There is a major difference between high-achieving versus high-performing Loan Officers.

High achievers focus on:

-          Driven vs Directed

-          Results vs process

-          Goals vs systems

-          “Me” vs “We”

The distinction lies in the focus, approach and longevity.

BUT, most importantly, high performing LOs have personal and professional harmony.

“So, Amir, what does that have to do with the subject line: ‘Death by Meeting 💀?’”

The right of passage into becoming a high-performing LO is knowing you must create more time by creating more leaders.

Let me explain:

Once you understand how time is truly money, but that time management is also about energy and people management, everything will change for you.

The more you understand time optimization, the more you will want to delegate any and all low-level tasks that will be replaced with things that energize you, which in return, will energize your personal life.

^ read that twice.

The first step is to say “heck no” to any current meeting that doesn’t impact you in one way or another (deflecting crap that doesn’t move the needle is where most LOprenuers fail).

The second step is to begin building your team (delegating is the hardest skill for most LOprenuers to learn).

And lastly, it’s about leading your team accordingly so you can gain alignment, traction and velocity (driving delegation through properly structured meetings is the second hardest skill for most LOpreneurs).

Once you have the right “whos” in the right seat at the right time, it’s time to empower them to excel in their roles and to create a repeatable experience for anyone that interacts with your business.

High performance teams invest time together through frequently held, varied and purposeful meetings.

These meetings build foundational trust through a rhythm and cadence found in 5ive specific power meetings.

“The number one dysfunction in most [teams] is either lack of meetings or having meetings that are not effective…to make our meetings more effective, we need to have multiple types of meetings, and clearly distinguish between the various purposes, formats, and timing of those meetings…the solution is not to stop having meetings, but rather to make them better.” - Patrick Lencioni

Yes indeed Mr. Lencioni, and your book “Death by Meeting” and “The Advantage” has made me millions while impacting hundreds around me positively as well.

But before I give you the 5ive power meetings, here is what NOT do.

The 5 major mistakes of meetings:

1. Preparation: The team hasn’t adequately prepared or thought about the meeting (even briefly) in advance. This lack of preparation wastes time and derails productivity.
2. Structure: There’s no specific agenda with a defined purpose, creating confusion and lack of focus. Agendas should clarify not just what is discussed, but why.
3. Clarity: Meetings devolve into a “stew” of mixed topics, leading to fatigue and diluting the team’s ability to prioritize key issues. Segment meetings by purpose—strategy, updates, problem-solving, etc.
4. Engagement: Meetings are boring or lifeless because they lack healthy conflict, meaningful discussion, or opportunities for contribution. Ensure everyone has a role in the conversation.
5. Accountability: Without written, clearly assigned actionable items and deadlines, meetings become repetitive and lack forward momentum. Close each meeting with clarity on who, what, and by when.

I don’t know about you, but I have been in some pointless meetings, and it never ceases to amaze me how some major executives are clueless on even running them.

Now, I make every excuse to avoid most meetings like how my 3-year-old daughter does before bed time each and every night.

So, let me give you the goods since you’ve been waiting so patiently.

The 5 major power meetings of High-Performance Teams:

1.Daily Team Meeting (DTM) is a quick 15–30-minute daily team check-in meeting conducted in the mornings at 9am (except for Mondays, which should be at 1pm+, as Monday morning meetings are a drag for everyone) that includes only the LO, LP1, and LP2 (no LP3s).

This meeting is critical to steer the team in the right direction daily and delegation becomes difficult without it causing distractions and disruptions throughout the day.

If conducted effectively, the team will quickly know the status of key performance indicators, status on agreed upon assignments, awareness of urgent issues and everyone’s day ahead schedule and priorities.

Eventually, this meeting can take place without or without the Loan Officer (on some days) when there is a great LP1 and LP2 in place, and fully absent of the Loan Officer when a great Team Captain is in place.

Pro Tip: Stand up to speed up this meeting (after you gain traction).

2.Weekly Team (Pipeline) Meeting (WTM) is a 45-90-minute weekly tactical pipeline meeting conducted every Tuesday morning at 9:30am (after the Daily Team Meeting) that includes the Lp2  (Loan Partner 2) and LP3 (Loan Processor).

This meeting drives sales by giving the Loan Officer more confidence to prospect knowing every loan is closing smoothly while also delivering great experience to all involved setting up future repeat and referral business.

If you want to achieve high volume, with less chaos, you must work way ahead of schedule as this will allow you to develop a reputation of excellence in execution. 

Pro Tip: If you run a Branch, have the meeting sequenced with the top producing LO going first.

3.Weekly Team (Training) Meeting (WTM) is a 60-minute ad-hoc training meeting that is a “as-needed” meeting to address any specific, often urgent issues that come up outside of the regular standard meetings that typically focus on a single topic problem to help improve normal workflows.

These meetings are sometimes unavoidable, they should not replace regular, structured meetings.

Use them sparingly and purposefully to address pressing needs without disrupting broader team rhythms.

Pro Tip: I leverage Loom to record and narrate anything we train on to save time in the future

4.Monthly Team Meeting (MTM) is a 60-minute “download” meeting that takes place the first Monday afternoon of a new month.

These meetings are to reflect on the previous month’s results, and to ensure we discuss any critical issues affecting long term success, such as file flow, team member duties and responsibilities, etc.).

Pro Tip: We use this time to read every customer survey and to pick a team (employee) MVP.

5.Quarterly Team Meeting (QTM) is a 4-hour off-site meeting that is a strategy meeting where we discuss our results, determine our next moves and build team chemistry.

These meetings are a great time to dive deeper into any needed business process improvement issues.

Pro Tip: The year end off-site is a full day and your team should be flown in-town if working remotely.

This may seem like a lot, but I will tell you, if you ever sit in one of my team meetings, you will understand how I get so much done.

Just remember:

If you don't have structured meetings with smart teammates, your business will either stall or slip very quickly.

Hope this impacted one of you today.

-Amir

PS: Within the GO! Coaching community, all our Level 3 Elite Members will have access to all the above meeting logs and recorded narrations explaining each one in more detail.