Teams are often sold as the answer to almost everything in real estate. More support. More leads. More structure. Less risk.

Nervous about starting? Join a team! Don't know where to begin? Join a team!

For many agents, a team really was the answer! They stepped into a team environment and immediately found their home. Their confidence went up. Their income grew or stabilized. They moved faster and felt less alone doing it.

For other agents, this is the exact opposite, and it usually does not have anything to do with pure talent or work ethic.

Sometimes it really is the team

It goes without saying that there are many types of teams. Duos formed with a purpose or a shared market in mind, top producers deciding to branch out, or large almost-corporate groups absorbing and training new agents on the regular. There's no one-size-fits-all, and what worked for one agent won't work for another.

Regardless of the team's structure, one truth remains the same: not all teams are built well.

Some are disorganized or driven by ego instead of leadership. They prioritize the income for the leadership and run a quantity-over-quality approach to bringing on new members. Production to income ratios may be wildly skewed, and the quality of client service (and retention) can collapse.

Others promise support, training, and leads, but deliver undue pressure, noise, and always-changing expectations.

Agents are quick to assume the problem is with them. Often it is not. A poorly run team will drain almost anyone over time, especially agents who care about professionalism, fairness, and consistency.

A good team should make your work cleaner, your skills sharper and your decisions easier. Ask yourself:

  • If there is a hierarchy, does the leadership genuinely care about your improvement?
  • Do these personalities work well together? Great friends can make for terrible work partners.
  • What am I getting out of this team that I couldn't get on my own?

Teams amplify what you already are

Teams are not hard-wired or guaranteed to change how you work, especially if you are already in the industry and are making a switch. They just magnify it.

  • If you enjoy systems, collaboration, and guidance, a team can accelerate your growth. You get more reps and more feedback, and you tend to enjoy the pace.
  • If you are independent, confident, or headstrong, that same environment can feel overwhelming and suffocating. The team does not make you worse. It just puts your natural tendencies under a microscope and often creates a poor environment for you to thrive in.

This is why two equally capable agents can have completely different experiences on the same team.

Pay attention to where your energy comes from

Some agents leave meetings fired up. Others leave needing silence. Some people gain momentum from group wins, shared goals, and constant interaction. Others do their best thinking alone and feel most confident when they control the process.

Neither is right nor wrong. But when your environment constantly pulls from your energy instead of replenishing it, the cost shows up eventually. Usually as burnout, irritability, or complete disengagement.

Did you ever take off the training wheels?

This one's the silent killer. Teams are often excellent places to learn. Scripts, systems, and oversight can help reduce mistakes early on (assuming the mentorship promise was genuine). For many agents, that structure is exactly what allows them to get traction.

The problem comes when the agent never learns beyond the team.

Some agents (the ones likely to relate to this article) outgrow the guardrails but stay inside them anyway. They continue operating at someone else’s pace, inside someone else’s model, using someone else's systems and leads, even though they are capable of more autonomy. And even though they may crave more autonomy, personal recognition, or control over their income.

That is usually the point where agents think they are burned out, when in reality, they are underutilized and likely bored. Now, that agent is faced with the choice of staying where they are or essentially starting over.

Most agents do not need to quit or work harder. They need clarity. Bellamy House coaching focuses on helping agents identify when they have outgrown their current setup and how to move forward without burning everything down.