How to Overcome Leadership Challenges as a Title Agency Manager

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By Grace Collins

For years, there has been a deeply held misconception that claims leaders and managers are opposites, often painting managerial roles in a bad light. A Forbes article proposes doing away with this leader vs. manager comparison, as managers must also possess crucial leadership skills to work effectively with employees and positively influence how they feel, behave, and perform in the workplace.

This applies to every organization, including title agencies, where managers must lead employees to deliver optimal service to clients and contribute to overall business growth. But just like any manager in any industry, title agency managers face key leadership challenges that ultimately affect employee engagement and business decisions. Here’s how to address some of them.

Undergo Coaching and Training

Having to lead employees through constant change — such as shifting policies for processing titles and documents or new clients and realtors — can quickly take its toll on the well-being of title agency managers. When this happens, managers can benefit from undergoing training and coaching themselves.

In this light, a Human Resource Executive article explains how in-house human resources professionals can step in and provide updated resources that not only touch on workflow and productivity concerns but also allow managers to acquire soft skills like change management and trust building. Managers who are resilient and equipped to take on uncertainties are less likely to experience burnout while also inspiring employees to adapt successfully to organizational changes.

Learn Project Management to Improve Productivity

Another common leadership challenge in the title business is achieving and maintaining productivity, considering this is a fast-paced industry with lengthy closing cycles and uncertain mortgage market conditions. In such cases, title agency managers can adapt skills from project management to plan effectively, meet deadlines, and deliver stellar results.

To illustrate, the essential skills of project managers include the ability to delegate tasks, create synergy, and communicate priorities among team members. Since project managers also utilize each member's strengths and keep them motivated throughout the project cycle, title agency managers can apply this to their own leadership style through project-based approaches like resource management for allocating labor and resources and critical path planning for adhering to a set timeline.

Consider Sponsorship for Talent Development

A crucial part of being a manager is helping employees with their potential for growth and career advancement. In the title business, this means guiding agents in updating their skills, competencies, and certifications for more outstanding qualifications and performance.

While mentorship can provide employees with the support and motivation they need, an opinion article from Housing Wire sets forth the idea of sponsorship for boosting career opportunities like scholarships and participation in conferences. Sponsorship also takes on a more pivotal role by driving broader progress in diversity, equity, and inclusion — mainly by giving deserving people visibility and credibility regardless of age, gender, culture, and work style.

Practice Giving FeedbackLastly, title agency managers may also struggle with conflict resolution between team members or between themselves and an employee. This can happen when the team is juggling too many clients at once or when the business is pressured to generate new clients in an otherwise competitive market.

As previously discussed in a post about leadership skills for title agency managers, there is value in knowing how to give constructive feedback without discouraging employees and hurting overall team morale. The BIG model, in particular, teaches managers how to balance motivation and discipline by commending employees on their performance first, then pointing out what can be improved and how to move forward from the conflict.

Overall, title agency managers encounter numerous leadership challenges while carrying out their roles. These challenges may range from internal pressures to external conflicts, but what matters is they take on the challenge to adjust, communicate well, and constantly strive for improvement.

Grace Collins is a business and financial blogger. She provided this content exclusively to ALTA. Send feedback to [email protected].