Behind The Mic with Christan Bosley

We're turning the tables and putting our host, Christan Bosley, in the guest seat for conversation about the experiences, challenges, lessons, and values that have shaped her journey. From growing up in a real estate family to leading one of Toronto's most respected independent brokerages. 

We'll go beyond the title to explore the person behind the Bosley name, what drives her today, and the impact she hopes to have on the people around her. 

Because behind every leader is a story, and today, we're telling hers. 

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Transcript

Johanna Pigeon 0:00

Welcome back to Like a Bos. I'm Johanna Pigeon, and no, I am not your regular host. We're turning the tables and putting our host, Christan Bosley, into hot seat. She spent the last year interviewing guests, but today we're asking the questions. We're sharing her story, the experiences, lessons, and values that have shaped her journey from agent to president and broker of record of Bosley Real Estate.

Christan Bosley 0:25

For nearly a century, Bosley has been helping to shape the landscape of Canadian Real Estate. This podcast is an extension of that legacy, our way of staying connected to what matters most to you. Join us as we sit down with leading voices from across the industry and beyond to explore the ideas, trends, and stories that move real estate forward. Whether you're an agent, investor, homeowner, or just curious about the market, there's something here for you. Christan, welcome to your own podcast. Thanks so much for having me today, Joanna. I'm I don't really know what to think about this role reversal, but for those of you that don't know, Joanna is our producer and was the brilliant mind behind launching the podcast as a whole. So thank you for interviewing me. Yeah, this feels weird. Right? It is very strange.

Johanna Pigeon 1:21

How does it feel being over on that side?

Christan Bosley 1:23

I'm not uh I'm not loving it, but you know what? You seem to think it's valuable. So I always take direction from you. You do, and I thank you for that.

Johanna Pigeon 1:31

You just kind of go with a flow. You just show up and you do it, and you always do it so well. Um, none about nothing about this is feels natural. No. It's one of my lifelong business lessons. Do what you're told and do it well. I was gonna ask, how does it feel to be the host? Because the reason why we're doing this today is because it's been a year. I know. That's insane. It's been a year. So um super exciting. You've been the host for a whole year. How does it feel being a podcast host?

Christan Bosley 2:04

Truly, Joanna, it was not something I ever had my sights set on. But how does it feel? You know, honestly, I have learned some really interesting things. I've had a chance to speak to some really great people. And, you know, I'm sure you have an incredible blooper reel that will keep me laughing for decades to come. Okay.

Johanna Pigeon 2:23

Well, we're here today to speak with you, to get to know you. You have interviewed so many people. You're a natural addict, so I will try and do it justice so we can learn a bit more about you. Okay. Let's get right into it. I'm an open book. All right. We're coming from a space of curiosity. My favorite place. I know. All right, so let's start from the beginning.

From Agent to President

Johanna Pigeon 2:47

What's your version of your story? There are, I'm sure, a lot of people who think they understand or know how you became to be the president. But let us know maybe a bit more background on how this all came to be.

Christan Bosley 3:03

Hmm. I mean, where do I start? I grew up, obviously, with real estate as a hot topic of conversation around the dinner table. I grew up with two parents who were actively engaged, not just in the business as we know it today, but also in larger organized real estate, which I'm sure those of you who follow us learned on one of our previous podcasts. I think the part that I always found the most interesting as a younger child was the dynamic of learning about agents, their mindset, how they operate, what their business was actually like. So that's kind of where it started. Of course, I did initially make a very strong decision that I would never go into real estate. So I went to Western and uh played on the golf team because I was more interested in social activities and sports than I was education. I took psychology primarily because the exams were multiple choice.

Johanna Pigeon 4:06

Okay.

Christan Bosley 4:07

I was not a big fan of history or reading or anything of that sort. Um, so yeah, so that's basically how I ended up going through university. My dad called me in third year and told me that he was getting ready to sell the company to a very large Canadian franchise. And at that time I was preparing to, you know, think about maybe starting to move in the direction of law school. And I had a really strong uh physical reaction, interestingly, to the conversation. Not necessarily an emotional one, but like uh, this is wrong. I felt like it was wrong in my gut. I'm my dad's only child. My brother had been offered a couple of different opportunities to get into the business and had decided it was not right for him for personal reasons. And uh, so I figured, you know, if I'm feeling it in my gut, I should probably give it a try. What's the harm? And truthfully, by the time I was licensed, I was only 21 years old. So in the back of my head, I was like, well, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work and I go do something else, right? Then I got into sales. My mom was my boss. That was quite possibly one of the most challenging chapters of my career for a variety of different reasons. Mothers and daughters have challenging relationships to begin with. And my mother had exceptionally high expectations and standards to meet at all times. And because of those standards, she made sure to pair me with two or three mentors who truly guided me to be, I think, the realtor and the person that I am in business today. Keith Tarzwell was one of them, uh, who I know you were very close with. And uh Richard McNutt, my previous business partner, had a had a massive amount to do with how I operated in the sales scheme of things. And then how did I get to where I am today? I think it was a natural progression. Uh, there were some bumps in the road as my parents were trying to step back more and more. And then, you know, a global pandemic hit, which required us to go entirely in the direction of full tech. My parents were late 60s, early 70s. It just wasn't going to be possible. So, regardless of whether or not I wanted to step in at that time, um, it was happening. So that's how I got there.

