KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Designing Success: Vija Williams on Discipline, Decision, and Doing What Scares You

Episode Date: August 18, 2026

Summary:In this episode, high-performance coach and real estate leader Vija Williams joins Andrew Perrie to discuss the architecture of a successful career. Williams emphasizes that success is "designed, not discovered," focusing on the critical role of disciplined decision-making and the necessity of lean-in moments when faced with fear. Agents will learn how to audit their daily habits, transition from a "hustle" mindset to a "business owner" perspective, and leverage their unique strengths to build a scalable, sustainable real estate team.

Hi everyone and welcome to Women Who Rise. I'm your host, Heather Manzi. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Via Williams, a nationally recognized real estate leader, entrepreneur, and coach. As the head of industry at Place, co-owner of Via Real Estate in Seattle and co-founder of Upgrade at EXP Realty, VIA has built a career on helping agents and leaders think bigger, build wealth, and design a life and business they love. She's also at Sheppleck Lai. elite coach and a former co-host of the award-winning Empire Building podcast. Known for her candid wisdom and bold approach to growth, VIA brings deep insights on leadership, resilience, and creating a lasting impact in business and life.

Via, thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you for having me. It's my honor. Well, thank you so much. We appreciate this. I am just going to jump right in. You have spoken about playing the long game in business and designing a life with intention. Looking back, what was your very first job or earliest career memory, and how do you think

it planted the seeds for how you approach business today? Oh, that's a really good question. My first real job memory was in eighth grade when I went and helped my dad at his mortgage company one summer. I'm a second generation realtor. And so I kind of, I was exposed to it young. And I think how it shaped me is I started out really young, understanding that even the adults didn't always know what they were doing. So I never, I really am not often too intimidated by people.

I don't really, I think that it just kind of, I have been in an office setting working with entrepreneurs since what, what, how old are you in eighth grade 14? You know, whatever that is. And so I think, yeah, it just made me super comfortable. and just, you know, kind of understanding that everybody's kind of faking it until they figure it out. And, you know, you're fine. You can ask questions. No one, you know, you don't get in trouble for asking questions. You actually get in trouble for not asking questions. So I just think I learned a lot of cool lessons, really. That sounds fantastic. And certainly having ease with other people would just open up so much to you that would be locked for someone that is not having that sense of ease or that is finding themselves intimidated. That meant. like you said, if you're valuing asking for questions and you're not concerned about who you're asking them up, well, you're just open to learning at that point. And you're open to exploring upward tracks for yourself. How many people see your career today and assume that it was a straight path? Was there a defining moment where you realized you were meant to lead at this level? Or did it

maybe unfold through that fail-forward philosophy and experiences that you often talk about? You know, I am one of those people that had a very, very distinct defining moment where that happened. And it's actually a really cool story. And I think it's a cool story for women specifically because I had been a really successful real estate agent started in 2002. Yes, I'm very old. Everybody, you can just, I know. And then I started a team. I know. I started a team in 2012 and it was really successful. I had a big successful team. And then. I kind of stopped enjoying it. You know, I just kind of wasn't, it just didn't feel right anymore. And so in 2018, I started kind of considering other options at that point. I knew that this was my chosen industry. I just wasn't sure, you know, the way I've described it to people is, this is definitely my bus. I just don't know where my right seat is, you know, on the bus. Yeah, I love that. Yeah. And so I, you know, I was kind of looking for my seat and I was meeting with Ben Kinney at the time. And, and, and, and, and, And he was my franchise owner. I was at a brokerage. He had owned the franchises. And for being candid, I was, you know, kind of meeting with him because I was thinking about leaving, you know, because I was kind of exploring options. And he said, why don't we meet together for a while and figure out what it is you really want?

And so we started meeting. And he started describing a person he was looking for to run all of his franchises. And, you know, I think what was interesting is that I had never even run one real estate office, let alone six with like 12. 1,200 agents and 30 staff members. And so the more he described it and described the kind of person that he needed and wanted, which of course he's so smart, by the way, side note, was completely describing me. And that's what you, now I know that's what you do when you were getting somebody back then. I was like, oh, that sounds exactly like me. Weird. But so that's what happened. I always think I feel, you know, three chest steps ahead. I was like,

wait a minute, that sounds like me. So I remember we met and I was kind of starting to get excited about it. I was like, wow, you know, I can really see myself doing that. But he, I didn't want to admit it to him because I, you know, I had a fear of rejection. I thought, well, what if I raise my hand or tap him on the shoulder, then what if he says no? How would I feel? Could I handle hearing that from him? I probably would have to leave the brokerage. You know, I really thought that. I just thought I just don't know if my pride or my ego would allow me to stay if I could handle that rejection. And that might sound weak to a lot of people. It's just where I was at the time. And so I left the meeting and I pulled into the parking garage in my building. And fun fact, I had a couple agents waiting for me to meet. And, you know, back in 2018, I, you know, no one was tracking me. There's no Life 360 or find my phone. So no one knew that I was downstairs. And I sat in the dark parking garage and I started crafting a text to Ben. And I just left him, right? I just pulled out. I'd have been meeting from him, pulling back.

