Leadership

Written By: John Hoxsey
Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP)

Last week I spoke about the potential of expanding our income through Note Modifications. I had mentioned that I would be expanding on that this week, but I am going to take a detour. Things have been coming to the surface with regard to how I run my processing company that I would like to share instead.

So, with out further a due…Leadership. Particularly, leadership and how it relates to running a processing company or division. I feel like this is an important topic for all processors.

Why? Because all to often in the processing business, we tend to get stuck in a “these are the rules and guidelines – and that is how we do things” mentality.

In order to operate at maximum efficiency, we need to inspire the others to produce. John Maxwell defines leadership as influence.

Think about that. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the capability to influence others around you to produce? If we get stuck in a procedures based mentality, we will never have that influence. Leading people by repeating the rules will land on your target audience like a ton of bricks.

We need to get personal. So many times we hear – it’s not personal, it’s business. In “You’ve Got Mail” Tom Hanks keeps telling Meg Ryan this. Finally she responds brilliantly by saying, “What’s wrong with it being personal – It’s always personal to someone”

If we do not develop personal relationships with our co-workers and clients, they may not care to follow any of our rules, or they may backbit and argue incessantly. I had a situation last week where one of my team members would not stop arguing about the way something should be done. It’s not a very important issue, so I had to ask myself why this person was getting monumentally upset over such a small problem. Obviously, I needed to dig a little.

I invited the person out for coffee. I prepared in advance by having several fallback questions I could ask if the heat got turned up. I think fallback questions are important, as they are non-threatening. Generally, if you can ask provocative questions, you can steer the conversation in such a way that the person feels as if your idea is their idea. i.e. they feel as if they resolved their own problem, and were not told in uncertain terms that it is your way or the Long Island expressway.

I also intentionally took this person out for coffee not to drill my rules and regulations into him. We talked for some time and I really got to know him on a personal level. By the time the conversation was over, he apologized to me for the way he had initially exploded. Once he was sure that I had heard his point of view the whole situation seemed to diffuse. I listened responsively, and really let him know I heard his concerns and would take them into consideration, I also gave him a perspective to the situation he had not thought of before.

Remarkably, we both left not seeing the barrier of a problem in our relationship, we each saw a person. I am confident that as we work together more, I will value his input, and he will trust that I will not lead blindly without giving consideration to my employees.

People follow people – not rules.

I would like to leave you with some valuable insight into growing yourself as a leader. If we can have influence, we have the processing marketplace by the horns.

The following is an excerpt from a John Maxwell Article:

http://swordofthespiritministries.net/maxwellnairobiseminar2.htm

1. Law of Influence. Leadership is influence. A person with influence at a given time and to a given people is the leader of the time. ‘A leader with nobody following is only taking a walk’, he said. Maxwell outlined five levels of influence. These are:

(i) Position. This is the lowest level of leadership. This level is acquired by people at a certain position of leadership who think they have a right to be leaders. But being at a position gives certain rights. Here people follow you because they have to. In this state, people can follow you but never give you their best.

(ii) Permission. This is the second level of leadership where relationships begin to form. At this stage, people tend to like you as the leader. They follow because they want to. It is a voluntary action and people will give the leader their best.

(iii) Production. At the third stage, momentum begins to pick. People follow you because of the results you have achieved in an organization or to a certain group of people. For example, the train moves because of one engine starting, even when a block stands on its way, it cannot stop.

(iv) Reproduction Level. This is where as a leader you are reproducing and growing as you develop people. It is the level of reproducing. People follow you because of what you have done for them. Such people become very loyal to you as a leader. “A team’s work makes a dream work”, Maxwell said. This is all about raising people. He encouraged the leaders present to raise up leaders who are better than them.

(v) Respect. This is the highest level where as a leader you have earned respect from people. At this level you have done so much, for so many, for a long time, such people tend to follow you automatically.

Remember - Your reputation is your business.

Happy processing!!

About the Writer. As one of NAMP's volunteer writers, John Hoxsey is currently a NAMP member in good standing and is a NAMP Certified Master Loan Processor (CMLP). If you would like to become a volunteer writer for NAMP, please email us at: blog@mortgageprocessor.org.