Johanna Pigeon 6:37

Law school, could you imagine if you have taken that path?

Christan Bosley 6:40

No, I'd be broke. I'd probably still be living in my first condo. I would live a completely different life.

Johanna Pigeon 6:47

Yeah. So the path that you ended up following ended up being the right one.

Christan Bosley 6:54

I think that where I am today is the right place for me. I wouldn't say that the sales journey and the experience that I had was the right fit. Financially, it was great. It was, I was very good at it. I enjoyed many aspects of it. I did not love the person that I became to be successful at it.

Johanna Pigeon 7:19

Sales is a whole other I'm gonna say beast, but it's a whole different environment. It's yeah, it's amazing. So loved selling, um, but it is exhausting.

Christan Bosley 7:37

Yeah, you burn out very quickly when you're at the top of your game. And you I found near the end of my sales career that I was finding myself in positions to compete strongly with people that I really respected and loved as humans. And I don't I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to do it.

Johanna Pigeon 8:00

So you find where you are now, it's more of a natural fit as to who you are with a psychology background.

Christan Bosley 8:06

Yeah. I'm competing on a on a corporate level, right? I'm not competing against my best friends. Yeah, that's hard. You know, it's a very different approach.

Johanna Pigeon 8:16

It's great to have the relationships and sales that like serves you and goes a long way when you're negotiating, but it's still tough.

Christan Bosley 8:23

I was very fortunate to have a lot of really good friends that got into real estate either at the same time or and they all worked at different companies, which was also really interesting. But because we were all so close, we knew what our strengths and weaknesses were. And, you know, sales changes people. I truly believe that. I see it with top agents all the time.

Johanna Pigeon 8:45

Well, I'm happy that you're in this position and we get to work together as well. Yes. Um, so along the path, I'm sure there's probably a lot of things people just assume. Certain things about that, this path that you the path that you've taken. Um, what about that that just isn't true? I'm sure you've heard potentially some things. What about that you're just like, no, that's not how how it happened?

Christan Bosley 9:12

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised. I don't know this for certain, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of our newer realtors and the newer realtors to the industry don't necessarily have a full picture of how I came to be here. Um, you know, there's very little understanding of the fact that I worked at the front desk. We had one of our part-timers go to the bathroom the other day, and I walked up and there were like three lines ringing, and I just picked up the phone as three of our agents were walking out of the front office, and everybody looked at me like, what could you possibly be doing answering the phone? And it was just like coming home. Like, I knew the lines, I knew how to work the systems, I forwarded the calls, I registered the offers, and they were like, What are you doing? I was like, I worked at the front desk for 10 years. I trained people to work at the front desk. So I think that there's a real misperception about how I got to be where I am today amongst the newer realtors. Because we are such a long-standing company, we do have a really good group of realtors who distinctly remember me starting in sales. And man, it was tough. You know, you're you're the boss's daughter, you're 21 years old in the most competitive industry in Toronto, really, in my opinion. And um, and you have everybody watching, right? So I think those people understand that, you know, I built my business on cold calling, like literally calling random numbers, introducing myself. And not only did I cold call, my mom actually made me cold call from a desk in the middle of the bullpen so that every agent in the office could hear me doing it.

Johanna Pigeon 10:51

I don't know what to say about that, except that just sounds absolutely terrifying.

Christan Bosley 10:55

Yeah, but you know what? Like, what's the worst that can happen? There's that, right? What's the worst that can happen? What's the worst that can happen? You know, at the end of the day, if I fail, every agent in that office knows that I tried on my own. They know concretely that I'm not being handed leads. We always had a very strict policy in my household that if one of my parents' contacts called them, that they would distribute it to the person who was going to close the deal. And at 21 years old, it was not me. Uh, it took probably seven years in business before one of their friends called me directly. Um, and that was kind of sort of a game-changing moment. But truthfully, of the business that I did in my last five years in sales, maybe 4% of it came from my family's sphere of influence.

Johanna Pigeon 11:46

So I've I saw you. I think you actually were at the front desk when I was selling at Dan Forth. So I saw the growth, I saw the journey, I saw the path. Um, and even though sales was may not have been the right fit, I think a lot of learnings from your sales you actually do bring into our education and how to pass on to a skill set that you did learn to our agents, um, which has been super valuable. So um I think it's great that we actually get to see a bit more or hear about how your journey and your path was. So our newer agents and whoever our listeners actually do get to understand that you do know from the ground up, right? Um, knowing all the facets of running a brokerage. There's a lot of moving parts.

Christan Bosley 12:30

Yeah, literally the only place I have not worked is in the financial office, and everybody should be grateful for that. Yes.

Johanna Pigeon 12:39

I feel like I've heard that once or twice.

Christan Bosley 12:41

Yes.

Johanna Pigeon 12:42

I still stand by every podcast I've been mentioned.

Christan Bosley 12:45

It is critically important that people know that Michelle runs the finances. Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 12:51

Um so I think a lot of people do have like an idea or they think they know who you are, but based on what you just said, what's the one thing that people would be most surprised to learn about you?

