R
eal estate leaders must adopt a new approach to succeed in an increasingly AI-powered world, according to digital collaboration expert Erica Dhawan. At the 2025 T3 Leadership Summit, she emphasized the importance of "connectional intelligence" – driving business results by connecting people more meaningfully across offices, roles, and tools.
Dhawan argued that real estate's lasting edge comes from its deeply human qualities: trust, relationships, and reputation. Leaders who can connect people effectively will be the ones to carve out success in this industry. As she put it, "The future of real estate belongs to leaders who don't just manage – they connect."
To drive performance and culture without resorting to micromanagement, Dhawan outlined four laws of connectional intelligence:
Value visibly: Recognize team members' accomplishments publicly and show them that their contributions matter.
Communicate carefully: Treat digital messages like first impressions by reading them carefully and writing clearly.
Collaborate confidently: Create conditions for ideas to surface from anyone, not just top producers.
Trust totally: Foster courageous conversations and create safety for innovation.
Dhawan also emphasized the importance of humanity in maximizing the value of AI. "Connectional intelligence is what's going to allow us to get ROI out of AI," she said. Her framework for applying AI involves automating routine tasks, augmenting personal interactions, and protecting emotional connections.
Leaders must remember that agents value their autonomy and want a culture that helps them win. Dhawan offered concrete steps to create this culture, including recognizing contributors in public ways, sourcing ideas from unexpected places, segmenting communication by digital style, and letting go of proximity bias.
Ultimately, the key to success lies in activating the human network within an organization. Technology will continue to evolve, but it's the leaders who can connect people effectively that will thrive in this industry.
