Great leadership skills involves the ability to foster teamwork. I don’t think there will be much dispute over this fact. Teamwork is often discussed and analyzed and most people believe they have a good understanding of this topic. I received a wonderful gift from one of my mentors that really depicts teamwork at its’ best.

Here is the link to the movie called Pulling Together the Movie: http://www.pullingtogethermovie.com/

It can be found with several other free motivational videos at a website called Simple Truths
I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did!

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Leadership Skills and Training

I am an advocate for training for developing leadership skills and for network marketing success.  But there is a time when we go into training overload.  We all have the best of intentions, but we need to keep some things in mind.

Think about all of the books, tapes, seminars, and webinars you have attended.  Some are great, and some are … well…. not so great.  Here’s the million dollar question of the day.  How much of the information that you learned did you apply?

You may have heard the saying, Knowledge is Power.  Well I prefer to think of it more as fuel for power.  In other words, you need to use the knowledge you have obtained and apply it.  This combined with focus will help you towards your goals.

Don Standard is a highly successful leader in Network Marketing.  If you are interested in reading his experiences with network marketing training, check out this link.  See if you can relate to his experiences!

http://cheryll.mentoringforfree.com/zSUCCESS_Standard.php

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Now you may be thinking I have a typo of some sort, or maybe I am just trying to write a fancy headline to capture your attention (I confess the latter does have some truth).  But the reality is that great followership skills are needed for any successful team!  Want to have great Leadership skills? Learn to be a great follower!

The idea of being labeled a follower has a stigma attached to it.  For example – they are passive, weak people who only do what they are told.  This could not be further from the truth.  Followership is role, just like leadership is.  Both are critical to the success of a team. not everyone can lead at the same time.

Leadership is a fluid role.  When you think about it – everyone at some point in time is a follower.

The formal definition of Followership is the capacity or willingness to follow a leader (Merriam-Webster).  When you think about capacity to follow, it extends beyond following instructions or being able to follow what someone tells you to do.

A good follower brings to the table their integrity, ability to contribute and share ideas, their skills, knowledge and ability to work with others.  Hmmmmm very similar to a leader.

Good Followers are active and can think for themselves.  It’s not about doing what you are told to do.  It is about working with a team to accomplish success of a common goal / vision.

How does this all apply to Network Marketing?

• We all have an upline or a mentor to learn from and grow with.  We take on a followership role in this instance
• Having good followership skills helps us to keep ourselves open to new thoughts and ideas.  Sometimes when we lock ourselves into the “Expert” role, we are not as open to new and fresh ideas from those who may have less experience.  We narrow our vision and limit success in this manner
• We model for our team members success strategies
• It puts us in the position of working collaboratively and place focus on helping others.
  

Below is a great video “The Art of Followership: How Great Followers create great leaders & Organizations

The ability to follow is a indeed a necessary Leadership Skill including the network marketing industry.

If you would like more insight on how you can develop as a leader in network marketing, download Success in 10 steps.  It is free and exemplifies what is needed to have real network marketing success.

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Quiz: Name a leader in the internet marketing arena who 1) Offers an extraordinary amount of high quality, easy to understand training,  2) Offers it for Free,  3) does not sell anything during the training, and get this – 4) Will do this on an annual basis and constantly seek on improving things from year to year?

Answer: Ed Dale is an extraordinary leader who gives so much value.  Ed and his team have been Doing the famous “30 Day Challenge” for several years. It is pretty amazing how much he and his team contributes.  I credit the 30 day challenge for finally helping me to put all the pieces together and understanding how this business works!

The exciting news is that this year, starting July 1, 2010, the 30 Day Challenge has been revised.  It will be known as the challenge.  Take a look at the video and see what’s in store! And to quote Ed Dale “There’s no charge for awesomeness” The training remains free!

CLICK HERE to access and register for Ed Dale’s Challenge!

It has been a while since my last post.  Okay, It has been a long while since my last post!   I really took  time to take a step back and reflect on what I really want to accomplish.  During this process, It has been very clear to me the power of focus for your Network Marketing Success.

It is sooo easy to loose focus on what you want to accomplish.  If you are working on-line with any type of business, you know how easy it is to get distracted.

There’s the fun, social stuff (i.e on-line farming, on-line poker).  I think these are great things.  I have read posts from others stating that these are time wasters or that it is not the professional thing to do.  I have connected and made new friends – so to me it is worth it.  Everything in moderation.  I usually do these  things after I accomplish what I set out for the day.  Do what is right for you!

Then there are the launches, promotions, trainings etc.  It is so easy to get drawn into these offers.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of great information and training by some amazing people.  You just really need to be focused on what you want to accomplish and if the timing is right.  Believe me – I have been pulled through the marketing funnels and have been on information overload.  I have become much more selective in how I spend my money on training and where I focus my energy.  You can also find some amazing free training.