Christan Bosley 13:13

I don't know how to say this without sounding strange. Okay. But I will be honest, I have done a lot of reflecting over the last five years. Life has not been as easy as I would like it to be. Um, my personal life. Professionally, it's been great. Um I think what I've come to realize in reflecting over the years is that I have been exceptionally well trained at meeting expectations. How much of that is me and how much of it is training is questionable. So there are people here who truly know me, and there are people who know the version of me that I bring to work every day. Right. And they are two entirely different things.

Johanna Pigeon 14:05

I totally want to drill into that some more. But I feel like we must move on. Probably for the best. Maybe later. We'll see if other things come out as we continue the conversation.

Christan Bosley 14:21

There are, you know, there are similarities, there are consistencies between the two versions, of course. You know, I believe in transparency and honesty, and I always tell people what I think. I mean, there's a lot of that that holds on both sides. But, you know, like when I go home, do not ask me to make any decisions, right? Like, I will do what I'm told. It's easier that way. And I just want to relax, and there's all sorts of different things that I do in my personal life that, you know, probably a lot of would surprise a lot of people.

Johanna Pigeon 14:54

Potentially. Um, but having your downtime at home away, as I mean, that's the only way to recharge. I mean, when a brokerage is like I said, a lot of moving parts, a lot of big decisions being made. So having a downtime and having your personal personal life and keeping it personal is very valid. Yes. Um in the woods, preferably. In the woods by yourself with your family. Maybe. Okay. Depends on the day. Okay. Um, let's say yes, run out.

Bosley Leadership & Culture

Johanna Pigeon 15:22

Um, so over the years, and let's say from like some 10 years ago, um, is there a belief that you held on to so strongly back then that you completely changed your mind on?

Christan Bosley 15:39

Honestly, I've been reflecting on this question, and I really don't think there is. I think that Tom and Ann instilled in me the real significance of making sure that everybody you are in a room with understands that they are valued and appreciated humans. And I think all of the different ways that I've learned to do that follow through in everything I do. And I don't know that there's anything beyond that belief that I've ever really dug my heels into.

Johanna Pigeon 16:12

All right.

Christan Bosley 16:12

So it's solid foundation.

Johanna Pigeon 16:14

Yeah. Love that. Really strong core values. Well, knowing your parents, I 100% believe that and seen that in action. So that's kind of nice, actually.

Christan Bosley 16:24

Thank you. Yeah, that was a tough question though. I was like, I don't think I have anything here. Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 16:30

Great. Um, so Bosley, their name, their brand. What does that personally mean to you?

Christan Bosley 16:39

Well, interestingly, I think that kind of circles back to what we just talked about, right? So Bosley for me is certainly reflects our core values, right? The Bosley brand carries with it a legacy that I would never want to shift. That legacy of operating with integrity, of being well trained, of being professionals, of knowing what we're doing, and just being an approachable, friendly brand, right? So to me, I think that's what the Bosley brand stands for. I, you know, as I said, I did have the privilege of watching my parents grow up in it. I watched it with my grandfather and my great uncle. I've watched it with my dad. It's quite clear to me that this company becomes almost 100% of your identity as the Bosley running it. And one of the things that I have always focused on, certainly over the last five years, is this can't just be my identity. You know, I need to be able to at some point retire or hand it down to my children or sell it or have that option without coming out the other side and saying, oh my God, who am I now? Right. So for me, the Bosley brand is yes, it's who I am. Uh truthfully, there are many times outside of this business that I go by my husband's last name. Um it's definitely who I am. It's ingrained. I have such immense pride of being part of it and having an opportunity to further it. But it's also not who I am. And I think that the values that support the Bosley brand are absolutely who I am intrinsically, but the company is not necessarily that.

Johanna Pigeon 18:31

And I think that's very important. That's actually a really good point, because whether it's Bosley or I think you mentioned earlier with selling is just your identity. Yeah. Right. Just remember who you are, your foundation, your values, right? So yes, Bosley has that, but you as a person, you have to remember who you are to stay grounded.

Christan Bosley 18:52

Absolutely. And I think that goes back to the, you know, Christan at work that meets expectations and keeps everybody elevated as much as possible. And then there's the Christan at home, which is, you know, I spend a lot of time reflecting on my purpose and what I'm here to do and how I want to make people feel, how I want to be remembered at the end of my life. Um, and truthfully, I think that that's probably unique for my family at some point.

Johanna Pigeon 19:23

I don't know how to finish that because that was just so well said. Thank you. And I'm not even gonna cry about it like I normally would. A little tear. You're holding it back. Holding back a little bit. It was so lovely to hear that, actually. So thank you for sharing. Um, so we're gonna move into the evolution from agent to president.

Christan Bosley 19:42

Okay.

Johanna Pigeon 19:43

So if you look back, and we did touch on your sales career and going back as to what that looked like, and what did you get completely wrong during that sales career? And what did that teach you?