And, you know, the text was like, hey, I was thinking about what we talked about. And I think that person could be me. And I think, I think that I might be someone that might be good at that role you were talking about. But I couldn't send it. And I, I distinctly remember sitting there for like 20 or 30 minutes gathering the courage to press send. And you know that moment, everybody's got to know that moment where you're, you're crafting this text. And then you press send. And you're, you're like, oh, shit.

You just press send. You're like, nothing's going to be the same after pressing send, you know. And so I pressed send. And the rest is history. I ended up, you know, we met for a couple more months. And by September of that year, I was the general manager of all of his franchises at the time and ended up becoming president of that division, completely running it, grew it to about 1770 agents. It was very successful for both of us. So, You know, I say that I like that story for women because since then I have led and managed a lot of women. And what I've noticed is the men jump right in to raise their hands to me. They are, they, they just feel readiness a lot sooner than my female colleagues. My female colleagues, you know, like me and I'm not pointing fingers. I'm pointing a finger at myself, not anymore. But typically, we feel like we're not ready until we've had the experience. A male typically doesn't care about that. They'll be like, no, no, I'm built this way. I can do this. I can handle anything. And so if you kind of couple that with the first lesson I shared with you that people don't really know what they're doing, I just would say that one of my biggest advice that I give women and men, you know, everybody, is just go for it. Don't wait until you're ready. You're ready. You can do it. Everybody's faking it. You know, it's like you have to get it out of your head that like everybody's taking these these opportunities because they know what they're doing. But they take it. They take it.

typically don't. And so, you know, jumping in when you feel like, you know, there's an alignment where you feel like your talent and that you can grow into a skill set. And, you know, as long if you're being up front and honest, you're probably ready for the opportunity that you want. That's amazing. Yes, because what you're describing is that women basically are suffering from this, you know, over, kind of over analysis, imposter syndrome, whatever it is, is just causing them to pause. And I love that, saying that, look, in your experience, you've dealt with and shared stages with a lot of big baddies,

and just you're saying, look, they're all faking it. And on one day or another, I can tell you from performing arts that I did a long time ago to, you know, people that I interview on this show, there's a lot more of that behind the scenes fear that is still striking them. You never quite get rid of certain, you know, certain kind of panic about, okay, wow, I have to do this new thing. If you're getting out of your comfort zone, you're always going to feel uncomfortable. But what you're saying is, you know,

just raise, you know, raise that hand sooner. And I love this because basically if it's inspiring you and if you feel like, like you said, I think I'm that foul. Like I think I'm the person who fits that description. That alone should have told us like, okay, go for it. But you still had this analysis, and I love that you had the bravery to go for it. Yeah. Yeah. I wouldn't say that, I wouldn't say that women everywhere are faking it necessarily. I would say that they are sometimes, but I would say that it's more about they're figuring out as they go, and they're smart enough to do that. And same with men, you know, I mean, that's not a gender thing. That's like, I think we're all kind of building the plane as we jump off the cliff, right, as we figure out

how to fly it down. So, you know, the faking it thing, I don't know, but there, you know, As long as we're engaged and a hundred percent and full decision in it, focused on it, whatever it is, we're going to do fine. We always do. We always figure it out. Ask for help from the right people, you know, so yeah. Yeah, that's fantastic. And you actually just mentioned something, a full decision, you and I, full disclosure,

we just left a workshop in Arizona. You spoke on that stage. And it's just, by the way, it's just been a joy knowing you. you through a shared coaching organization for many years, watching your rise, watching all that you've been up to, and not knowing all of it, but just going like, what, you're kidding me, this is amazing. I just, I am definitely over here cheering you on. And I, it's been incredible.

Yeah, truly to you rise. But I know when you mention a full decision, can you explain a little bit about that and what really happens if someone makes a full decision. Yeah, well, it's a, a full decision is a trainer that we both, you're referring to as William Lamb upgrade. And a full decision is one of the best concepts I could teach because it is exactly that. A full decision is not 99%. A full decision is 100%. And when you look back on your life, anyone, I brought this up to a lot of people. Everyone has at least a moment, if not multiple moments where they were just largely successful. And in our world, let's talk about, like, you know, starting your real estate career, starting your real estate team, right, where you were all guns firing,

you had blinders on, you were focused. It was, you know, it was a great, great rise, you know, from wherever you were to wherever you were. That's because you were in full decision. You just decided in that moment you were going to burn the ships, you know that, you know that expression, burn the ships. Yep. Yeah. Burn the boats. Yeah. We're, you know, in a harbor. There's no escape boats. It came from a war story where the soldiers were like, look, if we burn the boats, we have to win. There's no, because we can't escape, right? So if you burn the boats, there is no plan B, right? There's no plan B. And so a full decision is when you just 100% decide that you're going to do something. And it doesn't mean that you don't have doubt. It doesn't mean you don't have fear. It doesn't erase things like that. But in full decision mode, you do whatever it takes to get it done. And I was telling some colleagues a story about someone I know who had a really successful corporate career. And he decided he wanted to be an entrepreneur and he opened a franchise. And he opened a franchise in, it was a construction manufacturing.

And he didn't know that he had to turn the power on in a certain way in the building, right? Because he'd never had a commercial building lease. And the first month of his company was actually powered by his truck. his truck was a generator that supplied the power to this manufacturing facility to get them off the ground. There were the fastest growing franchisor in a year that that company had ever seen. I mean, that is a full decision. I love that story for this because there's just no, like, he backed the truck in every day to power manufacturing in the big F-150 or whatever it is, you boys like. But my point is that that's what I mean by full decision. There was no excuses. There was no going back.

there were apparently extension cords to the neighboring manufacturing facility that was a totally different company and they're still friends to this day, you know, because of that. So, you know, in real estate, full decision is when you just decide. And it has changed my life. It is freeing and awesome. And it made me more purposeful and more passionate, you know, when I decide something, putting it in full decision. And this doesn't mean that playing a game of pickleball is going to be full decision. That's not what it means. It means that you choose the big things and you go all in on them. Yeah, I love that. Well, and I can think of a time, as I've said, I've been around you and known you for years, and I can think of a time you transformed yourself. And I would say,

whether that was, you know, realizing that concept at the time or not, you put yourself up to a pretty major challenge. And it transforms, you know, some physicality. It transformed some other things. And I got to where you share a little bit about it the other day. Can you talk about how that played out in your life and maybe how a physical change, perhaps, you know, was able to contribute something to yourself, also emotionally, mentally, business life. Oh, yeah, it's one of my favorite things to talk about. So I lost about, it kind of depends on the day, but I lost about 110 to 120 pounds, you know, over the, over an 18-month period. And really what happened is a couple things. Number one, I got called out

in the middle of 2022. I got called out by a coach. I was training for not one, but two marathons. And it was clear that I was under training and I was avoiding the training and I wasn't going to finish them. And by July, when she called me out, the first marathon was in September. And, you know, spoiler alert, I did not complete those two marathons that year. I DNFed. I did not finish. And so by July, it was pretty obvious that that was going to happen.

I was 150 pounds heavier than I am today and in no physical shape at all. I mean, I just really wasn't doing the work. And so she, in the middle of a coaching call, she stopped me. And she said, Via, have you ever heard of an upper limit problem? And I was like, no, what's an upper limit problem? And she said, it's when you set a thermostat and you start sabotaging yourself when you go above that thermostat. And I think what started to happen is, is you started to get some success and you're sabotaging yourself right now. I think you're stopping exercising because you can't handle.

the via that is going to emerge who can finish marathons. And it just, it changed my life. She just slapped me across the face and she was not with me personally, right? So it was a Zoom slap. It really knocked me down. And I was like, what? What are you talking? No, what? If she's so right, right? So the first thing, the first thing that I realized is that if you go back to the four agreements is that my word was not impeccable. I realized in that moment that I was not keeping my promises that I made to myself. You know, I was telling myself I was going to work out every day and I wasn't doing it. And that was actually worse than if I just admitted that I wasn't going to work out. Because when you tell yourself you're going to do something and you don't do it,

you're literally wiring highways in your brain, right? Your default mode network is literally getting paved with, oh, when you say this, we don't do it. It's horrible. So you're far better off say, you know what, F it, I'm actually not going to work out. You're far better off doing that than telling yourself you're going to do something and not do it. And then she went on to tell me, once we kind of got that aha, she went on to say, she said, are you living your life in integrity? And I was like, well, I mean, I thought I was. If you would have asked me, I would have said that's one of my top five values. She's like, but you're not. I guarantee you you're not living your life in integrity with everyone around you because you're not living it with yourself because you're not keeping your promises to your yourself, you are, you have blind spots right now because you, you aren't, I guarantee you're letting people down, you don't realize it. Because when you're letting yourself down, that's what happens. And it just was, it was, these were very hard coaching calls. And, you know, what was really hard is she was 20 years younger than me. She was just, it was really, you know,

