I Won’t Always Be Perfect. But I Will Always Take Responsibility.
There are a lot of promises real estate agents can make to prospective clients. That they’ll work hard, negotiate effectively, communicate frequently, and do everything possible to help them achieve their goals.
Those are important commitments, and I take them seriously.
But there’s one promise I won’t make: that I’ll never make a mistake.
I’m human. I manage complicated transactions involving numerous people, deadlines, documents, and decisions. Despite my best efforts, there may be times when I overlook something, make an incorrect assumption, or wish I’d handled a situation differently.
I don’t believe the measure of a good professional is whether they’ve managed to avoid every mistake throughout their career.
I believe it’s what happens next.
Do they acknowledge it? Do they take responsibility? Do they communicate openly? And most importantly, do they make every reasonable effort to make it right?
I’m Erin McCormick, a Realtor with Keller Williams Vermont, and integrity has always been one of the most important principles guiding how I conduct myself, personally and professionally.
I have extremely high standards for my work, but I also recognize that perfection isn’t a realistic expectation.
Accountability, however, absolutely is.
Integrity Is What You Do When Things Don’t Go According to Plan
It’s relatively easy to talk about integrity when everything is going smoothly.
When the offers are accepted, deadlines are met, and everyone is happy, there’s not much opportunity to demonstrate how you handle difficult situations.
The real test comes when something goes wrong.
Maybe a deadline was overlooked. Maybe a client received incomplete information. Maybe a mistake creates an inconvenience, an unexpected expense, or a difficult conversation.
Those are the moments when professional character matters most.
My instinct is to address the issue directly, understand what happened, and determine what needs to be done.
I don’t believe in hiding mistakes, shifting blame, or hoping a problem will go unnoticed.
And I certainly don’t believe that protecting my own reputation should come at the expense of a client’s interests.
In fact, I think the opposite is true.
The best way to protect your reputation over the course of a career is to consistently do the right thing, particularly when doing so is uncomfortable.
A Real Estate Transaction That Reinforced This Belief
I remember a transaction where I was representing the seller, and the buyer’s agent missed the buyers’ inspection deadline.
For anyone unfamiliar with real estate contracts, inspection contingencies are an important part of the homebuying process. They establish the conditions and timelines under which a buyer can investigate a property’s condition and exercise certain contractual rights.
Those deadlines matter, and missing one can have significant consequences depending on the specific terms of the agreement.
In this particular situation, the buyers’ agent had allowed the deadline to pass.
I was representing the seller, so my responsibility was to advocate for my client’s interests and help them understand their contractual position, with appropriate legal guidance.
But I remember thinking about the situation from the other side of the transaction.
What if those had been my buyers?
What if I had been the agent responsible for tracking that deadline, and my mistake had potentially compromised an important protection they were counting on?
I know exactly how I would have approached it.
I would have acknowledged the mistake, explained what happened, and immediately worked to understand the consequences and available options. I would have involved the appropriate professionals, including legal counsel when necessary, and made every reasonable effort to protect my clients and address any harm my error had caused.
If that meant having an uncomfortable conversation, I would have had it.
If it meant taking additional steps to correct the situation, I would have taken them.
And if the mistake created a loss or other consequences that needed to be addressed, I would have taken that responsibility seriously rather than leaving my clients to navigate it alone.
That experience reinforced something I believe strongly: A client should never have to bear the burden of an agent’s mistake without that agent taking responsibility and working to make things right.
There’s a Difference Between Making a Mistake and How You Handle It
I think we sometimes confuse accountability with perfection.
They’re not the same thing.
A person can be highly experienced, diligent, and conscientious and still make a mistake.
But what happens afterward tells you a great deal about their values.
When something goes wrong, I believe a professional has several responsibilities.
First, acknowledge what happened without making excuses.
Second, understand the implications rather than making assumptions or minimizing the issue.
Third, communicate promptly with the people affected.
Fourth, involve the appropriate professionals and identify possible remedies.
And finally, follow through.
An apology matters, but it isn’t necessarily a solution.
If a mistake has consequences, the responsibility doesn’t end with saying you’re sorry.
It means taking meaningful steps to address the situation, even when the process is complicated or uncomfortable.
My First Priority Would Be to Tell You
One of the things I value most in professional relationships is direct communication.
I would much rather hear about a problem early than discover later that someone knew something was wrong and chose not to tell me.
And that’s the same standard I hold myself to.
If I make an error that materially affects your transaction, I believe you deserve to know about it promptly.
Not after I’ve spent days hoping it will resolve itself.
Not when there’s no longer time to consider options.
And not only if you happen to discover it yourself.
I would want to explain what I know, what I’m still investigating, and what steps are being taken to address the issue.
That doesn’t mean rushing to conclusions before the facts are clear.
But it does mean being transparent that there’s something we need to work through.
I believe clients deserve the truth, even when it’s not the easiest conversation to have.
I Would Focus on Making It Right, Not Making Excuses
I’ve spent much of my professional career in leadership roles, including serving as a president and chief operating officer within a large real estate organization.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that accountability starts with ownership.
When something goes wrong, you can spend a tremendous amount of time explaining why it happened.
There may be legitimate contributing factors. Perhaps communication broke down, another professional missed a step, or an unexpected circumstance complicated the process.
Understanding those factors is important, particularly if they help prevent a similar issue in the future.
But explanations aren’t substitutes for solutions.
My approach is to ask what can be done now.