Christan Bosley 20:02

Yeah. Listen, I think I've indicated quite clearly I was a completely different person when I was in sales. Okay. I am strong type A, dominant personality. I take up the air in every room I walk into. I am the most competitive person you will ever meet. Losing was not an option. Um, and people disliked me greatly for it. Uh, and as a result, between that and being the boss's daughter and the relationship I had with my mom at the time, coming to work was like put on your bulletproof vest, get to your office as quickly as you can, don't talk to anybody, put your head down, do your work, leave. So I had really not developed very many relationships within our Bosley team at all, to be honest. And we also at the time my parents had been trying to step back. They had hired an interim general manager that was not working out. Um, we had issues internally as well, just on based on how he was running the company and my parents' absence at the time. So there was a lot of strife. And and I would say the last three years of my sales career, I spent a great deal of time just putting my head down and staying out of the fray. And that made things really difficult when I was all of a sudden like, you know, my dad let the GM go. He gave me four days' notice before it was like, oh, you're done with sales and now you're here. Um, and truly I'll never forget it because I had just bought myself a new set of golf clubs and I was like overjoyed. I was gonna spend all summer golfing. And I was walking to work at our previous Glen Forest location, and I got a call from my dad saying, Well, you, you know, you start on Monday, and I think it was Wednesday.

Johanna Pigeon 21:59

Four days.

Christan Bosley 22:00

Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 22:00

Okay.

Christan Bosley 22:01

And um, and I was still selling. I was in the top five of the company at the time. I was like, well, I had two young children at home. Um, it was a really, it was a moment for me, for sure. And uh one that I was like, okay, well, I'm either gonna make it or break it, right? Like obviously he knows where I am, he's prepared to take the risk. So we'll see how that goes. But I mean, I had to go and run my first meeting, uh, taking over an office where the GM had had been removed. So people had feelings about that. Then the boss's daughter is stepping in, and oh, she's still selling and she's wrapping up her career. And oh my God, she is literally like the most unkind person in the world because I had not talked to anybody for years. Um, and so yeah, I would say that was a real pivotal moment for me of hmm, I maybe should have thought to the future of what this transition was going to look like and tried to make more of an effort instead of putting my head down and focusing on my family and my sales career. I missed that point. Oh, I had no idea.

Johanna Pigeon 23:10

Because you're a people person, you like to interact, you like to like connect with people. So I'm that comes as a bit of a shock.

Christan Bosley 23:19

I connected very well with my clients. And I am a very good people person. I can play that very well. And I am just as introverted as I am extroverted. And when I'm not comfortable and I don't see a value in it, I won't do it. It's time to go home. Yeah. And I didn't have the foresight to see the value. Interesting. Yes. Okay. But now I was also like 20, I was 30. Right. I was 30. So I'd been selling for 12 years. I had two young kids. There's only so much time, you know? Yep. So there were a lot of reasons for that.

Johanna Pigeon 23:56

Okay, so four days. The next thing on here we have like when and how the transition happened. Obviously, we just talked about that. Um so now knowing a bit more the background on that, how did it like what did you change super quick? What did you implement? What skill set do you have to like really mean upscale instantly for that transition?

Christan Bosley 24:21

I spent those four days, and excuse my language, but that's who I am. I spent those four days preparing myself to eat shit for probably two, if not three years. Yeah. Right? Like I just knew that for me to effectively step into this position, I needed to be open. I needed to listen. I needed to hear the feedback, I needed to take the time to process it and make the changes I needed to make for people to trust me. I needed to put action behind my words to build the trust. And if I wasn't prepared to sit there and be quite miserable for at least 12 to 18 months before things started turning around, then I didn't think I should take the position. Did it take as long as you thought?

Johanna Pigeon 25:14

No. Because I was so I was on still selling at the time when No, actually, no, I I was management. You were in management. Um, but it felt like the transition was quite natural and it seemed to float, and everyone seemed to really be on board.

Christan Bosley 25:33

There were some things that happened in the background that I truly didn't understand until a short time ago, right? So things that I didn't understand, you know, David Fleming, our number one agent, had been pushing Tom to make the decision along with Patrick Rocca, who was our number two agent. So I had the support of at least half of our executive committee, which I definitely did not realize at the time. I also failed to recognize how, I mean, I knew it. Part of my problem with the previous GM was the lack of uh consistency in the core values. And the company in a very short period of time turned from a family, beautiful culture company to a much more corporate company. Right. And so I think that when I came in, I failed to recognize that maybe it wasn't just me that felt that way. And so while people were very uncertain about how this was gonna go, and there were certainly lots of people rooting for me to fail, there was also a very strong number of people who kind of breathed a sigh of relief of, oh, maybe this means the family values are gonna come back.

Johanna Pigeon 26:41

There was a lot of people on my end that I heard who were full support and were super excited for the change. And to this day, they still have your full attention.

