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TH E M R EP O RT | 19 COVER STORY concerns, the easier it is to find remedies to help them do their jobs better and that's when a simple manager of people be- comes someone who can inspire, a leader," he said. "It's important for leaders to also have their ear to the ground and utilize the resources they have at hand to help them lead their teams and their company," Marcheselli said. Giving an example of how BAI had worked with a company to help them overcome the challenges of an extremely high turnover rate, Marcheselli said, "They came to us with their analytics in place, giving us a clear idea of what employees valued the most. Spe- cifically, they felt that a company that was providing them a career path opposed to just a job was a much more valuable company to be associated with. So we worked with those leaders to come up with additional options to help their employees, such as continu- ing education, NMLS certificates, and customizing a curriculum for their employees. What really impressed me was that they were on top of what was going on inside the company. They were using analytics and marrying that with information we provided to make a great decision. It has really given them a leg up on the competition." Building a leadership brand is also about having personal cred- ibility according to Middleman. "It means establishing yourself as an honest and trustworthy person whose actions match your words. In life, in business, and certainly in our industry, it's critical that your customers, your business partners, and your employees all have faith in you." For Hardwick, Churchill's lead- ership brand is all about "putting people over profits." He points out that this is not to the exclusion or detriment of the company's prof- its, but rather in supporting the firm's employees financially and rewarding a job well done. "Likewise, it also means encouraging employees to adopt a responsible work-life balance and allowing them time for their personal health and other needs," he said. "In turn, these employ- ees will value the company they work for and treat our customers well. And, when our customers are happy, it creates a circle of profitability that rewards the com- pany with consistent business." People are the focus area for Brungardt too, though he points out that a culture that values peo- ple doesn't just evolve on its own. "It takes a commitment of time, resources, and energy to build. Therefore, we put a framework and process in place to develop the 'All In, All Win' culture," he said. "This was a company-wide effort, and demanded the buy-in of everyone, starting with the C-suite executives, through the mid-level managers, and down to our newest employees just begin- ning the onboarding process. On the other side of this initiative, I can see that having this scalable culture embedded in the DNA of our company, is just as important as having enough facility space and the latest technology." For O'Donovan, it was working with some strong leaders who combined strategic focus with high emotional intelligence and