Has your passion for appraising been replaced with fatigue?
“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.”
Simon Sinek nails it. Why are you an appraiser? Are you at the “rinse and repeat” stage of your career? If so, you may be experiencing copious amounts of stress and feeling overworked.
What’s the upside if you re-energize your valuation profession, whether inside or outside of a bank? Bifurcation is currently underway, not in the appraisal sense, but those that embrace or ignore technology and process.
Progressive appraisers are making significant investment in technology. Those that delay, don’t truly understand the efficiencies gained through implementing software solutions.
Simon Says
Simon’s book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action tells the message. Are you a great leader to your appraisal department or appraisal firm? Are you coaching your people or hoping they do their jobs? Do you only point out when they drop the ball? Build up your people and your people will make you a success.
Second great take away from the book title is inspire everyone. This gets back to leadership, but also highlights the importance of vision. Does everyone in your department or firm know exactly where you want to go? Is everybody on the right seat on the bus? How often do you have collaborative meetings with meaningful takeaways resulting in business outcomes?
“Everyone” is also an important consideration since it’s not just your appraisers and reviewers, it includes support staff, job managers, environmental folks, etc. The whole team.
My favorite is the last part of the book title, take action. Taking in content from seminars, webinars, podcasts and blogs without action is like buying a bicycle and reading the manual but not actually getting on the seat. An alternative viewpoint would be job re-engagement. If you provide leadership, inspiration and take action on various initiatives, it will re-spark your passion. Simon asks,
“Why are some people and organizations more innovative,
more influential, and more profitable than others?”
Let’s unpack that. Can appraisers be innovative, influential and profitable? Absolutely!
Here’s 5 Random Innovative Ideas
- As a reviewer, send the appraiser a personalized Loom video walking through their appraisal highlighting potential revisions you may need.
- Transform your internal and external communication with a Slack channel instead of email.
- Manage your entire department with YouConnect*, appraisal and environmental workflow.
- Take control of your appraisal firm with the Manager* app.
*Provides full transparency, capturing all communication, documentation with reporting.
An essential appraisal department
So how can you be more influential? Sometimes bank appraisers have an inferiority complex. Feeling that you’re a “have to have” department. What would it feel like if you could communicate your value bank-wide and be recognized as an essential department?
As a fee appraiser, wouldn’t it feel good to be a consultant again? Valued for your expertise. Knowing that you’re providing a ton of value-add over and above the checkbox requirement. This a passion igniter.
Retire or Re-inspire
Commercial fee appraisers that lack the basics like comp database and report writing are falling further and further behind. Many in this camp experience fatigue. The copy and paste workweek grades on their passion as an appraiser. It takes the wind out of their sails (and sales).
Regardless of your age, be ambitious. Avoid people that don’t bring positive energy to the table. If you have staff that’s chronically negative and un-coachable, recommend the idea that it’s currently an employee market. Actively search and implement software solutions giving your people tools to be successful. This will also reduce stress and enhance passion in our valuation art.
Ask yourself, “Why are you an appraiser?” I hope you have an answer.
