Tips for Effective Leadership
Devoted brokers can emerge from a tense market with increased influence and authority
By Mitch Harmann, chief information officer and vice president of operations, Liberty Banc Mortgage
For brokers seeking leader- ship roles in the mortgage indus- try, there is no time to waste. The
industry’s decline has been felt across the
U.S. As we stand among the wreckage,
we can say that a root cause was a lack of
great leadership. That doesn’t mean that
mortgage-industry leaders didn’t try to do
things right — in many cases, they even
succeeded. It does, however, mean that
the right voices often were muffled by the
wrong ones.
But there’s good news: Today’s economy
presents a perfect opportunity for great
leaders to shine anew. Mortgage brokers
should be excited about the future and the
opportunities ahead. Those who want to
lead should begin immediately. Your customers, co-workers, vendors and lenders all
could use an example of good leadership.
Here are some tips for leading:
■ Have patience. Good leaders are patient
and act consistently.
■ Manage your time effectively. Brokers
who don’t spend their time wisely won’t last
long as leaders. Effective time management
is a skill that leaders in all industries must
master.
■ Don’t procrastinate. Successful leaders and decisionmakers know that delaying action aggravates the issues at hand.
Moreover, indecisiveness and inaction
are contagious.
■ Spend time with other leaders. Great
leaders can learn from one another and
build important alliances. Wise networking also can lead to healthy competition and
mutually beneficial collaboration.
■ Give your all. Great leaders never give
a halfhearted effort. Don’t decide to lead
if you don’t have the dedication such action requires.
It’s also crucial to seek, find and absorb the best information about the overall mortgage market, your local area and
any niches in which you specialize. Great
leaders thirst for information and make it
their business to be on the cutting edge of
industry and business developments. Information today is more easily available
than it has been at any other period in
history. Too much information, however,
can bog you down.
As you consume information, make
sure that it’s relevant, accurate, timely and
useful. Focus on what you learn rather
than how you learn it. Take classes, read
magazines, be active in trade associations,
talk to others, and always watch for what’s
new, what’s changing and what’s true. If
you practice this enough, absorbing good
information will become habit.
Being a successful leader in the mortgage industry also requires decisionmaking. This includes making difficult
decisions quickly. Make the best decisions
you can and stick with them. If a decision
later turns out to be wrong — this happens
to even the best leaders — face it head on.
Acknowledge your mistake, learn from it
and move on.
Practice might not make perfect, but
regular decisionmaking builds the criti-cal-thinking skills necessary to make better decisions in the future. Pay attention to
the results of each decision you make and
learn as you go.
Effective leaders also must develop a
thick skin. Countless detractors have attempted to chip away at every great leader
in history. Don’t allow this to happen to
you. Inevitably, you will make mistakes.
Your wise decisions — e.g., denying bad
loan applications, refusing to cut corners
so clients can close early and holding borrowers to high standards — could offend
people. Don’t let their anger provoke you or
make you question yourself. Instead, move
forward and remove your thoughts from
those situations as quickly as possible.
Great leaders also know how to be
humble. Many had to endure enormous
criticism and immense self-doubt before
achieving success. Most relied on others
for help along the way. Should you someday be fortunate enough to reach your own
heights, remember your challenges and offer others a helping hand.
Mitch Harmann is chief information officer and vice president of operations
at Liberty Banc Mortgage in Brookfield, Wis. He is a member of the Wisconsin
Mortgage Professionals Association and National Association of Mortgage
Brokers. Liberty Banc Mortgage is a residential mortgage bank that works
with some of the best loan officers throughout the state of Wisconsin. Reach
Harmann at (414) 273-LOAN (5626) or mitch.harmann@liberty-banc.com. He’s
interested in hearing from you.
Take advantage of FHA’s great loan products. You can be approved to originate FHA loans sooner than you think. IT’S EASY. GOT FHA YET
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“If I had known it was so easy, I
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JEFF SCOT T, ME TROPOLI TAN
FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
SEAT TLE, WA
STADTMUELLER & ASSOCIATES, P.S.
Certified Public Accountants • Roger A. Stadtmueller
36 Scotsman Guide | Residential |
scotsmanguide.com | August 2009