really eye-opening, right? And so I embarked, I started embarking on a journey. I failed the two marathons. And for the first time in many years, I went in full decision on something. And that was that I was going to get, lose weight and become physically fit. And there was just no doubt. It was at all costs. And I started December of 2022. And I went on to not only lose weight, I went on to finish a marathon and to do an ascent, an ascent of 31,000 feet in about 30 hours and about 31 miles an endurance event and became the most fit I've ever been in my life. I'm not quite as fit as that. I did that last year and now, but I am.

I'm very active. I'm an athlete. I'm fit. I can go do anything right now. I'm nimble. I'm energy. I sleep well. Everything in my life is better.

So I think that, you know, physically from a physiological standpoint, you know, anywhere from cortisol to energy levels to gut health, it's amazing to be fit. But I think that what happens when you transform. that much on the outside. It's really, things are happening inside because my trust in myself now is so high and so strong. You're so powerful when you start living in integrity of yourself. And so when I started saying, hey, I'm going to, I'm going to do this. I'm going to lose this weight. I'm going to eat this many calories today and or I'm going to do this exercise today. And I do it. And I start seeing the results. Then I start trusting myself a little more.

Then I say, well, I'm going to add this one more thing. And I'm going to add this one more thing. And as a result, what's happened is my life has grown exponentially. over the last couple of years since I started that because now I trust myself. And now I know when I say something, I'm going to do it and it's going to be done really well. And there is a confidence and a power that comes with that that is unbeatable, but it all starts with that. You know, I will say to you, you know, the first thing I did, and I don't think I shared this last week, first thing I did when I got off that coaching call is I thought, I'm going to choose one thing a day that I can do that I'm going to promise myself I do it and I could do it and I was making my

bed and I know that's cliche. I know that there's like the military talks about it. I know that trainers shop all the time but I was like it is the one it truly is the one thing I know I can do and to this day I make my bed every day. It just starts with a really small thing, you know, when you just look at like what are you actually saying you're going to do? Do it. And if you can't do it, don't say you're going to do it. Yeah, I love that. There's so much good there. And I have to say I, you know, it was recommended to me. I was going through a hard time in my early 20s. And it was a gal, you know, a good friend at the time. And she said, you've got to make your bed every day. She said, you've got that. It's just showing your respect to yourself. And I kind of loved how she

framed it. But I also like, well, you're framing it as, just pick like a, you know, even just a small thing that you can regain that trust, that you can say, I'm committing to this. And this is going to happen. This is a daily thing. There was so much you said about, you know, being able to trust yourself and the power that comes through that. As you know, I did a number of things to gain back trust of myself as well. Doing some personal cooking, putting in the time, it's unbelievable. It's like strapping rocket boosters on yourself. If we talk about, you know, now you as say 2023, 24, having climbed that mountain done, literally climbed that mountain, which is an incredible, incredible feat, what has happened? What has happened?

in your business world, in your entrepreneurial world, since then as a result. I know some of them, I'm so excited to have you talk about this. It's so crazy because like when things are happening in real time, we don't always notice something, right? But when you look back, you're like, whoa, holy moly. So what's funny is that wake-up call happened in July. I had just met Spring Benson, our mutual friend, two months earlier. and it, you know, led me to, I called her up in January, hardly knew, I didn't know her very well, called

her up in January, I said, hey, do you want to go on a spiritual retreat to Costa Rica with me? And she's like, in. And so, you know, it's just very random, very random that I would call someone that I don't know very well, whatever. And then we ended up going into business together, which is one of the best things that's ever happened to me in my career. I would say Ben Kinney and Spring are the two people that are the most important. And I ended up, I, you know, changed some things. I changed brokerages and, you know, opened up a lot of new opportunities with that. I started coaching. I'm working on finally launching a podcast again, and I have missed having a podcast. I think this is my favorite format out of all of them. I love podcasts. I listen to them all the time. So everything has

change. I've had a lot of personal changes as well. And I am just, I am having more fun and I'm more in alignment at this age and this stage than I have ever been in my life. So it's just been amazing, you know, and I think that during the during, we don't always see it. And, you know, actually, which goes into something that I talk about a lot, it's if you were going to ask me my one DHV, deeply held beliefs, I call them. You know, to know this means you know me. And that is, you know, I say it every day. I live it every day. It's just be attached to the process and not the outcome. So as long as I attach myself to the right process, right? As long as we play the right plays. You know, I think it was coach Bill Walsh that said, just play the plays right. The score will take care of itself, right? So I really live my life that way, you know, focused on the process, the next right step. I really truly do not overfocus on. end game outcomes. I'm just not attached to them. What I'm attached to is what I'm doing now and what's the next best thing to do now. Am I doing it the right way? Can I go faster? Can I go better?

