales catalog. You would be surprised when we got rid of that process because it was available electronically. We still had hundreds of REALTORS® who chose to have those booklets still. We continued because it's a service they want to pay for, so we let them pay for it. Then it windowed itself out years ago. You have to look at everybody.

Like I said, even with my employees, not everybody learns the same way. Not everybody does things at the same pace. You have to be conscious of every type of REALTORS® that you're working with, right? We have some REALTORS® who come in. They might've taken training four times because they're just not grasping it. That's okay. Then we have REALTORS® that don't even come in because they pick up technology like nothing. You have to always look at each individual person. There's a lot of different styles out there.

Shaun: I think that, bottom line, it's really about relationships in the end, human relationships. Regardless of AI and regardless of all the rest, it's really about relationships. What do you think is your top five or top three characteristics of being in good relationships as a corporate leader, as a leader within the association at large when it comes to doing business in real estate?

Krista: I think trust, respect, personality, fairness. I think those are some of my top.

Shaun: How does one earn trust?

Krista: By proving yourself. We all, I'm sure, have come into people that have not been trustworthy in your lives, but it's a lesson learned, right? I believe in giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. I would never judge a book by its cover at all. Like I said, you have to understand that every person is different. Every REALTORS® is different. Every employee is different. You have to bear that in mind.

Shaun: Yes, for sure. I think integrity seems to be one of those things.

Krista: Huge.

Shaun: Because integrity builds trust and-

Krista: Honesty.

Shaun: -honesty comes with integrity. I have a feeling your sniff test is pretty quick. You're like, "Yes, no, yes, no," right?

Krista: I tend to stand off a bit. Yes, I do have that detector a little bit. It's like, "You got to prove yourself to me before I'm trusting you." Yes, I do have that.

Shaun: Right, you're a boss. You're a boss. I say that as a big old compliment. I think it's important that we recognize that and not apologize for it either.

Krista: Yes.

Shaun: I was surrounded by strong women growing up in Newfoundland. They had no qualms about it. This is, "What you see is what you get, and I'm not going to be fake." How important is that in your line of work when you look at your own compass and dealing with probably a wide spectrum of people?

Krista: I'm the same. I'm from the same cloth. What you get is what you get. I'm not going to be phony. I'm not going to be anything but who I am. I cannot. It's funny when I took over the position, I actually made that statement to the board of directors when I got hired. I am who I am. I'm going to tell it like it is. I'm going to be blunt. If I think we're making a bad decision, I'm going to let you know my thoughts. You guys roll with it where you want to go. I think trust and transparency is the key.

Shaun: How do people react to that?

Krista: Great. It's 36 years. I'm still here.

Shaun: Yes, I think it's awesome. I think it's awesome. That's obviously why you are the 2025 Award of Excellence winner. When you think about the association and when we talk about boards supporting REALTORS®, is there anything you think that boards can be doing differently at all, or do you feel like things are working the right way? What are the things that boards can improve upon?

Krista: I don't know. I'm sure there's lots that we can improve upon. For this survey or for this next strat plan, we're going to be doing a survey out to the members to try and hear what's working for them, what's not working for them. Where can we improve? Are there any programs that we're running that you're not utilizing? Things like that. You have to talk to your stakeholders. You have to know what works and what doesn't for them in order to proceed and move forward, and make change.

Shaun: If I'm a REALTORS® and I have something that I want changed, is that an open-door thing, or is there any kind of power struggle there at all? Again, this is for me, not really understanding or living inside of this. How is that relationship generally? How is that?

Krista: There is a saying that people say, "Well, if only 1% or 10% of the membership asked for this, there's no sense in looking at it." I don't believe in that because that's just that 10% idea. I try and bring anything that the members give to me. I try and address it at our meetings to see if anything comes of it. Sometimes people can have some amazing ideas out there that you're not even thinking about at your board table, right? Why wouldn't you listen to your stakeholders? You want to know what they want. You want to know what works for them. You want to give them the best service and quality that they deserve, right?

Shaun: Right, yes.

