If you want your organization to move in a new direction, you've got to get buy-in from your team
Have you ever looked into the sky to see a flock of birds flying overhead? It's amazing how quickly the entire group can change directions. If you've ever seen a swarm of bats flying at dusk, it's even more remarkable. Or, think of how schools of fish move around in the seas. It's quick and it's coordinated -- no stragglers or outliers; everyone moves together as a group.
Wouldn't it be nice if it worked that way in the business world? On the March 28 episode of my Lykken on Lending podcast, one of regular contributors, Andy Schell, brought up a very good point about leadership. If you want to move your organization forward in a particular direction, you've got to get buy-in from your team. It doesn't matter if it's trying to get people to use a new technology, to embrace a new system of operations, or to follow a new regulation. If you can't get people to commit, progress will be sluggish.
Things change quickly in the mortgage industry. New regulations are surfacing every week and new technologies must continually be developed and implemented to meet these new standards. If you are a leader in the mortgage industry today, you are no stranger to having to get people to move in a new direction. But here's a thought: before telling them what they need to do, try getting them to believe in doing it. If your people can see the value in change, they will embrace it willingly. But you've got to do the hard work of convincing them that it's worth it. Then you'll finally move together as a group -- and there won't be anything you can't accomplish.