So I live my life that way. And when you look back at a lot of my stories, that's really how I've lived my life. You know, I just, I don't know what's next. I don't know, you know, you even go back to me talking to Ben about corporate leadership, right? Like, you know, I didn't necessarily know that I'd be here now, but I knew that was that really, I just knew that was the next right step. I went all on it. Yeah. You know, that's, yeah. And it's amazing you've, you know, I did not know that you, you know, had just really had a chance to get to know Spring. I feel like I've just gotten to know her again. And she was literally my first guest to launch the podcast with. I was very honest he joined does. And I really did not want to launch, launch the podcast with anyone else as that first person

because I just knew she was just such a wonderful, wonderful person. She's very giving. And I got to meet her in 2018, which was great. And just it shocked me the growth that she had done just in the last few years. And I think it's amazing. So I love that you guys have gotten together. Leaders often shape us. Who has inspired your leadership style the most and what specific lessons have you carried into your own companies and coaching from the people whose coattails you found inspired you? Yeah, I mean, you know, I've spent the most time with Ben Kinney. I mean, I worked directly under him for the last seven years. I've recently, I'm still affiliated with Place. I'm a

consultant with Place now, but up until recently I was the head of industry for Place. And then before that, I was side by side with him running his franchises. So he, He was like, I was like an apprentice under him. And so, so I would have to say that he, he has had the most impact. I think the best lesson I can share from him. And I do share it a lot are what he calls this, the three fiduciaries of a leader. Yep. So the three fiduciaries of a leader, and here's where I'll just, here's where I use it. And here's where I'd recommend, um, you guys use it. It's anytime you don't know what to do. Anytime you're in doubt, anytime you're like, well, you know, um, I just don't know what to do in this situation. I don't know how to spend my time or whatever. Use this with a filter and a default. The three fiduciaries of a leader are number one. We have to set the standard often.

So let me say that in layman's terms. What it means is we have to make sure that our people know how to win and what we expected them. It's where we all fail, by the way. Spoiler alert, we all fail, number one. So what it means is I should be able to walk into any of your organizations, your teams, your businesses, whoever's listening. I should be able to walk to any employee and or contractor and say, what are the standards, what's expected of you? How do you win in this role? And they should be able to say immediately what it is. And it's usually where we fall down. We're not, we don't have clarity. We're not spending enough time on clarity on that, right? They're spending their time on the wrong things because they don't understand what the right things are because you haven't told them. So number one, set the standard often. Number two, inspect what you expect, meaning we don't.

do Siegel management, we don't just dump a bunch of crap on them and fly away. That's not what we do. What we do is you have to go back and inspect what you expect. So you have to set up mechanisms so that they're accountable to you and you can see progress or see where you need to course correct, right? If you don't check on things and you just dump on them and let him go, that's on you. That's on you. So what I, my follow up to that would be, and this is for any of you guys who are coaches and or leaders or corporate corporate managers is, I never put that on myself. I put that on them. They have to report to me. I don't want to give homework to myself. So if I need accountability, I'm going to, it's going to be their job to provide it to me rather than me having to do any work to get it.

Does that make sense? Yes. So that's my, that's my rule. Yeah, you're building in the follow through and recognizing that you as leader probably have, you know, the most, the least bandwidth to babysit that process, but you've set up the KPI, you basically set up whatever the standards are, and then you're saying one of the standards is that you actually have to come from me and tell me, you know, come to me periodically and tell me in some way that I've decided how you're doing with those standards. So that is just another piece of accountability. I'm sure it builds more proactivity among them too, not, hey, teacher, I'm waiting for you to come check my work. It's, you know, hey, by the way, you've asked me to come to you. Here's my report of what I'm up to.

here's how I'm winning based on the standards you've given. Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes other people in the organization are sending in, but the point is that it's coming to you, it's rolling to you. You're not having to go out of your way to get it. The third fiduciary of a leader is we just need to be sure that we're providing the right environment tools, tech, and training for them to do their job. So, you know, you need to be sure that everything is in place for them to be successful in what number one was, you know, and how they win and what their standards are.

