Developing True Leadership - What Makes a Good Leader?
Developing True Leadership - What Makes a Good Leader
?
In the world of network marketing or any kind of business that involves growing an organisation, in order to be successful, you need to assume the role of a leader. Leadership is defined as the ability, authority or capacity to guide, lead, direct and motivate any organisation (in business, in the military, in religion, politics or in your family)
People sometimes confuse "leadership" with "management" but in fact there are definite differences. For me, a leader is someone that inspires others to follow whereas, managers are recognised more by their title than by their ability to lead. During my time as an employee, I have worked in organisations where much of the management team have been promoted to their roles purely based on the length of time they have been with the company, rather than "leadership skills" and I can tell you, very few of them inspired me and hardly any of them showed the qualities of a leader that I am going to discuss below. Unlike a Manager, a person becomes a Leader by virtue of his actions rather than his title.
So what do you need to develop true leadership?
First and foremost, leadership is about leading by example. Remember the saying, people do what you do, NOT what you tell them to do. Bear in mind, also that the success of your business, largely depends on your ability to inspire duplication down through your whole organisation. A leader will never expect his organisation to do anything he is not prepared to do himself. But don't wait until you have a team to start assuming the role of leader. You can step up and become a leader today. Here's a list of qualities you should adopt in order to be a great leader.
1. Develop Great Work Habits.
Be organised. Work to a DMO (Daily Method of Operation) so that your day becomes a routine. Know exactly what you are doing from the minute you get up, to the time you go to bed. This kind of routine will help you stay focussed on your goals. Recognise that building a business requires effort, commitment and consistency. It takes hard work to be succesful in anything.
2. Be Knowledgeable
Do whatever you need to do to master your profession to the extent that you are able to teach and train others.
3. Have Self-Discipline, Dignity and Respect
Have the self-discipline to always do the right thing for your business as well as your organisation. Act and behave towards others as you would like others to behave towards you. So don't put people down, start rumours or talk about other people behind their backs. Always maintain your integrity. Don't allow your beliefs and integrity to be compromised by others. It doesn't matter what anyone else does, it's how you react to what they do that matters.
4. Be Yourself
It can be very easy to try and adopt the characteristics or actions of someone that you admire that is successful but resist the temptation. You can only keep up the charade for so long so stay true to your own personality. Just be yourself and people will respect you for who you are, not for what you are trying to be. Leadership is not a popularity contest and has nothing to do with what people think of you. So don't take anything personally and never allow your beliefs or integrity be compromised for the sake of popularity.
5. Have A Great Attitude
Work on yourself and your attitude every day. Spend a minimum of 15 minutes everyday on developing yourself, reading books, listening to CDs, journaling, meditating, exercising etc. Be solution oriented and above all, understand that it is NEVER ok to complain. Complaining to your team, your mentor or even other leaders will totally strip you of all credibility. Remember your organisation are always watching you and your actions.
6. Get Outside Your Comfort Zone
Successful people do what unsuccessful people won't do. Understand that unless you are prepared to stretch yourself and go out of your comfort zone, you can't realistically expect to achieve the success that you want nor can you expect others to go ouside of their comfort zone.
So don't wait until you have a team, you can BE a leader now by adopting all the principles above. People are looking for a leader to follow. Once you start building a team, you can start cultivating the expectation of leadership within your team by setting the example.
Remember, people DO what you DO, not what you tell them to do - YOU are being watched.
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