AGE IS JUST A NUMBER WHEN IT COMES TO GROWTH

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER WHEN IT COMES TO GROWTH

BY PATRICK WELBERG

You know the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? Coming from a mortgage professional with more than 20 years of experience under my belt, I disagree—especially when it comes to personal and professional development.

Various industry reports place the average age of a mortgage originator between 50–55 years old. At this point in a career, an originator likely has survived the hard knocks of starting out in this business and has settled into routines and best practices—the key word here being “settled.” In fact, some may stubbornly insist they’re too old to change their ways! Leave the professional development programs to the rookies!

But the truth is, you are never too old or too young to learn and become better.

Mortgage employers have become more focused on cultivating a culture that encourages personal as well as professional growth. At a minimum, originators must complete their required eight hours of NMLS-approved continuing education (CE) every year to keep their license current. Make no mistake, there is a definite need for these formal requirements to ensure our industry knowledge is up to date. However, completing our CE credits only scratches the surface of opportunities for new learning and growth.

No matter where you are in your career, personal and professional growth can take many forms.

How Can You Grow Personally?

Personal development is not one-sizefits-all; it must be driven by you and your interests—whether building a new skill, pursuing a passion, improving physical and mental well-being, allocating more time for volunteer service, or making some sort of change in day-to-day behaviors.

Creating a personal growth plan is a great place to start. To facilitate this process, utilize any analytical and assessment tools your company may offer—like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and CliftonStrengths Assessment—to help define your purpose and passion, identify your talents and strengths, and set goals with concrete action plans. The findings may surprise you! You may learn something about yourself you didn’t know before.

A sustainable personal growth plan includes setting realistic milestones to hit along the way. Real growth doesn’t happen overnight, but you will start to see change quickly when you make a genuine commitment and investment in improving yourself.

How Can You Grow Professionally?

Occupational behavior study after study shows that if you are living your personal life with greater purpose, inevitably you will be more engaged and passionate about advancing your career.

Make a plan to achieve your professional goals that complements your personal growth plan. We are much more likely to reach our goals if we write them down. There are numerous job aids available, either from your employer or online, to assist you with time-blocking and setting daily/weekly/monthly production benchmarks, not to mention playbooks on how to effectively use the CRM, technology, and marketing tools at your disposal to build your pipeline.

Recruit an accountability partner to hold you to your goals, personal and professional. Don’t hesitate to ask your manager or a company executive to step into this role. They know the benefits that come—for all—from supporting, coaching, motivating, and inspiring you to achieve both your personal and professional goals.

Take advantage of opportunities to attend industry courses, workshops, or conventions. If your company has a training program geared specifically toward increasing your production, join it.

For some originators—experienced and inexperienced—registering for a new course or development program is outside their comfort zone. It’s true that participating in a solid program designed to advance your career may be timeconsuming, require travel, have homework, etc., but it’s all worth it in the end. Case-based learning modules, field workshops, and experiential team projects included in such a curriculum plant and nurture the seeds for significant professional and personal growth.

Academy Mortgage offers a program to develop the mortgage leaders of tomorrow, with participants of all ages. The Leadership Academy requires a firm 12-month commitment, but the lessons learned and experience gained last a lifetime. Three classes of strong leaders have participated in the program, which is designed to help improve how they personally and professionally influence and effectively lead people and teams. Many graduates move on to assume advisory and mentoring roles in the company.

Don’t underestimate the power of mentoring and collaboration for both the person giving the advice and the one accepting it. We can all learn from each other when we share our stories and experiences. Don’t hesitate to connect with your peers, ask questions, explain best practices, etc. With social media, text, Zoom, and all of the technology at our fingertips today, you don’t even need to schedule a time to meet face to face! Impart your wisdom and pick up a new trick or two while doing so.

Whether you’re a rookie loan officer or a 12-time President’s Club pro, there is always room—and time—to grow both personally and professionally.

Patrick Welberg is the executive vice president of production at Academy Mortgage, a leading independent lender that offers originators career growth, unique benefits, and access to leadership. Patrick leads the company’s sales leadership team, which oversees all sales, recruiting, market expansion, and business development. He is an industry veteran, with more than 23 years of experience in the mortgage business. Patrick may be reached at patrick. welberg@academymortgage.com. Visit join. academymortgage.com for more information.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL