Accountability

I wanted to take a moment to talk about accountability and how it affects us in all we do and all we say in business as well as our personal lives. Let's start with the meaning shall we...

What is the meaning of "accountability": the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility. What is the meaning of "accountable": required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible. Who or what are you "accountable" to? For me, I am accountable to my children, to my boyfriend, to my customers (borrowers and Realtors), to my team of LOs, to my company, to my management, to my principles and last but certainly not least, to myself.

In this industry (and in our careers), we have a HUGE responsibility to our customers, to our partners and to the industry as a whole to be accountable. We work with borrowers who entrust us with the largest purchase of most people's lives. They hand over every single piece of financial information about themselves. They tell us about their children, about their grandchildren, about their new or impending marriage (or divorce). They TRUST us, we are supposed to guide and support, be an ally to get them the best deal possible! We work with Realtors, who TRUST us to tell it to them straight - does this person qualify or not - how much do they qualify for... are you being HONEST with your partners about their customers? It's their customer too, shouldn't we both be working in tandem to show how much of a TEAM we can be to get OUR customer the best home for them? We all work in an industry that is just coming out of a crisis that crippled most markets in America because people were not accountable... not accountable for the type of loan they put a customer into, not accountable for telling a customer what they could legitimately afford and a lot of customers were not accountable for the notes they all signed up for...

In our personal lives, we should all be accountable to our families and ourselves to ensure that we are working to give them (and ourselves) everything they (we) want and need in life... clothes on their backs, roofs over their heads, food in their stomachs. Shouldn't you be working for a company that helps you provide those items through being a responsible lender, that will maintain it's integrity, who understands you, the Loan Officer deserve the most reward for the hard work you do every day, is supportive and is dedicated to your success? Ask yourself, are you in the right company for you to be successful and financially accountable to your family or yourself?

If you are in management, ask yourself... am I doing everything I can to be accountable to my team's success? If not, I would ask you to start. Don't lie to your team, don't embellish the truth, don't lie to Realtors, don't avoid or dismiss concerns or questions... BE ACCOUNTABLE.

You may be asking yourself what sparked such a rant about being responsible or accountable in our words and actions, it's simply this: I encounter people everyday who need someone to be responsible for them, for their financial protection, for their livelihood's - be they borrowers, Realtors or people you work with... I hope to remind everyone, in the Mortgage and Real Estate industry that we have a responsibility to our customers, to our teammates and to ourselves to uphold a standard of truth and protection of our people, do not lie, do not cheat, do not be vague or cut corners... be honest, be responsible, do the right thing for whomever you are working with or trying to help. Please know that people will respect you for it and trust in your word.

Sincerely,

Wendy Walker