Krista: They're working hard out there. It's not an easy industry. They're busting their butts out there. It depends on the year like we're going through right now with the tariffs and recessions. There are so many things that you have to look at, what's happening in the economy, what's happening in the community, and what can we do better for them? It's something that we're constantly looking at. If we had a crystal ball and could figure it all out, we'd all be set for life, but that's not reality. You have to listen. Listening is key.

Shaun: Listening is key. Now, you had mentioned programs. Tell me about programs and how the association has had to adapt over the years.

Krista: I'll give you an example. During COVID, we only had in-person training. That's all we had. We offer to our members, and they all came in for new member orientations, for technology, and so forth. When COVID hit, we had to adapt and make it all electronic so that the members could still get orientated, get trained. Now, we offer both because some people like to do it electronically, and some people want to be in person. They want their hands-on. We had to adapt with that. There's various programs that we do. We have a scholarship program for our bursary scholarship for our members, kids, and stuff like that. That's something we used to budget for. Now, we raise the money for it, so the members aren't paying for it. Do you know what I mean?

Shaun: Yes.

Krista: It didn't make sense to me for the members to be paying for their– "Okay, give us your dues. This part goes to this."

Shaun: On top of that.

Krista: Yes, so we try and look at things that we can make self-funded. We have a gala that we do every year, which is where we raise a lot of our funds that go to the community. That's supported by our brokerages and that's supported by our members. There's usually 1,000 people that come out to it. It's phenomenal. Again, that's all programs that help the community.

Shaun: Right. You had mentioned too a while back. Not in today's conversation. I heard you say something about when you guys were creating this opportunity for retirees in your area.

Krista: Yes.

Shaun: Speak about that a little bit.

Krista: Yes, so I think it's about 10 years now, maybe eight. We were in a recession. We reached out to the Chamber of Commerce. We reached out to the homebuilders. Our group decided that we need to do something. We were in a recession. We felt we had to do something. We formed a not-for-profit organization. It was called We Are Key. It basically promoted the 100-mile peninsula of water we have in Windsor and Essex County. We had a board of directors. We had some non-REALTORS® on this board.

We basically went and marketed the GTA area, Vancouver, the West Coast. It basically was to bring retirees here. When we started, we had some naysayers that were like, "Why do we want people to come here and just come here to not have any money and pass away," kind of thing. It's a reality. It was a reality. Those were conversations and fill up our hospitals. That is not what transpired. We actually did multiple trade shows in Toronto. We ended up having some ambassadors that moved from Etobicoke or Don Valley.

One in particular, she moved to Boblo Island. She said she ended up being an ambassador for us. She would speak and say, "I was able to retire 10 years earlier. I don't have the stress anymore, the traffic." It was a very, very, very well-laid-out plan. We had that board for 10 years, and then it just started happening naturally. We disbanded the not-for-profit organization. That was a huge undertaking. Our members contributed hundreds of thousands to that.

Shaun: It's amazing. That checks so many boxes when it comes to community building. There is the promotion of your area, obviously, and also challenging members and the entire association to be like, "Let's think way outside the box. Let's think differently about how we do business in this whole situation." Clearly, there's a reason why you are where you are. It's infectious, your passion and your drive, and how you see it. How do you keep motivated? How does one keep motivated in this industry? Specifically, how do you keep motivated?

Krista: I absolutely love what I do. I absolutely love our community. I love serving our REALTORS®. I love providing excellent service to them. That's what I strive for. That's what my team strives for. I don't think there's any more than that. I just have a passion for it. I love what I do.

Shaun: Yes, it feeds you.

Krista: It does. I want to be here another 15 years, and people think I'm crazy.

Shaun: Right.

Krista: Imagine that, being here for 50 years.

Shaun: I can. I can imagine it. You're 26 years old. I get it, obviously.

Shaun: You got a lot of life left in you.

Krista: I got a lot. God willing, I do.

Shaun: That's amazing. One of the things that I think is important in all of this as well, we talked about relationships. We talked about leadership in general. You also touched on new government. There's always new governments. You've been at it long enough now where there's new administrations coming in, new policies coming in. How important is the relationship between government and, obviously, the association? What kind of things do you do to improve that relationship, regardless of political strife? It's not even about that. It's about just advocacy in general.