So that has never left me, will never leave me because I default to that a lot. You know, we all, all of my coaching and consulting clients, it's always number one. And you can't be too specific. I think that in life in general, a lot of us just skip over clarity and being specific. And we just jump into action, which I don't mind. I mean, I work with a lot of entrepreneurs. I'm an entrepreneur. I get it. It's a great bias to have. But we do need to slow down just a little bit and make sure that we're spending time on clarity both for ourselves and for others. I love that. So, and this is so funny because literally I have my next question is you often encourage leaders to over communicate and lead with transparency. What, and that kind of covers part of what

you've just spoken about, but also what daily habits or mindsets have helped you stay grounded in those values, for example, the three that you've given, while you're saying. scaling teams and businesses or launching new stuff for yourself, how does Bia take care of Bia? Yeah, well, it's that's a great question. She doesn't always, you know, I'm human, just like, just like we all are. But there's a couple things I do do. And I'm not, you know, I'm not an overly disciplined person. So I, I like to lean on habits more than discipline, right? And I have very few habits. It goes back to integrity. My word is impeccable. You'll find I'm somebody that has very few things that I'll commit to, but when I do commit to them, I'm in. I'm all in full decision. So there's very few

because I know that I'm not capable of a lot. So one of the things that I do do is I have a plan for everything. In fact, I taught that plan a couple days ago at the conference you're referring to. It's called a 135 or a GPS, but I have a plan for everything and I do review that. I review that weekly. It's really important to just lay eyes on my goal and my priorities and my strategies weekly. The second thing I do is I come into every day and I have at least one outcome that's going to move my needle. And by move my needle, I mean, you know, there's a couple, I have a couple businesses that I'm involved with. And so, you know, I'm looking at a couple different businesses, but, you know, what's going to move the needle and, you know, not what feels good to do. Sometimes I will do that the day before. If we're being honest,

sometimes I do it the morning of, you know, that just varies. But the last thing I do that is really good for me is I religiously start every morning with a lot of white space. I have a long coffee. I wake up early and I'm not on my phone all the time and I just kind of allow myself to let my mind go and work on problems. I find that I process things overnight, yep, when I sleep. And so I want, I want to be sure that I'm taking advantage of that wake up time to, you know, it's where all in my downloads come to me. All the things that my mind's been processing the day before and the night of, I think I've just trained my brain to solve problems with up. And then I start rattling off. And then what I'll do because of that is I start, I'm voice memoing, I'm texting, I'm calling,

because now I'm like, remember that thing we talked about? And I just have a flow in the morning. And it's very, I actually think it's a kind of feminine energy. Like, I don't know that a lot of dudes would do that. But it's like, I'm just in the mornings, I allow myself to kind of be in the flow. not put a lot of pressure. So I will often wake up an hour or too early to just do that. I love that. And, you know, it is so not completely, but would largely consistent with people and, yes, women, who are in higher positions, they have to find somewhere time that they're carving out to preserve

their inspiration, their visioning, their problem solving, alone, so that they can wait and get that inner wisdom and access it. It's really great to hear that, you know, you're doing that as well, and that it's something that, you know, I think everyone can take away is, yes, with a good night's rest, your brain tends to work a little better. And before the freight train takes off and leaves the station of whatever your day is going to be, you can have a little time and try to get some of that wisdom and problem solving. So for women who want to break into leadership, what's the first step you believe they must take?

to begin building influence and credibility and whether this is on the inside or just, you know, at the, at the minor level in their household and their job, whatever, or if it's, in fact, in, you know, all that they do or even on social media. I love this. One of my favorite questions. And I'm grateful I get asked that a lot because I feel like it's one of the messages that I want to shout for in the mountaintop, right? So the answer is you have to tell people that that's what you want. So many women are waiting to be tapped on the shoulder.

And I have almost always been the tapper in my life. I have not waited. If I waited, it would be a very long timeline. Like, I don't want to wait. Like, if I want something, then I will ask for it. And that's what you need to do. So whether it's in the household or in, you know, entrepreneurial journey, in corporate, whatever it is, you have to, you have to be the one to tap on the shoulder and tell the right people that that's what you want. So here's another one.