Can the mistake be corrected? Is there a contractual option available? Do we need legal guidance? Is there an opportunity to negotiate a resolution? What can we do to reduce the impact on the client?
Sometimes there will be a straightforward remedy.
Other times, there may be consequences that can’t be fully reversed.
But I believe taking responsibility means making a genuine effort to address the outcome rather than simply explaining how we got there.
My Responsibility Is to My Client, Not Just the Transaction
One of the things I think gets lost in real estate is the distinction between closing a deal and representing a client.
Those aren’t always the same thing.
My responsibility isn’t to make sure every transaction closes at any cost.
It’s to advocate for my client’s interests, provide informed guidance, and help them make decisions that are right for their circumstances.
Sometimes that means negotiating aggressively. Sometimes it means delivering disappointing information. And sometimes it means acknowledging that something I did could have been handled better.
I don’t believe my professional interests should come before yours.
That includes my desire to earn a commission, maintain a particular image, or avoid an uncomfortable conversation.
If something has gone wrong, my focus needs to be on understanding and addressing the situation, not protecting my ego.
Integrity Also Means Being Fair to the People on the Other Side
Real estate is a negotiation, and buyers and sellers don’t always have the same priorities.
When I represent a seller, my job is to advocate for that seller. When I represent a buyer, my job is to advocate for that buyer.
But strong representation doesn’t require dishonesty, manipulation, or treating the other side poorly.
I believe in being direct, professional, and fair in my dealings with other agents and the people they represent.
That doesn’t mean giving away a client’s negotiating position or ignoring an enforceable contract provision because someone else made a mistake.
It means understanding my obligations, respecting the legal and ethical boundaries of my role, and conducting myself in a way I can stand behind.
I want to be someone who negotiates effectively and maintains strong professional relationships because other people know they can trust my word.
And I want my clients to know that I won’t compromise my principles simply because doing so might make a transaction easier.
I Have a Personal Code of Conduct
Throughout my career, I’ve developed a set of expectations for how I conduct business.
Some come from professional obligations and the ethical standards that apply to Realtors. Others are personal standards I’ve established for myself.
I believe in telling the truth, even when it’s inconvenient.
I believe in following through on commitments and communicating when something changes.
I believe in acknowledging what I don’t know rather than pretending to have every answer.
I believe in seeking advice from qualified professionals when a situation falls outside my expertise.
I believe in treating people with respect, including when we’re on opposite sides of a negotiation.
And I believe that when I make a mistake, it’s my responsibility to address it.
These aren’t standards I apply only when someone is watching.
They’re how I want to operate every day.
Because integrity isn’t a marketing statement.
It’s a collection of decisions you make over time.
High Standards and Humility Can Coexist
I’m proud of the professional experience I bring to my real estate business.
I’ve led organizations, managed complex operations, advised other real estate professionals, and worked through plenty of challenging situations.
Those experiences have made me more capable, more resourceful, and more confident in my judgment.
But they’ve also taught me that experience doesn’t make anyone infallible.
In fact, I think one of the signs of professional maturity is being comfortable enough in your abilities to admit when you don’t have the answer or when you’ve gotten something wrong.
I don’t need to be the smartest person in every room.
I do need to know when to ask questions, when to bring in another expert, and when to reconsider my approach.
And if I make a mistake, I need to be willing to learn from it.
That means looking at whether a process needs to change, whether a safeguard should be added, or whether there’s a better way to prevent the same issue from happening again.
Accountability isn’t just about correcting one mistake.
It’s also about becoming better because of it.
Trust Isn’t Built by Promising Perfection
When someone hires me to help buy or sell a home, they’re placing a tremendous amount of trust in me.
They’re trusting my judgment, my experience, my communication, and my ability to help them navigate decisions that can have significant financial and personal consequences.
I take that responsibility seriously.
And I understand that trust can be damaged quickly when someone feels that information has been withheld, responsibility has been avoided, or their interests haven’t been prioritized.
That’s why I would rather set an honest expectation from the beginning.
I will work hard. I will be thorough. I will communicate proactively. I will use my experience and resources to help anticipate problems and make informed decisions.
But I won’t promise to be perfect.
What I can promise is that I will approach my work with integrity, take accountability seriously, and make every reasonable effort to address mistakes if they happen.
At the End of the Day, My Reputation Is Built on How I Treat People
I’ve spent years building relationships in Vermont and throughout the real estate industry.
Through my work as a Realtor, business consultant, and founder of Travel Like a Local® Vermont, I’ve learned that a good reputation isn’t built through a single successful transaction or a polished marketing campaign.
It’s built through consistency.
It’s built by doing what you say you’re going to do, communicating when something goes wrong, and treating people fairly even when circumstances are difficult.
And sometimes, it’s built in the moments when you have to acknowledge that you could have done something better.
I believe in high standards. I believe in personal accountability. And I believe that doing the right thing matters more than appearing to have done everything right.
I won’t always be perfect. Mistakes will happen. But they will be handled with honesty, accountability, and integrity.
That’s the standard I hold myself to, and it’s the kind of representation I believe every buyer and seller deserves.
If you’re considering buying or selling a home in Vermont, I’d welcome the opportunity to earn your trust and show you what thoughtful, principled representation looks like.
Let's Talk About Your Vermont Real Estate Goals
Erin McCormick | Realtor, Keller Williams Vermont
Founder, Travel Like a Local® Vermont | Live Local Vermont