DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1527854
33 October 2024 » 2 0 2 4 F I V E S T A R C O N F E R E N C E & E X P O of how many people I have helped get to their highest potential. I know of a few that I was able to be part of their growth, and they have reached positions even higher than mine. The most important thing to me is being able to give back. For women, I think actually going out and being seen is important, otherwise, we just think the system sees us, and we are not seen. There is an art to that because you do not want to be the aggressive feminine type. That's always an issue … looking like you are aggressive and self- promoting, but there is a way to network, be seen, and be comfortable describing your value. It's not natural for women, so I would teach them how to do that. The third thing is continuous learning, because we run out of time, we do not keep current with the times. In general, mentorship is one thing that I would change if I was talking to my younger self to understand business models. In my consulting job, I go around, I see different companies, and the value lies in people understanding your business model. It should go all the way to the lowest level, the lowest-ranked person needs to understand the vision. Many leaders are lazy about casting vision. It should start from the top, and what you are trying to do, and cascade that down. There is a book by Patrick Lencioni, The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable, that affected me. The book explains that you must be obsessive about casting vision and then making sure the people all understand it because it's much easier for them to rally around the vision if they know it. In general, when giving mentorship advice, that would be the number one lesson, always to paint the vision. What are you trying to do first? And then what are you asking individuals to do to support this vision? Being very passionate about vision is important. The second thing is to understand your business model. How are you making money? A lot of people do not know why you are here. This is a corporation, we make money, and if we make money, we have jobs for people and have a sustainable business. Many will come in and just say, "This is what I'm supposed to do today." But how does it fit the overall strategy? Q: You served as Chair of the National Mortgage Servicing Association (NMSA) from 2022- 2024, a nonpartisan organization driven by senior executive representation from the nation's leading mortgage servicing organizations. What were some of your greatest accomplishments during your time with NMSA? Martin-Leano: My time at the NMSA was great in terms of being able to connect different leaders in different industry groups. If I was running for president, I would sponsor a coalition group that in- cludes the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the NMSA, Urban League, and everybody connected with housing policy and maybe even just sponsor a once-a-year get together and get people connected because together as an industry, we are better. That sounds trite, but it's true. Look at the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). That's another thing I'm passionate about because of the adoption rate. Some may already be using a smartwatch, some ChatGPT, some a Ring doorbell system, and some an Alexa. The personal adoption of AI tools is there, but then in our business world, adoption is slow. Why is that? One reason is fear. There's a thing called containment. When nuclear arms came into being, America and Russia said, "Oh, we can mutually destroy ourselves with this, so let's look at containment because too many of these are not going to do anybody any good." Sometimes with AI, there's that concept of containment, which is okay. We don't want it to be off the skids where it's doing harm. We want it to do good, and how we can make it do good for our business. I'll give you an example … call centers. Call centers are not unique What Jocelyn's Colleagues Have to Say: "Jocelyn is an incredibly thoughtful, insightful leader who participated fully in the program. She does the work. She puts her time in. She doesn't take shortcuts. And she devotes herself 100 plus percent to whatever she's doing." —Vicki Good, Educational Portfolio Director, Harvard Business School