You've said that short-term solutions aren't real solutions. What are some non-negotiables that you live by that drive lasting growth and maybe exemplify what you're talking about when you mention that? I don't remember saying that because it's funny because I'm not sure I believe that. That's funny that I said that. I mean, who knows all the things I've said? I can guess a couple of things. So one of the things I do say a lot is I will say.

let's not make a permanent decision on a temporary problem. So another way to say that, and you know, that I say a lot that makes some of my people around me crazy, is anytime there's a problem or glitch, what I'll say is, all right, it was a situational or systemic, meaning is this a process problem, a, you know, a problem that's going to come up again, or is it just a one-off situation that happened? It was a mistake or whatever. And so, So I do tend to look at issues that way. The other thing that I will say in relation to that, that is very, very much way that I lead and manage and live my life is that I,

and it came from a book, by the way, called Upstream, which I highly recommend, but I like to work on going upstream on problems. So here's a good example. I was in a coaching session today. And he had a phenomenally successful team in Texas that I was coaching. And he said, Via, we got 12 or 13 recruiting appointments last week, which was up from like two or three on a normal week. And I was like, wow, what did you guys do? And he said, it's fantastic.

And he's like, well, I just called through our warm list of all the people who have gone to our events, come do our stuff, you know, engage with us. And I was like, how many people are on that list? He said, 58. And he's like, and they're all warm calls. And I was like, tell me about the calls and he told me about him, whatever. So, you know, a lot of people, a lot of coaches, I think, would say, okay, you need to, so now we know you need to call. And I can't remember how many he told me he got through. But he said, it took him about a month to do that list.

And I know a lot of coaches would say, perfect, you just need to call 15 to 20 people. That's what it was. He used to do about 20 contacts to get that. A week, that's what you need to do. What I look at that and say is, how can we fill that pipeline so that every 30 days you're getting 50 to 60 people? So I will go one level upstream and say, we actually want to make warm calls. I don't think it's a number of calls. I think it's because they were warm.

So we spent the whole call talking about filling the pipeline, not actually about the calls, right? So I do go upstream a lot. And there's a funny story. It's kind of an inappropriate story, but I'll tell it anyway. In the book, I'll probably get it wrong. a bit. Basically, a guy standing at a river and he sees all these babies being thrown in the river, or he sees the babies. So he's jumping out and he's saving all these babies. And at one point, someone says, hey, you need to leave those babies and you need to go up and stop it at the source.

Who's throwing the babies in the river? Or how are they falling in the river, right? At a certain point, you have to leave saving the babies, the horrible story, I know, but saving the babies in the river to go and stop it at the source. And so I think that way now, right? So I might have meant that when I made that comment because I actually often think good enough is good enough. And I actually often think that, you know, getting the job done is more important, you know, today and this week to a typical small business than trying to make the right decision for scale, which you're not going to get to scale if your business doesn't survive. So that's why it's funny that I said that because I'm like, I don't know. But that's what I could have meant. Well, and I think it's well taken,

And, you know, if you're just band-dating it, you're not really solving the higher problem or creating the bigger solution for even bigger growth or change or whatever direction you're trying to go. And I just think that's brilliant. So you just launched Upgrade together, Spring at EXP, changed the EXP Realty. And you've stepped into new coaching roles, which I would love to ask a little bit about the CHEPLAC organization and why you chose. the Cheflak organization.

In addition, what's next for you and what impact or legacy do you want to leave? That's a great question. I'm going to answer the last one first, and it's that I am, I don't know. I really, when I say I'm focused on a process and on an outcome, I can legitimately tell you, I don't know, I can have some concepts

and things that I think I'm going toward, but for now, what's in front of me is putting most of my energy into E-XP and upgrade, right? The John Traplac question is a really good one, though, and I do think it's worth talking about because I actually was coaching on my own for a little bit. And then knowing I was going to make these career moves, I knew that I had to bolster my coaching, you know, to make up some income. And I think that it's worth talking about every single business I have, every endeavor I have, I have at least one partner in. I just don't do anything alone. And, you know, part of that has just come with age, just understanding that we are better together and understanding

I have a lane I run in and I'm really good in that lane and just letting go with the fact that I, you know, that my ego is okay with me saying, I'm just not good in some other lanes. There's just other lanes that I'm not great in. And so it's just better with partner or partners. And, you know, when I look at the executive leadership team, we have it, upgrade, you know, with Spring, Mike, Sean and Sarah Edelman and me, it is such a great balance. We all balance each other so well, and we don't try to be the other person, and we're all honoring and respecting how strong everybody is in their lane. And it's a really great place to be. I've been in other organizations, places like that. Ben Kinney Broker does those like that when I ran those. And so those are the great

teams when when you're all, you know, really kind of masters in your own lane and just honoring that and doing whatever you can for them to succeed as well as yourself, right? So, but I don't know what's next. I do have some, you know, a couple opportunities and I'm trying to stay focused actually in what's in front of me, not get too distracted. Yeah, and that's true. I mean, once you get to a certain level of success, notoriety, or desirability, it actually becomes, you know, so important to say no, stay focused, stay in your lane, whatever that is, operate in, you know, I think many people would say your zone of genius and be able to just keep thriving at that because you are a limited resource and everybody wants access to you.