Christan Bosley 26:55

Yeah, I mean, listen, I'm very privileged. And and I didn't realize that when I stepped in, right? Because as many of those people as I was privileged to have, I also had a whole bunch of people who were like, oh, you don't you know nothing about this, right? Meanwhile, I'd been sitting at the management table for like at least five years. I knew the inner workings of the company, I'd been at every level there could possibly be, but I do believe that having the support of the top agents filtering down was probably one of the most critical turning points for that was, I think, a great gift. Yeah. And I I also would say that I had support from probably half of the leadership team. I mean, you were on it, so it would be interesting to get your take on what that was for. But but, you know, I have turned over a significant number of leaders on that leadership team since I took over and made it more of my team rather than Tom's, so that some of that kind of pushback is, you know, we're all very collaborative now. But I would, you know, I would think that that would be a very hard transition for the leadership team as well, because many of the people on the team at that time had seen me grow up through the company since I was five, right? Like I started working in the company when I was five, and now all of a sudden it was like, well, hold on, now you're my boss. It's like, yeah, no, it's uncomfortable for me too, actually.

Johanna Pigeon 28:12

Right. Yeah. But I think your approach to it as well was very much collaborative, more of like, let me hear what you have to say. It was never just do as I say, right? Or like do what I tell you to do. So I think that in itself kind of shows who you are as a person and your your leadership style to get to where you are and have a team that is working together to get to like the collective.

Christan Bosley 28:34

And I would say that I learned that skill in sales. For sure. Because, you know, I went into sales like every new agent goes into sales, desperate for the sale. I'm working for you, you tell me what to do. You know, like I was an order taker. And and it took me that kind of five to seven years under my belt to be like, oh no, no, I need to actively listen. I need to understand what they want. We need to meet in the middle. This is a partnership. This, you know, in order for things to be successful, everything needs to be a partnership. There really is nothing that bothers me more than when somebody calls me their boss. Like it just drives me nuts because I'm like, no, we we work together. Right. Right? Like, I I'm not doing this by myself. You're you shouldn't be doing your role by yourself. We work as a team, right? Well, it's felt. Oh, good. Yay. Love that. Keep going. And I'm highly inappropriate. So people tend to laugh a lot.

Johanna Pigeon 29:24

Uh it just makes it more endearing, kind of more relatable. You know, so you don't you can show up to work and actually enjoy going to your work environment versus like, okay, I better watch what I say or do, right? Yes, obviously, you're at work. However, be able to just show up at work, enjoy what you're doing, and have fun while you're doing it, I think is key. And I think through all previous family.

Christan Bosley 29:48

Well, that's one of the values that's been passed down, right? And I think that was lost in the previous interim is that have fun and make money. And if you're not having fun, we're gonna change it.

Johanna Pigeon 29:57

Yeah. Just Tom.

Christan Bosley 29:59

You can't all the time. You can't be successful in what you're doing if you're not enjoying it. Then it becomes a job. Yeah, right. No.

Johanna Pigeon 30:06

We're not here for that. No. Um, so you did mention about um maybe some people not having their full support. Is there at any point in time where there was maybe some feedback that was maybe not so kind or not as positive that maybe came as a surprise, but was actually fair?

Christan Bosley 30:28

I mean, again, I find that to be a tough question because I am a highly self-reflective person and I have spent many years in therapy. So there really are, I don't think anyone has ever said anything to me that I'm like, what? Like normally I'm like, yeah, no, that's fair. That's right. You're totally right on that. Uh, and it could be any number of different things, right? So I don't know that there's any part of any point of constructive feedback or anything. Perhaps there was one moment during the pandemic where I played a video that to me had a much larger message, but the way the message was delivered uh reflected poorly on some societal issues that were happening at the time. And I had a very lengthy conversation with one of our agents who was really quite um like constructive and informative. And it was a beautiful conversation. It was a difficult conversation, but I learned a lot. And uh, I'm not gonna outline exactly what the topic was, but honestly, I I think that one of the things that I'm most proud of is that people don't tend to hold back around me. If I've stepped out of line, they'll tell me. I'll apologize, I own it. But I also feel like because of that, it kind of runs through our entire culture and we learn a lot from it and develop a lot of respect. So I don't have any one particular instance beyond that one.

Johanna Pigeon 31:55

All right.

Christan Bosley 31:56

Yeah. I like that.

Johanna Pigeon 31:58

I know you're very self-reflective. So um I feel like anything that may have come along your way, you would do kind of like one, it may not come as a surprise. I've probably stayed up many nights thinking about it. But then you also take the steps to improve on it, right? Like the growth mentality, the growth mindset. I know for you is like a huge part in everything you do.

Christan Bosley 32:19

So I would like to be a better person every day. Yep. That's my goal. Doesn't always play out that way, but I try.

Johanna Pigeon 32:28

Is there any point in time from the transition to now that you're just like, what did I do? Yeah, what did I get myself into? So many times. And like, what was that? If there is a an example or and like what how did you resolve that? Like how what was the what was the outcome?

