There’s no doubt that being a mortgage leader is important across all industries. However, today’s loan officers need to be extra aware of their role as leaders.
After all, the mortgage industry is changing rapidly, thanks to technology and innovation. The only way that loan officers will continue to thrive is through being an excellent mortgage leader.
At Sales Mastery 2019, we got to hear from some of the most amazing mortgage leaders in our community.
Whether you’re a branch manager, CEO, or LOA, you have a leadership role in your company or team. Even if you don’t have direct authority, you have the opportunity to lead by example and encourage success for your whole team.
Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s article:
Why should you care about leading your team?
We talk a lot here about how innovation is changing the mortgage industry. Don’t worry, technology isn’t going to steal your job! However, today’s loan officers will need to adapt in order to succeed in this new environment.
Focusing on being an amazing mortgage leader is one way that you can bring stability and success to your team and your company.
Todd Duncan highlights the importance of strong leadership and says, “People don’t leave companies, they leave poor leaders.”
Leadership in an Uncertain World
In the same way, Carla Harris points to a foundation of leadership being the key to success, especially in response to all of the uncertainty in the industry right now. She says, “You don’t know what the Fed is going to do with interest rates. You don’t know what consumer confidence is going to be like, but you need to lead every time you have an interaction with a customer.”
How do you focus on leading your team?
Leading Your Customers
Although you may not think of it right away, leading extends to how you interact with your customers as well. Carla Harris says, “Every time you’re with your customers, have a leader’s mindset because of the gravity of what they’re doing.”
Leading With Your Voice
When Carla Harris discussed leadership, she highlighted the power that mortgage leaders have with just their voices. She says, “If you are a powerful, impactful leader, you have to be willing to call [something what it is]. Your voice is at the heart of your power–when you submerge your voice, you become irrelevant.”
As a leader, it is your responsibility to use the position you hold for good. By properly using your voice and the authority you have, you’ll be setting an excellent example for everyone else at your company. Additionally, other professional partners will notice this and respect you and your company for it.
Leading Your Team
Consider what Crystal Flores says about what a team member needs from their leadership. She says, “You’ve got to work for someone you trust, someone you respect, and someone you can learn from. If your boss does not hit those three things, you need to move on because you’re never going to go far enough there.”
Although this may sound harsh, it’s an effective way to gauge your own leadership. It may also focus your attention on how you should be leading your team in the future.
Leading Through Relationship Currency
We discussed the idea of relationship currency in our last Lessons from Sales Mastery article. This is the concept of investing in the relationships around you in order to truly connect and lead.
Chris Hallows applies this idea to how he interacts with his team. He says, “Presence, communication: that’s where the leadership is. That’s where [company] loyalty comes from: someone believing in you, and knowing you.”
Truly listening to your employees is an often overlooked, but critical factor of being an amazing leader.
How should you be investing in your team?
In much the same way, investing in your team means that you need to be training up new leaders. It can be tempting to try to maintain control of the responsibilities you have always had. However, this type of micromanaging doesn’t just damage your ability to delegate, it also takes the opportunity to lead away from your team members.
Carla Harris says, “Be intentional about creating other leaders: that is how you amplify your impact.” Consider how to pass leadership responsibilities over to other members of your team. Not only will this free you up to expand your own reach, you’ll be leading your team through trust.
Building your employees or team up by trusting them with leadership responsibility will take your impact from singular to exponential.
Bottom Line
Like many themes from the speakers at Sales Mastery, their thoughts on mortgage leaders is applicable, no matter what industry or position you may find yourself in!
Don’t miss a single Sales Mastery post–sign up for Jungo blog updates, below.
