Don’t expect Krista Gionet to micromanage. That’s not going to happen. The CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®, and this year's recipient of CREA’s Association Executive Network (AEN) Award of Excellence, prides herself on putting people in positions to succeed. 

Join host Shaun Majumder in conversation with Krista, where she shares what makes a good leader, the role of associations in their respective communities, and why she’s adamant about being a voice for REALTORS®. 

The 2025 AEN Award of Excellence is sponsored by REAL TIME.

Transcript

Shaun Majumder: You're like the Connor McDavid of REALTORS®.

Krista Gionet: The cell phones were like this, and the servers were the size of my office.

Shaun: When I say "micromanaging," you say?

Krista: No, not going to happen.

Shaun: Leadership, it's an important part of every organization. In your industry, in the real estate industry, association executives are very important in bringing people together, working together, connecting with their members. Today, I am so excited because we have a very, very special leader, Krista Gionet. She is the CEO of the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS®. She's been doing it for 36 years. She's aiming to do it for another 15 years. She is a boss.

Krista is the 2025 recipient of the AEN Award of Excellence award. It's amazing. It's so great. In speaking with her, you're going to meet somebody who is driven, passionate about the industry, passionate about her members, passionate about her community. She is unapologetically proud. I think that's something that is so important in a great leader. Today, Krista and I, we talk about leadership.

We talk about the journey. We talk about the changes in the industry. We talk about how she sees it moving forward. We're really excited. I think you're going to love this conversation. Krista Gionet, she is with us here on REAL TIME. I hope you enjoy. Krista Gionet, welcome to REAL TIME. This is very exciting. I'm so excited to talk to you today because we talk a lot in podcasts all over the world about leadership, about leaders. You, listen, I'm talking to 2025 AEN Award of Excellence winner. I'm humbled.

Krista: So am I. So am I.

Shaun: How do you feel? Tell me about this honour and what it means to you, and how does it fit into all the great accomplishments that you've had over the years?

Krista: I think it's huge. Having been in this industry for 36 years this year, I think I'm being recognized by my peers, who are some amazing people. I was very humbled and very emotional. It was very exciting to receive.

Shaun: Awesome, so you have to forgive me. I'm a little ignorant in the world of associations versus individual REALTORS®. Tell me a little bit about the association that you work with and that you're an executive of, and also educate me a little bit on the general Canadian world of all the different associations. You don't have to tell me about all of them, but associations is something that I find very interesting and how really important they are when it comes to the industry.

Krista: Yes, Windsor-Essex, our association, has 1,700 members. I have eight staff. We provide services to our members, whether it be education, technology training, keynote speakers. We have a board of directors. We have several couple of hundred volunteers on committees who all provide input to set us in the direction we want to go.

Shaun: The members are all REALTORS®?

Krista: Correct.

Shaun: You're there to support everything that they're doing?

Krista: Yes, we try to provide all the services that they need for their day-to-day business.

Shaun: Right, right. Obviously, your peers have seen you as one of the greatest leaders in the history of the world of associations. Tell me about that. What does that mean to you as an executive? Actually, tell me a little bit about your trajectory, how you got to where you are now.

Krista: I actually started in the MLS department. I was there for one year, and then I moved up into the confidential secretary to the EO at that time. I became the assistant for 10 years. I basically had came out of high school, so getting the job was a little bit more difficult. I ended up getting my CAE designation through the Canadian Society of Executives. Then I took the Canadian Real Estate Association, CREA, course and then I got the job.

Shaun: Right out of high school.

Krista: Right out of high school. Well, 11 years later.

Shaun: You're like the Connor McDavid of REALTORS®.

Krista: Something like that.

Shaun: In terms of coming right out of high school, you mentioned that, is that something that is not your normal path?

Krista: No, not a normal path. Normally, people have human resources. They have various college or university courses before they enter into something like that. I had the will for it.

Shaun: When you say "the will," tell me a bit about that. From an early on, part of what you saw as your own personal vision, tell me a little bit about how you saw yourself and what trajectory you wanted to go on.

Krista: I think I found it very intriguing. I actually love what REALTORS® do. On a day-to-day basis, finding people homes is one thing, but from the association perspective, seeing how much they give to their communities, how much they volunteer. That is what I think drives me. It's the passion about how much they do for the communities. I really believe that they're ambassadors of their communities. I don't think that the general public know this as much.

Shaun: No. From your perspective, in terms of those early days when you came out of high school, that says something about your personality. I don't know you. We've never really met before other than our briefing call. It sounds like you're a very determined and very assertive person. Is that a fair–

Krista: That's a fair statement, yes. I am a big advocator in getting things done. I see a vision and I make it happen. Then I guess seeing what I could become versus where I was was something I really wanted.

Shaun: Right, and it sounds like coming up through those ranks, nobody's handing you anything.

Krista: No, I had to work hard. Actually, I have a unionized staff. Back in the '90s, they did go on strike. I thought it was an opportunity for myself to prove myself. I think I worked 90 hours a week during that nine-week period. It was recognized, so that was nice.

Shaun: That's awesome. One of the things, and I was reading through the briefing notes, a lot of your peers. I know this is probably hard for you to talk about, but your peers have identified you as somebody who is such a great leader, somebody who leads by example, somebody who is very assertive and very clear in your path. Have you always been this way? Is that something that you've always had inside of you in everything that you did? Do you look at yourself that way or are you just that way?

Krista: I do look at myself as lead by example. When it comes to my employees, I feel like, you start from the top. You set an example that they see, so they want to become the same way, and give back as much as you do.

Shaun: Yes, how would you just say, if you were describing what makes a good leader?

Krista: Every person is different. I believe that for my own self, I empower my employees to do their jobs. I pick them uniquely for the jobs that I know would work for them. Not everybody works the same way. Everybody works at different paces. Everybody's good at something and exceptional at other things. I basically take a look at our team and see who's got the potential to do what, and then give them the tools to do it and support them.

Shaun: When I say "micromanaging," you say?

Krista: No, not going to happen.

Krista: Not on my watch, not going to happen. I feel there's no need for that.

Shaun: Right. What do you see as the response, because there's probably people that come into the association who've had to deal with that, in other associations, or just even in their jobs generally? What's the reaction when they meet you and they feel empowered?

Krista: Well, I can tell you for a fact, all of my staff have the utmost respect for me as I do for them. I think that they appreciate it. They appreciate that I don't micromanage. I know that they have a job to do. If they need support, I'm here. I have an open-door policy, so they can come to me at any time. I think you have to give people a chance to show you what their skills and assets are, and then let them run with it.

Shaun: As an association executive, tell me about what the metrics are in your mind that say, "Hey, we, Windsor-Essex, we're kicking butt here," or, "We need to pull some other levers here. There's things we can improve on." How do you view an association, and what makes it tick?

Krista: Obviously, every association has a strategic plan. We did a three-year plan, which we'll be doing again at the end of this year. I think that you're led by your plan. For us, we always try and think outside of the box, and depending on what's happening within our comm