Name: Reverend Jon R. Wallace

Title: Master Trainer

Organisation: 360 Training

Jon Wallace is the Master Trainer for 360 Training and a content expert for NMLS licensing provider Mortgage Educators and Compliance. Ordained in the fall of 2024, the reverend Wallace pastors the Burlington Church of God in Michigan. Dr. Wallace completed his PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology researching trust, leadership, organizational culture, and socioeconomic impacts on organizational performance.

Socioeconomic Influences on Stakeholder Trust in Leadership is published on Proquest. His master’s thesis, Transformational Cultural Leadership, documented the ability to positively change organizational culture in the short term and the importance of trust and reinforcement by leaders. Dr. Wallace’s leadership experience includes 40 years of self-employment along with branch and regional manager experience. Community development includes board service with Lakeshore Rotary, Cornerstone Chamber Services, Cornerstone Alliance, and the United Way of Southwest Michigan.

In the past decade, Jon was the regional director of the Wabano Council of Boy Scouts of America, the treasurer of the St. Joseph Music Boosters, the Vice President of the Real Help Foundation, a fundraising volunteer for the Krasl Art Center, and served on the board of the Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

We’ve gone through the interviews and asked the best of the best to come back and answer 7 MORE Questions on Leadership.

I hope Jon's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. As a leader, how do you build trust with employees, customers and other stakeholders?

By listening well enough to be honest about direction, situations, and potential futures, demonstrating empathy and concern for their needs and objectives. Trust takes time and consistent engagement. As someone whose prior self-destructive behavior caused failures in communication and demonstrating faithful leadership trust can be lost very quickly.

John Maxwell's famous quote, " A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." Without trust, there can be no leadership, only task management and most likely, a higher turnover ratio, whether customers, employees, or other stakeholders.

2. What do 'VISION' and 'MISSION' mean to you? And what does it actually look like to use them in real-world business?

Vision is an image of where we are going. Depending on the size of the team, group or organization that may be broadly defined or very narrowly focused. The way its communicated is critical so that all stakeholders and believe and work collaboratively to get there. Mission is the purpose. The reason the entity exists beyond a basic profit motive. Vision is where we're going. Mission is what makes the heart and mind want to be engaged in getting there.

3. How can a leader empower the people they're leading?

Empowerment is possible when there is trust in both directions. Trust among stakeholders that the leader is operating openly in the best interest of all stakeholders, but also trust by leaders in others to be autonomous and fully engaged in where the organization is going and what needs to be accomplished along the way. This ties right back to open communication by leadership and their willingness to listen to the feedback provided by those involved.

4. Who are some of the coaches or mentors in your life who have had a positive influence on your leadership? Can you please tell a meaningful story about one of them?

There have been many of those. Marty Golob and Anna Murphy from United Way of Southwest Michigan. Bob Moss, David Colp, Chad Harlan, and many others at the Church of God of Michigan. My father certainly. He's still with us and retired now, but even in his 80's he's still taking care of family when anyone has a need. Picks up some of my nieces and nephews once a week to have dinner and play games.

He was firm when it came to discipline, but no matter what the circumstances were, he taught us to get back up and keep moving forward. Perseverance in everything, but meeting the needs of others was an obligation we all have, rather than seeking self-interest.

5. Leadership is often more about what you DON'T do. How do you maintain focus in your role?

Journaling, prayer, and project management. Seriously. Leaders have to know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and their tendencies are to avoid falling down rabbit holes. Learning to control that dangerous link between the brain and the tongue is critical. That requires taking care of yourself physically and mentally and getting enough rest.

Knowing then what you shouldn't try to manage because it's not your wheelhouse, and there's someone in your stakeholder group who is outstanding in that area. If the trust, engagement, and empowerment exist, then the tendency to micromanage (which damages trust) won't exist. For me, it's a set aside time of what really is the priority today, knowing that the "to-do list" is never finished and constantly changes.

6. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Everyone plans differently. How do you plan for the week, month and years ahead in your role?

So many industries are changing so fast right now that we really need to plan for multiple possible scenarios and find the overlap that allows us to move quickly in any of those possible directions. Sometimes that takes a global perspective, but it is often more regional in nature. Listening to a variety of experts and sources to stay on top of industry news, understanding that there are industries and logistics alongside that could have an ancillary impact as well.

We currently plan objectives for the coming year and activities one to two quarters ahead. We also understand that acquisitions, mergers, regulations, laws, and national and global politics may mean a pivot to something we need to create starting tomorrow.

7. What advice would you give to a young leader who is struggling to delegate effectively?

You're not listening enough. Leadership is a responsibility, not a privilege. Your team is telling you they can help, but you don't trust them enough to empower them to get it done. As a leader, not delegating not only burns you out, but you're missing out on the opportunity that comes from other eyes, ears, and brains being engaged from their perspectives and expertise. Write down what you're doing. Everything for a full week. Then find the 20% or more you shouldn't be doing and ask for help. Empower and trust them to be excellent.