An Easy Way To Strengthen Team Culture for Real Estate Teams

One night over dinner years ago, my husband and I sat at the table with a team photo in hand, trying to remember details about our team members’ spouses, kids, and pets. Our real estate team had grown rapidly, and while we prided ourselves on being a “family team,” keeping track of personal connections became harder. Those personal touches were part of what made our team special, but scaling had made them more difficult to maintain.

Fast forward over a decade to Ops Boss® Coaching, where we faced the same challenge as our small coaching company grew. Whether you’re leading a top producing real estate team as a Director of Operations or you’re leading a coaching company for directors of operations, keeping that personal touch while scaling is no small feat.

At our Gathering of Unicorns (our annual Ops Boss® Coaching team offsite), we took on this challenge with a creative exercise: Pecha Kucha. Guided by 20 simple prompts, we discovered how this concise storytelling format could transform team connection. (Thanks to our Systems Boss Brooke Wilson for another brilliant idea!) Not only can this be used when scaling, it also works for small teams and is an ideal off site retreat exercise!

What Is Pecha Kucha?

Pecha Kucha (pronounced peh-CHA koo-CHA) is a storytelling format that originated in Japan. It’s simple but impactful: 20 slides, each displayed for 20 seconds, for a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds per presentation/person. Using mostly visuals, it challenges presenters to distill big ideas into concise, meaningful narratives.

For growing teams, whether it’s a real estate team, coaching company or other entrepreneurial business, Pecha Kucha is an engaging way to foster personal connections while maintaining focus.

The 20 Prompts We Used

To make our Pecha Kucha exercise meaningful and fun, we gave our team 20 prompts:

1. Name and Role: Who you are and what you do.
2. Hometown: Where you were born or raised.
3. Education: Alma mater or interesting achievements.
4. Hobbies: Interests outside of work.
5. Favorite Book: Share a favorite read.
6. Favorite Movie/TV Show: What you love to watch.
7. Travel Experiences: A memorable destination or bucket-list trip.
8. Family: Introduce your family or pets.
9. Last Year’s Achievements: Highlight a major personal or work milestone.
10. This Year’s Goals: Share your aspirations for the year ahead.
11. Favorite Quote: Something meaningful or inspirational.
12. Fun Facts: Something unique about you.
13. Role Model: Someone you admire and why.
14. Bucket List: What’s one thing you’d love to do?
15. Food Preferences: Your favorite food or restaurant.
16. Languages: Any languages you speak or want to learn.
17. Favorite App/Tool: A tool or app you can’t live without.
18. Favorite Music: Your go-to artist or genre.
19. Hidden Talents: Something unexpected you’re great at.
20. Closing Slide: A wrap-up and intro to the next presenter.

Why This Exercise Works

These prompts created space for stories all weekend long. Here were a few random things we learned:

• One person had a motorcycle license.
• Two people said they can study in their sleep.
• Another suspended an entire whale skeleton from the ceiling in art school.
• One person is an online minister and has performed 11 weddings for friends.
• Multiple people had the Northern Lights on their bucket lists (One just got back from seeing them 10 months later!)
• One has been to the Oval Office, sat in the President’s chair and spun around in circles (as a kid before she was a Congressional Intern in college).

1. It Builds Connection

You get to see the person behind the title. Learning someone’s favorite food, bucket-list goal, or hidden talent fosters empathy and creates bonds.

2. It Reinforces Team Culture

Whether your team values collaboration, innovation, or family-first principles, Pecha Kucha strengthens those values by celebrating individuality AND commonality.

3. It’s Scalable

This exercise works whether you’re leading a team of five or fifty. You can do it it one sitting. Or do smaller groups of people monthly. New hires? No problem—Pecha Kucha makes onboarding personal and fun.

4. It’s Fun!

The prompts add an element of playfulness, turning team-building into something people look forward to.

How to Incorporate Pecha Kucha Into Your Business

Here’s how you can make Pecha Kucha work for your real estate, operations or leadership team:

1. Choose the Right Setting

Host it during a retreat, offsite, or even a team lunch—any setting where people feel relaxed and open.

2. Provide Clear Guidelines

Use our 20 prompts (or tailor them to your team). Encourage creativity and remind participants to use images rather than text-heavy slides.

3. Simplify the Process

We used JotForm to collect answers and images from the team. For those who were pressed for time, we helped by having our operations team find visuals.

4. Reflect and Celebrate

After the presentations, take time to celebrate the stories shared. Highlight the connections and insights that emerged.

The Impact on Our Team

At Ops Boss® Coaching, this exercise had an incredible impact. We rediscovered our “family” culture, learned surprising things about each other, and laughed—a lot. Whether it was a favorite book or a hidden talent, the stories shared reminded us that we’re not just colleagues. We’re a collection of people with unique passions, quirks, and dreams – with shared values and a vision that one by one by one by one, We change the world.

Ready to Strengthen Your Team Culture?

Scaling doesn’t have to mean losing personal connections. Whether you’re a real estate admin, team leader, director of operations, or executive assistant, Pecha Kucha can help your team stay personal and connected.

Looking for more ways to scale with heart? Check out our coaching programs and training at Ops Boss® Coaching. We’ll help you Dream BIG, Achieve BIG, and IMPACT lives!