In this episode of the Reside Platform Podcast, host Suneet sits down with Sarah Hardy, Director of Operations at The Hardy Team, to unpack how she helped transform the business from a small group of agents into a top-performing real estate team. Sarah shares her unique journey from school principal to real estate operator, and how she brought education-based leadership frameworks, data-driven decision-making, and systems accountability into the business. You’ll hear how The Hardy Team climbed into Zillow’s top 1%, built a thriving culture of accountability, and scaled operations without losing personal freedom. If you’re a team leader or broker-owner looking for actionable strategies to grow without chaos, Sarah’s story is a must-listen.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Welcome to Reside Platform Podcast 
• 00:01:52 – Sarah shares her shift from principal to real estate ops.
• 00:02:25 – She outlines her background as teacher, coach, and principal.
• 00:04:52 – A recruiting event pushed her to leave education.
• 00:07:43 – First move in real estate: make the CRM data-driven.
• 00:10:36 – Convincing agents to adopt the CRM by showing impact.
• 00:12:54 – Holding standards with a CRM points system.
• 00:16:37 – Building leaders using school-style mentoring.
• 00:20:15 – YouTube brings in high-quality buyer leads.
• 00:22:22 – Applying education skills to agent training.
• 00:24:50 – Training agents with “I do, we do, you do.”
• 00:26:31 – Hiring for personality and culture fit first.
• 00:31:38 – Supporting agent goals with flexible systems.
• 00:34:47 – A leadership lesson on setting boundaries.
• 00:38:04 – Every agent must use CRM with fidelity.
• 00:39:27 –  How to Connect with Sarah

Links and Resources:

• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website
• The Hardy Team Website
• Sarah Hardy Email: [email protected]
• Ross Hardy Email: [email protected]