Christan Bosley 32:51

Listen, I think that I'm highly effective in the position that I'm in because fear doesn't seem to enter the equation in my brain. It's like the the part of my brain that should be like, you should really think that through, like, doesn't exist for me. Um I operate almost solely on gut. Um, I really do. And, you know, I'm fortunate to have surrounded myself with people who will ask me the questions and challenge the assumptions. But as a result of that, I mean, there are so many times that I've jumped in and looked back and been like, what? What am I doing? How did I get here? So, like, you know, the pandemic, yeah. I had so I had quietly started running the company in 2018 behind my dad. When the pandemic hit, my dad again, no big deal, with 24 hours notice, said to me, Hey, honey, um, it's not gonna be me that closes the doors in the middle of a global pandemic after a 55-year run. So over to you. And it will be announced in real estate magazine next week. Bye. Literally, that's how I was promoted publicly to president. And uh, and he did, he put the whole publicity thing on saying that, you know, the next generation had succeeded him. So that happened in 2020. The pandemic obviously hit. We weren't sure whether we were going to be deemed essential or not. And I'm sitting there holding the bag with five buildings and 300 agents, and my dad, who's like, good luck, tell me how to work Zoom, you know. Um, so yeah, that was terrifying um and exhausting. And I honestly, as everybody's at home learning how to make sourdough, I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life. I would say the second time I had that was the uh Trillium West acquisition. I had worked on that for probably two, just over two years. And uh after the acquisition closed, you know, my mom passed like two weeks after it was announced. And everything that we had planned, I couldn't execute on for a variety of different reasons. And I I do recall waking up one day saying, maybe I should just backtrack a little bit here. Um, but at the end of the day, that's just not who I am. I made a commitment, I made a commitment to the people there, I made a commitment to my team here. And um, you know, resiliency is important. So we just keep going and hope it works out.

Johanna Pigeon 35:23

Yeah. Well, I mean, you had a vision, you have a plan. Absolutely. And, you know, things usually work out how they should. And having a team out there is a great value to massive us here, and vice versa.

Christan Bosley 35:39

Yeah. I think it's, you know, that that acquisition in particular I found difficult, obviously, because of personal circumstances, but also we're a family company. And to me, that means that I want to know our agents. Right. And I couldn't spend the time that I wanted to spend out there to get to know and build trust and, you know, get everybody moving in a really good positive direction. So it's taken a bit longer than I was hoping for obvious reasons, but we're there now and it's exciting, and you know, I'm looking forward to the future.

Johanna Pigeon 36:13

And I think that kind of goes into the next section we have here on uh the leadership and culture component of it. And one thing that is always mentioned or said is that the agent is our client. Like what does that mean? And what does that actually look like in practice?

Christan Bosley 36:31

Mm-hmm. Okay. Well, when I first took over, there was always this dichotomy between, you know, who is our client? Is it the client of the agent or is it the agent? And I found that at every conversation we were having, every juncture where we were trying to move forward, there was this push and pull between who's our client, right? And so eventually, you know, my multitasking brain was like, I can't, I have too many things I want to do for these people and too many things I want to do for these people, and I can't bring it to one direction. So at some point, uh, you know, Michelle and I looked at each other, my VP of finance, and just said, I said, you know what? Enough. The customer is the agent's client. And yes, we need to have enough brand recognition and brand presence for the customer to feel confident in the brand. But at the end of the day, I want our brand to stand for really professional agents who are well trained, who can do their job with confidence and with all of the services and products that we can provide them to help build their business. So, you know, one of the things that I always say to agents is when you join us, it's not about leads. We're not giving you leads. Go to property.ca. That's not our business model. We teach you how to build, grow, sustain, and succeed your business all the way through. And because we are 98 years old, we have so much experience with agents who truly, you know, we lovingly call it the Bosley Vortex. They come in and they never leave. And we're very, in many respects, very lucky to have that. In many other respects, those agents tend to be challenging because they don't know any different. Um, but to me, that's what it means. You know, our my goal is to provide everything possible to our agents to help them succeed in achieving their goals.

Johanna Pigeon 38:18

And also, I think that just creates that culture. It goes back to the culture and also like the wealth information that is shared, right? That collaborative environment.

Christan Bosley 38:28

I think that's a huge part of it. And also, you know, I have mentioned that I'm a little competitive. I do believe that you are who you surround yourself with. Absolutely. Absolutely. And people who are meeting their goals and succeeding in life as they have planned want to be around people who are doing the same thing. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 38:49

Especially in this environment. You know, it's kind of that's the people you want to be surrounding yourself with.

Christan Bosley 38:53

Yeah, absolutely.

Johanna Pigeon 38:54

Um,

The Industry, The Future & Legacy

Johanna Pigeon 38:55

so as Bosley has grown and growing um, with going outside of Toronto, now we have we're in Niagara region, Collinwood, Southern Georgian Bay, now in Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph area. What is the one thing you never want Bosley to lose?

Christan Bosley 39:12

So hands down, the culture, the family feels. So while the company has grown bigger now that, you know, I am starting to hear the sentiment of, you know, we're bigger, we're we're growing too big. Like we, you know, we hear that every once in a while. To me, it's about fostering that family culture in every individual branch. So I believe that that's really strongly important. I never want to lose that. I also never want to lose the ability for me to walk into a room and know everybody's name. And I mean, I will get older at some point and that will become challenging. But, you know, it's not that I know everybody's name. It's that I know most people, like, you know, 85%. I know their stories, you know, I know what motivates them. I know about their family. I know about what their goals are, I know about where their pain points are. And uh, you know, at some point I recognize that that does become unsustainable for me, but it's an important part of what it means to be part of the Bosley family, right? That that we care enough to not just know your name, that we want to know what makes you tick.

