Last evening I attended the birthday celebration for one of my DILs (Daughter In Law). Attending were her husband, mother and dad, brother, brother's lady, and my wife and I. For those with DILs, you realize that In Law relationships are generally somewhat distant and guarded in the early years, especially when compared to the relationship of the immediate family of one's birth. We are in those early years.
I was seated in a location ideal for observing the interaction between my DIL, her husband, and her brother. It was a joy to observe. Communication on a verbal and visual level that demonstrated a level of trust and understanding among the three to which all interactions should aspire.
As a keen observer of the world around me (aren't all appraisers experts in this area?) I am forever alert to ways to improve and make more efficient the difficult and imperfect art of interpersonal communication in my business. It is especially important in my current capacity as mentor to my team from a remote location. We communicate daily, usually for a couple of hours, mostly via Instant Message, some email, and infrequently via telephone. The challenge lies in making those communications clear, accurate, and absent of unintended conflicting signals.
At dinner last night, the exchanges between the three mentioned were quick, short, and conveyed accurately. A word here, a glance there, a gesture, a knowing smile. All without any unintended conflicting signals subject to misinterpretation. That's the standard I want in my business!
Read on . . .
How is that lofty standard to be achieved? I think the answer is simple. Trust. Utter, absolute trust between the individuals. Trust so deep as in 'We may disagree on a point, but we respect each other so completely that there is plenty of room for the disagreement, knowing that it will not effect our overall relationship'.
That level of trust is what I try to instill in our team. In a productive office, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of communications between the team each day, conveyed in the same ways I observed at the dinner last night. If that standard is achieved, the team will be productive and profitable with minimal misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Such a level of trust is achieved by individuals having a genuine respect for each other, with shared ethics and mutually beneficial goals.
"Life is tough. So is business. We are in it together, we succeed at it together. Together as a team, together as a business, together with our Clients."
In my remote mentor status I emphasize that I truly admire and appreciate each individual in our team. And I pledge honesty in all my communications. Brutally honest they might say, but honest. I encourage decision making. Each member of the team has the authority to speak for the company and I'll back their decision. I let the team members know that, and I let our clients know that.
A few months back one of our appraisers damaged a lamp that was leaned against the other side of a door. Couldn't see it, opened the door, the lamp tipped and chipped. The appraiser had asked permission to enter the room and was granted that before he approached the door. The borrower reacted negatively and was upset. The appraiser looked at the lamp, apologized, and immediately told the homeowner that the company would pay for the damages. The owner quoted a figure which the appraiser thought was outrageous, but simply told the lady that we'd mail a check.
The appraiser called me from the field, described the situation and the commitment that he made. I immediately phoned the lady, confirmed the amount and address to which the check was to be mailed. Mailed it that same day.
The lady later called the appraiser and her loan officer, apologized for being so upset, noting the stress of the impending move and thanked both for the way we handled the situation. Without the trust and communication between the appraiser and myself, the situation might not have ended so well.
Communication mistakes are still made. Almost daily it seems. We are not at the level that I admired at dinner last evening.
A couple of months ago I was in the office and overheard a conversation between one of our appraisers and a Client. The appraiser used a phrase that suggested a value range on a property that he had not yet completed the analysis on. We are very clear in our teaching that we can't use such a phrase. The range was certainly indicative of what we would expect from our experience in that market, but inappropriate because the analysis had not be done.
I was pulled into the discussion simply because I happened to be on site. I told the client that the appraiser should not have used the phrase in his comments, and that we would immediately return to the property to complete the required inspection to complete the analysis and provide a proper value estimate. That we did.
Afterward the appraiser approached me and complained that he felt I didn't back him in the situation. I politely disagreed, saying that we had to think before we spoke, especially in areas related to value comments, and that I had no alternative at the time but to tell the client we were wrong.
That didn't mollify the appraiser, but we both got over it. That's a plus, an indication that the mutual trust was in place. But the story doesn't end there. Recently, months after the incident, two other appraisers on our team mentioned that situation in personnel reviews that we were conducting, citing it as an instance where I had abused the communication and trust that we value so highly.
At the time I didn't think I handled it wrong. Now, after two appraisers expressed their views on the matter, I see that I did, and a public apology for the incident will be made by "The Boss".
On reflection, the two appraisers citing a distance past failure on my part is an affirmation that the trust and clear communication we are striving to achieve is gaining a foothold in the company. They viewed it as a violation of our standard operating procedure. That's encouraging. At the same time, it was a clear failure on my part. And that indicates that we have more work to do before we reach the goal that I observed last night at dinner.
Life is tough. Business is tough. Clear communication is difficult. But absolute trust and respect between collaborators in business is the goal we must continually attempt to achieve if we are to maximize our mutual productivity and profitability. We in Acorn may never reach what I observed at dinner last evening but we can get close, and closer than we are now.
www.acornappraisal.net is a 20 year old firm offering a wide range of quality appraisal services to the Financial and Business Communities. Our market includes the greater Houston SMSA, including Harris, Montgomery, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Waller Counties
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