Are you at your breaking point?
As appraiser managers or firm owners, we often work 10 hour days, but yet we don’t have time to get our work done. Does this sound familiar? Maybe it’s our leadership style that’s the problem.
Where’s your appraisal department or firm going? If you don’t know, your people don’t know. You’re responsible. No one else. You.
Paint the vision. Can you feel the outcome? Our job is to paint the outcome as leaders. If there’s no excitement, little movement or energy will be created. Then it’s their job to do the job if you set clear outcomes. Metrics tells you if you’re being successful to obtain your outcome. Are you committed to change going forward? What’s your framework to grow your people?
We build the people, the people build the business
At the beginning of our career, most business leaders are transactional. It’s very normal. We don’t know any better when were just starting out.
Transactional Leadership
- Tell them what to do
- Check that it got done
- Tell them what to do next
Why it falls apart – at about 12 employees it breaks down. You can’t manage any more than that on a daily basis. The maximum under this model. This is why you can’t get your work done.
Transformational Leadership
- Business outcomes
- Measure
- Coach to success
The biggest take away from this discussion is No. 1 – the business outcome. Tell your employees where they’re going. Measure their progress, communicate what you expect from individuals. Coach to success, which might include the 1-3-1 role. If there’s an issue, ask the employee to provide three possible solutions. Guide the conversation but avoid answering the question for them, as it creates weak individuals. Then conclude to a single solution with their input.
If they don’t perform, take the opportunity for one-on-one coaching. Ask them what’s working and what’s not. Ask, don’t tell, them to consider their options and what they recommend we do. Help them make the next right decision. Leadership is a process, not a one-time thing. Coach weekly for the goal of getting a little bit better over time.
“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do;
we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
Steve Jobs
Get more accurate on your estimates
Managing a group of people is hard. Getting metrics can be like pulling teeth if your people don’t know why you’re asking. If you’re an appraiser in a bank, do you know your SLAs? As the owner of your appraisal firm, what’re your metrics of success?
Bottleneck vs. leverage
Bottleneck = transactional vs. leverage = transformational
Train your people to be transformational. Future employees can benefit from this transformational training that you pass down.
Push outcomes forward without you the leader being involved. Coach for everyone to feel comfortable to speak up.
What’s the solution for appraisers in banks?
- YouConnect. An appraisal workflow platform that automates your appraisal department’s process.
- Custom reporting that allows you to track your metrics. (Credit Department Reporting Templates – Free Download)
- Valuation expert founders promoting valuation departments in financial institutions. FIVA
The platform is a tool to facilitate meeting SLAs. Hitting your metrics will take leadership to leverage powerful automation.
What’s the solution for fee appraisers?
A comp database and report writing are the tools to run your appraisal firm. However, leadership is required to achieve consistent implementation. Have weekly meetings to obtain feedback to improve your internal processes. The metrics include tracking your comparables, automating report writing and managing office workflow.
Eventually your employees will get it. Remind them of the outcomes. It will require on-going coaching. Teach how to manage time. How to communicate clearly. How to be more effective. How to be accountable. That’s coaching. Become a better coach. That’s leadership.