Johanna Pigeon 40:21

Well, it's what makes Bosley Bosley. That's what we're known for.

Christan Bosley 40:26

Yeah. And truthfully, I have such an incredible leadership team that, you know, in the instances where I do go into an office, I will run into the manager first thing, and the manager will say X, Y, and Z about this person and this person and this person, so that I can at least go up and say, you know, congratulations on your baby or congratulations on that deal. Because to me, it's about making that person feel valued and appreciated, right? And it's those little things that make a big difference. The personal touch. Right. It's all about the human connection.

Johanna Pigeon 40:55

Absolutely. Um, and as we grow and making those connections, recruiting agents in a future, whether it's here or just in general, what qualities do you think matter most for agents?

Christan Bosley 41:13

There's only one quality that matters. Well, two. The first one, in my opinion, is emotional intelligence. Like if you do not have emotional intelligence as we continue to move into the future of what this industry looks like, honestly, I'll just sell my house with AI. You know, I think emotional intelligence is the most critical skill you can have, followed very closely by an open growth mindset. Because you can't just focus on the real estate transaction anymore. The real estate conversation needs to be a much bigger part of a larger portfolio and client goal conversation. And that requires you to know a lot more outside the transaction, right? It requires you to understand how to dig into what your client's goals are, what their future looks like, how you can help, how this purchase can help them get to their next purchase 10 years from now, right? And, you know, if we're not providing that level of foresight and consideration, then, you know, there are going to be flat fee realtors that can do the transaction or lawyers that can do the paperwork or AI that can, you know, do it for free. That's not why you're gonna hire a realtor now or in the future, in my personal opinion.

Johanna Pigeon 42:26

Well, the it's still an emotional transaction.

Christan Bosley 42:29

Absolutely.

Johanna Pigeon 42:30

Right. So that will never go away. Humans will still be humans and make those connections are way more important in today's world. 100%. Right. So if anyone wants to tap into something, like focus on that.

Christan Bosley 42:43

Yeah, 100%. And I do think that if we're focusing on the people that have emotional intelligence, they're going to fit into the culture because they're going to be able to read a room, you know, they're going to be able to fit in with all different types of people. Right. Like that, you know, I I kind of commented about my ability to meet expectations. I am the ultimate chameleon, no matter who I'm sitting in front of, because that's what I learned in sales. And you have to, you have to be able to present yourself that way to be comfortable in front of anyone you're sitting in front of, right? Right. So what does success mean for you today? I mean, from a company perspective, it means that we are the number one independent in every region we operate within. And to me, that comes down to yes, market share because we are a business, but it also comes down to the agent sentiment. If you're an agent in that marketplace, I want you to always consider interviewing with Bosley because it wouldn't be an option not to, right? And you might not always decide to join us, but you would certainly never make a move without exploring it. So that's what success means to me from a business standpoint. From a personal standpoint, success is just peace of mind. And being content with what you have and not um constantly yearning for more. That's what I would say.

Johanna Pigeon 44:11

And I think that would just continue moving forward in your journey, your path. Yes. Love that. So we're nearing the end of our podcast. We've gone, I think, very long. There's actually a whole page here that you do not know about. Nor does our videographer. Um, I'll ask you a couple of questions because I did ask a few people in the office if there was one question that they would like to ask you.

Christan Bosley 44:39

Okay.

Johanna Pigeon 44:40

Yeah.

Christan Bosley 44:40

This'll be fun.

Johanna Pigeon 44:41

Yep. You can guess who maybe some of these uh questions came from. Okay. Um, but one was walk us through a day in a life of Chris and Bosley. If you can say it's just like one short sentence. One short sentence.

Christan Bosley 44:57

Me and them. So I start my day with me always in silence. I meditate for 20 minutes, I exercise, I focus on taking my supplements and eating my protein and all the things that you need to do to stay healthy and grounded. Uh I get about an hour and a half of that in my day, period. And then the rest of my day is about everybody else. It's about my kids, it's about my family, it's about my family here, it's about making sure that the people in my world have what they need to succeed every day. And then I go to bed and do it all over again.

Johanna Pigeon 45:34

But you start with making sure your well is full.

Christan Bosley 45:37

I put my mask on first. Great. Yes.

Johanna Pigeon 45:41

Excellent. Okay, next question. What would you tell your 30-year-old self?

Christan Bosley 45:47

Run into the woods and never come back. No, I'm just with or without a family.

Johanna Pigeon 45:55

TBD on that.

Christan Bosley 45:56

No, at 30, I would have already had my kids. Uh, I certainly have no regrets there. I have a beautiful family. Um, but no, you know, it's really tough. It's tough. And it's tough to balance uh business and personal life. So I think that if I were to look back on my 30-year-old self, I don't know that I would do anything differently. I'm very proud of where we are today. Uh, but I would try and find some more time to rein back my competitive spirit a little bit to allow me to enjoy a bit more balance.

Johanna Pigeon 46:37

Mm-hmm. Okay. Another one, the biggest leap you've taken. The biggest leap I've taken? Whether it's professionally or personally.