To that point, you know, how can someone reach out to you? First of all, what are the sort of categories that you agree to coach? You know, I know you had mentioned themes and that kind of thing and then how might a person follow you, reach out, that kind of thing. Yeah, thank you for that. I coach real estate teams, but I also coach solo agents who want to grow teams, right? So, and brokerage leaders. So, you know, independence who, it's growth. I coach and consult people who want to grow.

I'm a growth coach. So, you know, I'm in the P&L. I'm looking at efficiencies and whatnot, but for the most part, I'm a growth coach, right? So that's what my coaching is. Via.com. So my name is spelled really weird. It's V-I-J-A, which is, I know weird, but it's pronounced via. So it's V-I-J-A.com is my website.

That's a great way to get a hold of me. Or my social media, my Instagram is via via via, spelled V-I-A, V-I-J-A. Perfect. I love it. And we'll make sure to throw those up for all of our guests. Before we end this, I just want to say thank you again what an honor it was to be able to have you here, to be able to speak with you. I appreciate so much that you're willing to share some of your wisdom with the listeners here.

And I know that they're going to be able to take away a lot. And just, you know, I think everything, your wisdom together with your enthusiasm for teaching and for helping others, I just think it shines through. And I really appreciate you. I appreciate you having me. Thank you so much. Thank you. Well, folks, that's it for today's podcast. Thank you so much for joining us on Women Who Rise, the Success Podcast for Ambitious Women.

Today, Via taught us, number one, go upstream on problems. Don't just look at the immediate solution, but also look at the greater issue upstream of that immediate problem and see if you can solve the bigger issue or create some sort of vision or solution for that larger problem that may be existing. Number two, the three fiduciaries of a leader. If you are running a team, a brokerage, it doesn't matter any company, you know, look at these three fiduciaries of a leader.

Number one, set the standards often. So have that be something that you're making it very clear to your staff and employees, how to win, that they know regularly, and if any changes occur, they know that too, on how to win with you. Number two, inspect what you expect. So whether you're using key performance indicators or some type of reporting out from that employee or whether you, in fact, are checking in on that staff member, that employee, or those agents, inspect what those standards are and what you expect from them. And number three, create the environment for success.

create the environment, the training, the tools, the, you know, what it is, the technology, what it is that's going to allow them to succeed. And then number four, be attached to perfecting and working in the process, not the outcome. And so just understanding that if you are, you know, looking at the process and if you are able to just perfect and get a little better at that each day or maybe move the needle on any projects that you're working on, don't only look at the project, the final outcome and just understand that as you go, you can get joy and you can get validation. You can get wins as you go along. And then jump in, raise your hand.

Learn as you implement. And so just know that you're never going to be perfectly ready for any new opportunity or whatever it is that you're looking for. If you're feeling that you are ready for something next or you're thinking enough that you want to do it, you probably are ready. And no one is going to be perfectly ready for any new opportunity in their life.

Just be willing to jump in, raise your hand, do the thing, and then, you know, learn and pivot and implement as you go forward. And then the last thing that Viettaught us is make one promise to yourself. each day that you will keep for the next day. She talked a lot about gaining trust for yourself, being, you know, in integrity with yourself, and just getting the power that comes when you are having full alignment with who you are and with who you know yourself to be. So for her, it was even something as simple as making the bed, just understanding that I'm going to get up tomorrow and I'm going to do this,

whether that's a walk or a workout or, you know, cleaning something or preparing something. or spending some time on a project that you have been putting aside, but just knowing that you can make the promise to yourself the day before, and you will keep it no matter what, these little things build pathways in your mind that let you know that you are accountable, that you are someone that can be trusted. And when you're doing the opposite of that and you're saying, oh, I'm going to work out tomorrow, but you don't.

Over and over again, you're actually building the inverse pathways in your mind. and then you get to think that you can't trust yourself. So learning to train that muscle of trust, even on the little things, can have big impacts as you go forward in your life. So visit our website to find our episode guide and worksheet that will help you use these tips to take action in your own lives and businesses. Like and subscribe and join us everywhere podcasts are streamed. We can't wait to bring you.

you more incredible content every week so that you can rise in your own lives and careers again. Thank you so much, Heather Manzi, signing off.