Building Belonging: Community Growth Through Inclusive Leadership

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

18 Jul 2025

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The real estate industry is experiencing a fundamental shift in how major brokerages approach diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. Rather than treating these efforts as compliance exercises or temporary programs, forward-thinking organizations are embedding inclusive practices into their core business operations and growth strategies.

Keller Williams Realty recently demonstrated this commitment by expanding their inclusion and belonging efforts through a newly restructured leadership role. Natalie Davis, Director of Community Growth at Keller Williams Realty, who stepped into the position just over 45 days ago, represents this evolution in how real estate organizations are approaching multicultural community development and inclusive leadership.

From Investment Properties to Industry Leadership

Davis’s path to real estate leadership began in an unexpected place, helping her parents manage rental properties as a child. “Both of my parents were Mom and Pop landlords, and I grew up watching them manage their own rental properties,” Davis recalls. “I spent the majority of my weekends doing tenant move-outs, cleaning, painting, collecting rent, and changing locks.”

This early exposure to real estate’s challenges initially deterred her from the industry. However, after relocating to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2019, Davis discovered a different side of real estate. What began as an investor-focused approach to obtaining her real estate license evolved into something more meaningful. “I actually fell in love with the profession itself: the ability to help people, to educate people, to teach them and be a part of this bigger journey, this bigger life change.”

Parallel to her real estate practice, Davis developed Leadership That Shines, a leadership training and development company focused on female leaders. This dual focus on real estate and leadership development would eventually converge into her current role at Keller Williams Realty.

The Philosophy of Curious Leadership

Davis brings a distinctive approach to leadership development, emphasizing curiosity and respect as foundational elements. This philosophy emerged from her work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) education, where she began teaching NAR-designated courses for realtor associations nationwide in 2017-2018.

“There is so much power and empowerment around curiosity when you put yourself in a space where you’re wanting to truly learn and grow, to do more, to be more, to serve in a greater capacity,” Davis explains. “It expands and fills your vessel in terms of what you’re able to comprehend and how you’re continuing to serve.”

Her approach combines curiosity with respect as complementary tools: “If you combine and couple both of them together, curiosity and respect, it’s typically harder to hurt someone’s feelings or be offensive to someone else, and also for your own feelings to be hurt, because we’re wanting to be respectful and we’re entering from a place of curiosity.”

This methodology has proven particularly effective in DEIB training, where sensitive topics require careful navigation while maintaining open dialogue and learning opportunities.

Beyond Inclusion to Belonging

While many organizations focus on diversity and inclusion metrics, Davis emphasizes the critical distinction between inclusion and belonging. “When we think about inclusion itself, we typically think about our space, the environment, the culture, the tools, the resources, the practices that are available to everyone,” she explains.

Belonging represents a deeper level of organizational commitment: “This is allowing the individuals that are showing up within your organization to show up just as they are, to understand that their culture, their differences, their background will be celebrated and respected.”

The practical implications of this distinction are significant for real estate organizations. “We can welcome everyone to come in and be a part of the organization, but if they don’t truly feel like they have that sense of belonging, like they truly can show up as they are every day and not shed or leave parts of themselves behind when they enter that workspace, then you know you haven’t achieved successfully weaving in a sense of belonging within the culture.”

Keller Williams’ Community Growth Strategy

Davis’s new role as Director of Community Growth represents an evolution of Keller Williams Realty’s previous inclusion and belonging director position, previously held by Julia Lachey Israel. The expanded scope reflects the organization’s commitment to embedding these principles throughout their operations rather than treating them as separate initiatives.

The role encompasses three primary areas of focus. First is internal community development, supporting 13 multicultural communities within the Keller Williams Realty ecosystem. “These communities are created by agents, led by agents, with a focus and emphasis on creating a space for individuals to come together and have that sense of belonging within the larger Keller Williams ecosystem,” Davis explains.

The second component involves developing educational resources and tools for both leadership and associates. “We are looking at creating additional education tools and playbooks as it pertains to inclusion and belonging for our regional and Market Center leaders,” she notes. “We are doing the same thing for our associates, so the real estate practitioners can better serve their clients and create more exceptional client experiences.”

A new quarterly town hall format will provide ongoing education and discussion opportunities. “We’re creating a space where we can dive deeper into current events that are impacting practitioners’ business, and then also creating a space where we can educate the associates and leadership and give them tools and best practices they can bring back to their business.”

The third focus area involves external relationship management with multicultural affiliate organizations within the real estate industry, ensuring Keller Williams Realty maintains active participation and partnership opportunities throughout the year.

The Business Case for Belonging

While the business benefits of inclusive practices are well-documented, Davis emphasizes that Keller Williams Realty’s approach goes beyond revenue considerations. “You can look at it from a business operations standpoint in terms of risk mitigation or risk management. You can also look at it from the revenue side—if you have a more inclusive business practice, you’re going to generate additional revenue. Those are not the key priorities we have, though.”

Instead, the focus centers on empowering individual success: “It’s truly investing in the individuals that are a part of the Keller Williams family to ensure that they are able to create the life of their dreams. If you are part of an organization and you don’t feel like you belong or that you’re not included in the decision making or leadership or vision of the organization, it’s more challenging to step into that space and feel the motivation and drive to truly excel and surpass your goals.”

This approach recognizes that organizational success depends on individual empowerment: “Keller Williams Realty has recognized that what can we do to equip our associates and our leaders with everything that they need so that they can achieve tremendous success in their business and in their lives, and so this focus that we have on inclusion and belonging just continues to help in fueling that fire.”

A Foundation, Not a Trend

Davis emphasizes that Keller Williams Realty’s commitment to inclusion and belonging represents a fundamental organizational value rather than a response to current market pressures. “It’s not something that’s new, and I think that’s an important piece. It’s also not just a box that the organization and the company is checking. It’s really something that we are working to continue to incorporate into every element of the company.”

The scope of this integration across a large organization requires sustained commitment: “When you’re a company the size of Keller Williams Realty, there are many divisions and departments that you have to connect with, in addition to the market centers and the regions that we’re serving and supporting. Knowing that this is really a foundational piece that’s woven throughout the entire company, it’s not a new thing, it’s not a trendy thing. It’s a commitment that we have. It’s part of our belief system.”

Looking Forward

As the real estate industry continues to evolve, organizations that successfully integrate inclusive practices into their core operations will likely see competitive advantages in both agent retention and client service. Davis’s role at Keller Williams Realty represents a model for how large real estate organizations can move beyond surface-level diversity initiatives toward creating genuine belonging and community growth.

The emphasis on curiosity and respect as leadership tools, combined with practical educational resources and ongoing community support, suggests a sustainable approach to organizational change. Rather than treating inclusion and belonging as separate programs, this integrated strategy positions these values as essential components of business success and individual empowerment.

For real estate professionals and organizations looking to enhance their own inclusive practices, the Keller Williams Realty model demonstrates that effective change requires both structural support and cultural commitment, backed by leadership that understands the distinction between inclusion and belonging.