Christan Bosley 46:46

Oh, you mean taking over the company in the middle of a global pandemic didn't do it, huh? That's fine. Um, hey, I got married. You know? Um biggest leap. Honestly, uh, I don't know because I don't consider things like that. Okay. Right? I'm just like, oh, I want to do that. I'm gonna do that. Yeah, I think it's right. It feels right, I'm gonna do it. Right. And you just keep going and moving forward and just trust it.

Johanna Pigeon 47:10

It's you've done the right thing and you can keep going. If it doesn't work out, you just own it and try something else. Right. Well, yeah. Love that. Um, do you have an updated will one guess who asked that question? I'm not answering that question.

Christan Bosley 47:24

I can't believe he put that on there.

Johanna Pigeon 47:28

I'm like, eh. Um okay, so I think one of the other ones we've kind of already touched on.

Closing Questions

Johanna Pigeon 47:34

So we'll move on to your favorite part. So I'm gonna start with your favorite question. I'm surprised you can't answer these questions for me. I might be able to, but I want to hear them from you.

Christan Bosley 47:44

Okay.

Johanna Pigeon 47:45

First question I know you absolutely love to ask what brings you joy?

Christan Bosley 47:49

So many things. This is the problem. I can't sum it down to one thing. What brings me joy? My children, golf, yoga, meditation, reading, uh, the woods, many different things bring me joy. Yeah, I'm gonna leave it there. Okay. My friends, my colleagues. Uh, like I have a massive joy. I have a massive community. I have so much joy in my life. I'm really, really privileged.

Johanna Pigeon 48:14

That's great.

Christan Bosley 48:15

Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 48:16

That's uh, you know, very rich in life. It is all those things. It really is.

Christan Bosley 48:23

Yeah.

Johanna Pigeon 48:23

Um next question, and you did touch on it. You love to read. What is on your reading list? What are you currently reading? That's a great question. I can see it.

Christan Bosley 48:32

I couldn't tell you the name of it.

Johanna Pigeon 48:33

Oh.

Christan Bosley 48:34

I'm like, is it here? No. Where do you mean you can see it? I'm a visual person, obviously. Uh I can see it. It's orange. It's on leadership. Actually, our very own Tina Sibald gave it to me. It is next up on my reading list. I am also always reading three books at one time, and I have an e-reader. So please don't ask me the titles because I have no idea. So it's a long list and it's a long list, and I can't sum it down to one because I don't know the titles of any of the books I'm reading. That's very interesting. I will say though, that, you know, as you know, we have a book club. The five types of wealth really resonated with me. And Deepak Chopra, who I hesitate to mention, you know, because of recent events, which is traumatizing for me in a variety of ways. His book on perfect health also resonated with me.

Johanna Pigeon 49:24

I could see that. Yeah. Next question. What's the one lesson you've learned that you wish you knew earlier?

Christan Bosley 49:37

I I think truthfully, I mentioned it earlier in the episode here when I talked about uh understanding that you're working in partnership with people. That you really need buy-in and partnership and understanding uh and common goals to succeed. And I think if I had known that earlier in my sales career, uh maybe I would have stayed in sales. I certainly would have been much more successful out of the gate. Last one.

Johanna Pigeon 50:08

If you were asked to give a TED talk was your topic.

Christan Bosley 50:16

Resilience. I would give a TED talk on resilience, on the importance of routine and getting out of bed every day and working your way through whatever it is you have to work through.

Johanna Pigeon 50:31

I feel like that'd be a really good one. I feel like maybe we should actually do that one. Call it a ballsy dog.

Christan Bosley 50:38

I don't know. Throwing it out there. I'd have to share a lot about my life to do that. TBD. I think resilience is, you know, this is the type of business where your personal life bleeds in a lot. And I'm fortunate to have a huge community here that is well aware of my personal life because we share a lot together. Um, but the support and and ability to be resilient as a result of that support is uh something that I could probably spend a lot of time talking about.

Johanna Pigeon 51:12

We're at the end. Thank you. Thank you.

Christan Bosley 51:16

I hope that was everything you were hoping for today.

Johanna Pigeon 51:19

That and more. We learned quite a few things. Thanks for being a good sport, letting us take over your podcast. And for sharing so openly. Like I said, open book, but I think a lot of people learned a lot today.

Christan Bosley 51:32

You did.

Johanna Pigeon 51:32

You're your look of shock was just a couple things I was like, all right, good to know. Yeah. I thought I knew most of these answers, a couple I didn't. So I was quite curious about them. Um, and I'd like to thank our listeners for tuning in today. And I don't know, do you want to do the sign off?

Christan Bosley 51:49

Do you want to do it together?

Johanna Pigeon 51:50

Let's do it together. Okay. What are we supposed to say? I don't know. I think we're just saying thank you for where's the teleprompter. It's not there. Look, it's written right here. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Like a Pause. Don't worry, she'll be back next time. Until then, thanks for listening. Thanks so much.

Christan Bosley 52:14

Bye for now. Bye for now.

Credits

Christan Bosley 52:18

Thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might find it valuable. We've got more conversations coming your way with incredible guests across design, finance, wellness, tech, and more. All through the lens of real estate. A special thank you to our set design sponsor, StayTrap.