Krista: Obviously, you have to have that rapport with your own local MPPs, MPs, as well as federally and provincially lobbying. It's so important. It's important to the consumer. A lot of the REALTORS® that volunteer, there's usually 500 people, REALTORS®, and EOs, CEOs at our PAC Days. They're there lobbying on behalf of the consumer. Make no mistake about it. The government sometimes comes up with ideas, but doesn't really think them through.

Then we have to lobby to say, "This is not going to work and this is why," or, "We could do this better." When you lobby with the government, you've got to think of these volunteers, volunteer REALTORS®, hundreds of them. You're not lobbying for one year. Sometimes it takes seven to 10 years for something to get past that you've been working on. That's a huge contribution on behalf of the public that REALTORS® do. They don't see that.

Shaun: No, not aware, not as aware as they probably should be, but that's what these conversations are about, right?

Krista: Yes. Yes, absolutely.

Shaun: Getting it out there. Well, listen, Krista, I'm so impressed and so thankful to have met you and talked to you, not just in the industry, but as a person. I think it's amazing. It's inspiring. When you say you want to be at this for another 15 years, you'll make it to 50 years in the industry, what are you most excited about, about the future of the industry?

Krista: I'm excited and nervous. It's a twofold, right?

Shaun: Sure.

Krista: Nobody knows what's ever going to get thrown at you. Like I said, government makes changes all the time. I just hope that whatever comes the next decade, I hope that it's beneficial to our REALTORS® family. I hope it's beneficial to the community. If it's not, then we work hard to make sure it does.

Shaun: Yes, and is there something you're excited about?

Krista: I'm excited to see where the industry goes in general. Like I said, it's always changing. Change is not always bad. Change can be great.

Shaun: Sure.

Krista: It's just all in how we embrace it and how we put it out to our members.

Shaun: I'm hearing versatile.

Krista: Versatile.

Shaun: I'm hearing you being versatile. It's so funny. I was doing the New Year's Eve special, the Y2K year. Remember that?

Krista: Yes.

Shaun: Do you remember that?

Krista: Yes.

Shaun: The turn of the century was happening first in North America in St. John's, Newfoundland, where I was. I was hosting from the waterfront in St. John's, Newfoundland. I was the first person. It was going to go global to me. We were getting ready to count it down. People were like, "10, 9, 8, 7," and then there was a stop. It was like, "What? What happened?"

Oh, they were off by two minutes. I was like, "Wait a minute. Isn't this the most important countdown of the year?" Then my producer said, and this is where I'm going with this, but he said, "Shaun, buddy, excellence through flexibility is what I say." I'm like, "There it is. There it is right there." That sounds a lot like what you're talking about. Excellence through flexibility, being versatile.

Krista: That's an awesome comment.

Shaun: It's great. I love that. Krista, thank you so much. This has been a great conversation.

Krista: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Shaun: Congratulations.

Krista: Thank you.

Shaun: Krista Gionet, a boss, a boss, and I love that. A true leader. That conversation was so enlightening for me. I took a lot from that. One of the insights for me was how important that relationship between the associations and the boards are with the REALTORS® on the ground. I think another takeaway is, REALTORS®, you got to start big-upping yourselves, not just for your sales and for the balance sheet. I'm talking for all that you do as community leaders. I think that's such an amazing thing that maybe you don't get enough credit for.

That's why we're here. We're having these conversations with great leaders like Krista Gionet. She is so deserving of this year's AEN Award of Excellence. This year's award is sponsored by REAL TIME, which I love. Guys, if you enjoyed today's conversation, I know you did, please get out there. Share it. Spread it. You can find it on all your favorite podcast platforms. REAL TIME is brought to you by the Canadian Real Estate Association, CREA, and production brought to you by Alphabet® Creative. Thanks for joining me today on REAL TIME. My name is Shaun Majumder, and we'll see you next time on REAL TIME.

Shaun: That would–

Daughter: It’s not out there.

Shaun: What's that?

Daughter: The dolls are not out there.

Shaun: No, they're right there. They're right here on the table, so take those back to Mama.

Daughter: No, I'm not going anywhere.

Krista: She told you.

Shaun: She's the boss baby. I don't mind the boss baby.