Infectious Or Insidious?

Is your leadership style helping or hurting your team?

Insider

Chief Operations Officer, Atlantic Bay Mortgage

Leadership certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. You have heard the saying, “It is lonely at the top”. That always sounded untrue to me until it became a reality. Not only is it lonely but everyone is watching. Your attitudes, your stress levels, your reactions, your confidence, your balance, among other things. I have a co-worker that constantly reminds us that “the employees will take on the personality of the leader.” Too often we brush that off as another “leadership cliché” or something that feels untrue. I think as leaders we don’t realize we have that much impact. What we want is to make solid decisions that are the best for both the company and the employee. Outside of that, we don’t think we carry that much impact; however, that simply is not true. I challenge you to look around your organization. If you think through your organization, think of a team that is generally known for being positive, upbeat, kind, and hard-working. Now examine their leader. Most likely you will find that their leader is positive, upbeat, kind, and hard-working. If you think of another team that is analytical, conservative, docile. I would probably guess that their leader carries those qualities as well. Same goes for a team that is stressed, reactionary, dramatic and burned out. Their leader is most likely exhibiting their stress to the team.

Why does this matter? Well, in my humble opinion, it matters now more than ever. Everyone in our industry has experienced a great deal of stress, anxiety, and pressure for years now. The beginning of the pandemic was over three years ago. As an industry, think about what we have been through in the last three years. Navigating a global pandemic. Employees that have their children home with them and were responsible for at-home learning. The interest rate drop to historical lows. The desperation to hire operations folks to handle the influx of volume. Mortgage professionals working long grueling hours just to make it all happen. Followed by the largest rate hike we have seen in history. Multiple layoffs. Instability. Companies being sold. Companies closing. The financial pressures to exist in this market. Anxiety, fear, pressure, and stress.

As leaders we are not exempt from feeling all those things. In fact, the pressure throughout the last few years can feel overwhelming. It is so very hard to try and appear positive when you are experiencing that anxiety and fear. It feels impossible to hide your overreactions when you are operating from complete burn out. The problem with this incredibly human response to intense pressure and stress lies in the fact that when we show up like this, our employees begin to take on that personality. When you have a staff of folks that are reactive, burned out, negative and so on, you end up creating an environment that is unhealthy. Which in turn creates more stress for yourself. It becomes a cycle. It is imperative, in this environment, that we show up as our best selves. Show up the way we want to see our employees show up. This will in turn create an environment that will ease your stress.

What we want is to make solid decisions that are the best for both the company and the employee.

So how do you break the cycle? The first thing I would suggest is to create some accountability for yourself. Ask a colleague to keep you aware of how you are showing up. As much as it seems impossible, create balance in your life. Understanding that operating out of a state of exhaustion only creates more work, it is crucial that you take control of your stress and build a balance. Balance looks different for everyone. Take a moment, pause, and think about what balance looks like for you. Once you determine that, begin to build that into your schedule. Remember, gone are the days where burn out is worn as a badge of honor. We have progressed past that and now have enough scientific evidence that shows burn out serves no one well. Make sure you stay highly aware of how you are showing up. Lastly, remember your why’s. What keeps you in a leadership role? What motivates you? What inspires you? Continually reflect on those things and create a strong center of balance and purpose.

Like I said, leadership certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. However, leadership has the ability to change the experience your employees have daily, which in turn changes lives.