Just over 2,300 years ago, a wise father hired the greatest scholar of his age to tutor his young son in the ways of the world. Aristotle spent the next few years instructing the young man in literature, architecture, music, politics and the art of warfare. Armed with this knowledge, the student, barely in his 20s, set out to conquer the world. It took him just 11 years. He became known to history as one of the greatest leaders, visionaries, strategists and administrators who ever lived. He was Alexander the Great.
Just like there is no such thing as a “born” salesperson, there are no born leaders. Alexander was not a born leader; he was a trained leader. In the last 28 years, I've had the chance to meet and work with hundreds of managers and leaders in the mortgage industry—some very talented—and I can tell you that not one of them was born to lead. Effective leadership, like effective selling, is an acquired skill, acquired through time, experience and training.
It's no secret that the mortgage industry as a whole isn't getting any younger. More managers and company leaders are retiring every month, and some are just moving on to other opportunities. Who will lead this industry into the next 10 years? What are mortgage company owners and senior managers doing today to groom their next generation of leaders for tomorrow? Most importantly, who will be equipped, mentored and ready (like Alexander) with the skills and aptitude to lead your company and your branch offices as you grow and expand over the next several years?
Most mortgage companies promote their leaders and managers from within. Is that the best approach? Not always. Does being a successful loan originator equip a person to be a successful branch manager? Absolutely not. But let's surrender to the fact that the “promote our own” philosophy isn't going away anytime soon, and that perhaps 80% of the appointments into every type of supervisory or management position in every mortgage company are internal. That being the case, mortgage companies need to step up to the plate and start preparing their best talent to lead one day, and that day may be sooner than you think.
For the purposes of this conversation, let's focus on priming good, quality loan originators for the role in running a branch office. Rather than just waiting until a position opens up one day and saying to your top-producing originator: “So, do you want to manage the branch?” let's be much smarter and more intentional in prepping and selecting your next leader. Here are some ideas for doing just that:
1. Identify an originator with an ability and interest in leading. You can tell when someone enjoys the opportunity to help, coach, give advice or positively influence others. These are often the originators who volunteer to head small projects or lend their guidance to support new company initiatives. Whether they realize it or not, the call of leadership is inside them. Identify these prospects early on. They may not be the best producers, but they may your best candidates for a future role in management. Remember that history has shown us that in many instances the best producers often make the worst managers.
2. Give away small leadership duties. Potential leaders need to learn how to lead. If you have a booth or space reserved at an upcoming home show or other event, let the originator spearhead the project, assemble the schedule and handle the arrangements. Or perhaps, let the originator lead a team meeting every so often or plan the launch of a new LOS system or loan product. Don't wait to make someone a manager before they start building their management experience.
3. Engage them in formal training. There are many, top-quality leadership courses, seminars and programs offered by mortgage industry training companies and local colleges and universities on management and leadership. As a perk, talk to the originator about attending one of these at least once a year. Formal training will accelerate their exposure to what management is all about.
4. Provide the resources. Along with formal classroom and instructor-driven training, there are countless books and CDs on the art and science of being a good leader. (Amazon.com currently lists over 73,000 of them.) Encourage the originator to look for and purchase these, and gladly offer to reimburse him or her for the expense.
5. Hire a coach. As a personal performance coach myself, I have helped dozens of loan originators get ready to take on the role of management. A good coach can help the originator avoid common mistakes, find the right resources, and get a positive start in their new role. Of critical significance, a good coach can help the originator mentally evolve away from the job of making loans and into the job of managing people.
6. Become a mentor. If you see someone with the potential for leadership, work closely with that person and share valuable lessons and strategies on how to run an efficient, organized and profitable branch office. Open up the books. Share your company's business plan. From time to time, invite him or her to provide input on important financial, operational or hiring decisions. Ask: “What would you do if the decision were yours?”
7. Get the originator “plugged in.” Successful branch managers are successful because they are well informed and well connected by being well networked. Your management candidate should be actively involved in your local mortgage, lender, builder and real estate associations. You may also want to consider having him or her enroll for membership in an area networking group or business leadership circle (found through your local Chamber of Commerce or on line). Encourage the originator to serve on committees, get experience delivering small group presentations, and start making strategic contacts. Organizations and associations are perfect and pre-existing grounds for all of this.
Mortgage companies that are growing are constantly looking for good managers to run their branches. In today's world, most are having a tough time finding the right people, or if they do, pay tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses and incentives to pull managers away from their current companies and bring them on board. Perhaps by starting to invest in your own people today, you can create the next class of managers and leaders for your organization as it continues to grow in the years to come.
