Mortgage executives call for a renewed leadership model

Leadership in mortgage origination is changing alongside shifting market conditions — but that’s a good thing, according to a panel of senior mortgage executives at The Sales Mastery event powered by Momentum Builder in Dallas this week.

Bill Hart, national leadership coach at Movement Mortgage, Natalie Overturf, vice president and divisional sales leader at CMG Home Loans, and Jeremy Bordner, vice president of regional production at loanDepot, joined HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins as moderator to talk about the value of origination leadership in the current market.

During the candid discussion, the panelists said the industry is overdue for a new model of how leaders show up, add value and inspire teams.

Bordner didn’t mince words about the widening gap between leadership titles and leadership substance.

“There’s a big gap out there,” he said. “If you’re working for somebody who isn’t hustling as hard as you are, that’s a red flag. Leadership comes down to two things — character and competency. Do they know what it takes to do your job? And are they operating at a higher level than you are?”

The days of figurehead managers, he said, are long gone. “It used to be you’d see the regional with the tan and the golf swing at the President’s Club in Hawaii. Those days are over. Leadership today has to actually transfer value.”

Hart echoed that sentiment. “Leadership today isn’t about title or tenure. It’s about delivering more value than cost. That’s how we move the industry forward.”

For Overturf, effective leadership is about removing friction, and she used an unlikely metaphor to make her point: curling.

“In curling, your job is to sweep the ice so your team can move faster,” she said. “That’s what leadership is. I don’t ever want to be a layer — I want to clear the way.”

Overturf said accessibility is the cornerstone of her leadership philosophy. “Anybody on my team can drop into my calendar. Leadership can’t live in the tower — it needs to be at the line level… If people feel disconnected from leadership, you’ve already lost them.”

Overturf has built an internal mastermind for her division — a self-contained coaching program that mirrors the energy of national sales events. “We created a space inside our company where originators share best practices and see what success looks like. That culture of transparency and generosity is what keeps talent attracted to our team.”

Hart, who has been a mortgage coach for several decades, shared a framework borrowed from college sports: the rule of threes. “Your 1s know what to do and need recognition. Your 2s need accountability and love. Your 3s? They either need to change — or move on. Letting mediocrity linger tells everyone that mediocrity’s okay.”

Hart also noted that systems must support culture. Movement launched a program called Market Leader Mastery and embedded transparency into Salesforce dashboards. “When you log in, your business plan and your performance data are right there,” he said. “It’s total visibility — and that builds trust.”

Building accountability is key for leaders and the ones they are building into, the panel said.

“Our business has almost no built-in accountability,” Overturf said. “If you don’t close loans, you don’t get paid — but no one’s telling you what to do. So as leaders, we have to set expectations clearly and coach in real time.”

She cited The Five Dysfunctions of a Team as foundational reading. “You can’t have accountability until you have trust. It’s like coaching basketball — you don’t wait until the game’s over to give feedback. You coach in the moment.”

Bordner said the industry changed during the refi boom and leadership needed to adjust. “The industry got soft. People were making double the income with half the effort. It’s time to bring back some grit. If you want it, go take it.”