Lindsey Sundin

Leadership Measured by the Success of Others

By Robbyn Moore

Photos by Sasha Marceta with Skyview Experts

If there’s one thing to know about Lindsey Sundin, it would be her commitment to leadership. She is a master at her craft with her unique ability to identify opportunities for her real estate team while carefully setting a vision for each agent. She does whatever it takes to help those around her achieve their goals. No matter the circumstance, Lindsey puts her team’s success at the forefront by encouraging them to move out of their comfort zones and into new things. She measures her success by the collective achievements of her group. This is Lindsey’s true passion.

As a team leader at Keller Williams Domain: Luxury Homes International, Lindsey focuses her energy on implementing systems that allow agents to concentrate on the 20% of their activities that yield 80% of their income. “What I aim to do for my agents is provide them with a clear path to success,” Lindsey explained. “When our agents focus on the activities that are best suited to their strengths and leverage the rest of their activities in the most economical way, they see the reward of efficiency in time and results.”

The KW team follows the business model of empowering their agents to scale their business larger than they ever thought possible and see profits far beyond their expectations. “Leadership is showing people the vision, leading by example and coaching them to find the answers within themselves,” Lindsey said. “It is enabling them to see what is possible and providing them with the confidence and belief that they can absolutely get there.”

For 20 years, Lindsey has been in the real estate industry. She started as a support person at a CENTURY 21 office while earning her degree in economics at Oakland University. “I fell in love with real estate immediately and have always gone above and beyond in my roles,” Lindsey recalled. Having essentially spent her college days working in real estate, she was influenced by her first managing brokers, Mike and Nancy Valuet, who were incredible leaders that led the office as a family and exemplified integrity. After they sold the company, Lindsey began reporting to Dennis Terry, who was also a great leader and mentor. At Dennis’ recommendation, Lindsey continued her responsibility as a leader at CENTURY 21 Today. “Without the encouragement from Dennis, I may have moved into a completely different field after college,” Lindsey shared.

After years of garnering experience in relocation, management and office operations, Lindsey helped build a training system at Sotheby’s International Realty. “I developed a program from the ground up that taught new and existing agents how to grow their real estate business,” she said.

In 2018, Lindsey decided to seek out new opportunities for growth in her real estate leadership career. After meeting with Natalie Reed at KW Domain, Lindsey knew she had found her new home. “I instantly had the feeling that this was where I would find my new path. Having always worked for companies where my role was to maximize profit for the owners, I welcomed the opportunity to bring that wealth to the agents through profit share.”

As an advocate for her agents, Lindsey is not afraid to speak up for what she feels is right for the majority. Since moving to KW Domain in December of 2018, the brokerage has 99 additional agents in their sales force, and over the past 12 months, they have surpassed $1 billion in sales.

Lindsey’s fearlessness materialized after some challenging losses where she realized how quickly life can change. “Change doesn’t scare me now,” Lindsey said. “I know that I can rise above adversity and become stronger because of it. I am the type of person who can now change course at the drop of a dime. Nowadays, I see opportunities that would’ve once been perceived as obstacles.”

While Lindsey was growing up, her parents were great influences on who she would later become. “After my parents divorced, my father always told me to do what I love, and my mother instilled in me the importance of taking care of myself and to never depend on anyone else for my financial well-being,” Lindsey shared. “I’m proud to say that I’ve taken both of these lessons to heart and have found a career that excites me to get out of bed in the morning and also provides me the financial freedom to raise my two boys on my own.”

Lindsey said having her two boys — Calan, 11, and Carter, 8 — have defined her path in life. “I never thought I would find myself raising two boys alone, but I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to provide them with the best life. They are my big ‘why’ in life. Every decision I make leads back to what is best for them and our family.”

Along with her two boys and their Boston Terrier, Gatsby, Lindsey enjoys working on art projects, listening to podcasts, reading books, movie nights, bonfires with friends, walks to the park, vacations and days spent with family.

While Lindsey’s motivation in life is her family, she is a nurturer at heart and loves watching her agents blossom as they learn more about their trade and best practices to take their business to the next level. “I am super passionate about arming agents with the tools they need to convey value to their consumers, hold on to their data and protect their full commission,” Lindsey explained. “My focus is to keep the agents at the center of the transaction.”

With the advent of COVID-19, Lindsey took an optimistic approach to her business and immediately found opportunities for her team. In the midst of the pandemic, her team held over 100 training classes a month for their agents, teaching them how to thrive in a changing market, which allowed them to see that continuing to work — even if they didn’t feel the results initially — would provide market share for them later.

“Our greatest transfers of wealth and status in this industry happen during economic shifts,” Lindsey said. “We took an unforeseen situation and turned it into an opportunity to build a bigger business.” Lindsey’s resilience to hardships proved to be the ace in the hole. In 2020, Lindsey’s team took the market by storm as the #1 office in Birmingham/Bloomfield, Oakland County and the entire MLS. “I feel that whenever life has backed me into a corner, I thrive,” she said. “In times of crisis, I double down and come out stronger than I could have ever imagined.”

Lindsey’s role as a team leader has given her the ability to truly change people’s lives. Along with the collective input from her board of agents, who have taken an oath to make decisions that will benefit the majority, Lindsey believes that sharing and giving back are important aspects of their brokerage’s culture. “I do not know of another company that is doing this,” Lindsey said. “Most companies teach that their value proposition lies in the brand, not the agent. Therefore, it’s refreshing to work in a market center where everyone pours into each other and does their best to see that others succeed.”

For Lindsey, the most rewarding aspect of her job is helping agents find their own power on how they want to run their real estate business. “I have the ability to relate with people and help them feel comfortable sharing their goals, dreams and even fears with me, so I can help them get to where they want to be,” Lindsey conveyed. “I do this job because I truly care about my people, and I believe that is what makes me successful.”

Lindsey Sundin - Celebrating Leaders