Focusing on one stream of income!  Okay, I know the big thing in Internet Network marketing is focusing on multiple streams of income.  I found myself getting more and more into affiliate marketing and internet marketing as opposed to network marketing!  I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with affiliate and internet marketing.  I do have one affiliate product on my website.  I also have some pretty amazing friends who are doing this and doing this quite well!  If I make a sale – that’s okay.  If I don’t – that’s okay too.  My focus is on building my MLM.

I have decided that my primary focus is on Network Marketing Success by first and foremost helping others to build their business.   This to me involves building relationships and providing free, high quality training and resources.

You will find ONE affiliate item on my site because I actually use the product and believe in it.  I do earn money from this product if you decide to purchase it, but you are welcome to buy it from any other resource!

To your success!

How much time do you spend on perfecting your presentation?  How about overcoming objections and closing the sale?  I am about to suggest a shift in where you focus your attention!  A key leadership skill for network marketing or any other business for that matter is listening!

There is not better way to learn about what your customer or potential team member wants than by listening to what they have to say.  Focus your attention on their wants, needs, challenges and desires.  Do this NOT to manipulate the other person to buy a product or join your team, but rather to learn if what you have to offer can truly benefit them.

The following are a few tips to enhance your listening skills:

• Give your undivided attention: It’s obvious – no email, phone calls, and other distractions when you either call or meet with someone!

• Focus on what the other is communicating: Focus on what they are saying and the meaning behind it.  Don’t worry about trying to figure out how your product/opportunity will help them.  Focus on learning about the person.

• Listen without judgment:Many times in our fast paced world we listen to bits and pieces and formulate judgments without really hearing what someone has to say! Also, your judgments may interfere with learning about the other person.

• Restate: Restate or communicate back what you have heard from the other person.  This shows you are truly listening and can help clarify any misunderstandings about what the other person is saying.

When you make the shift to focus on listening, you begin to develop a positive relationship with others.  Even if your product or opportunity is not appropriate to meet the other person’s needs, they may end up making referrals to you because of how you treated them.

Developing Leadership is indeed necessary for MLM success. I was reminded of an important key to success when listening to Anthony Robbins today.  My last post posed the question  – Do you need leadership skills to experience success in Network Marketing?  Probably the most important aspect of any success, whether it is in network marketing or anything else, is your psychology.

Robbins indicated that success is 80% psychology.  How true.  Your ability to get yourself to take action on a regular basis, the drive to keep going even if you are getting frustrated, and your willingness to committ is essential.  Knowing how to do something is the easy part.

Just look at the diet industry.  There are probably millions of books, systems, products ideas all related to loosing weight.  I would also guess that most people know deep down what they need to do.  Unfortunately this is a looming problem.

My last post indicated that MLM success was dependent upon the ability to pass on tangible skills, tools and knowledge.  That’s only a small piece of the puzzle.  Reflecting upon all of this, I believe that Developing Leadership skills is critical.

Great leaders by nature have developed the psychology it takes to succeed.  In addition, they can empower their team members to do the same.

10/9/2009 – Please see my update!

I have to confess, this blog is very self-indulgent.  I love studying leadership, learning what attracts people to great leaders, and just about every aspect of this topic.  I was reminded of something very important as I was watching a video by Mike Klingler.  The purpose of the video was not to speak of leadership per se, but he did touch upon this topic.  What I am about to say may seem very contradictory to what this whole site is about.  If you want to be successful in Network Marketing, you do not have to have leadership skills before you experience success.  If you are using the Internet to build your on-line business, what you need to have is concrete, tangible skills.  You need to be able to use social marketing tools such as blogs, squidoo lenses, video postings, article marketing and so on to provide value based content.  You can experience a great deal of success, income and a following by developing competencies in these areas.

So does that mean developing leadership skills is a waste of time?  NO, not at all.  Obviously I place a lot of value on this.  I look at the development of leadership as progressive.  While you are developing competencies and using the Internet to attract others, you begin the process and journey of developing leadership skills for network marketing.  It really makes a lot of sense when you think about it.  If you are a leader, you are a teacher.  If you are a teacher you need to know how to use and apply the tools for success.  Regardless of the methods you use to build your network marketing business there are skills necessary for your ultimate success.  This includes leadership and listening skills.  The beauty of attraction marketing, your focus starts out with learning and teaching tangible skills.  I look at the development of leadership skills as something that occurs a long the way of your success.  With the more traditional methods of Marketing, much emphasis is placed on needing leadership skills before you can experience success.  This can be quite challenging, especially to the beginner.  This is another reason why using Web 2.0 is so powerful and can really help others attain success.

I would love to hear your opinions on this topic.

To your success!

Sometimes Leadership is a balancing act.  You need the wisdom to make decisions of when you should be more involved and when to pull back.  I have had the experience to observe the effects of this throughout my career.  I have seen people in leadership positions take on a more relaxed role and not establish any type of structure. They were very laid back. People on the team were lost, looking for direction and getting very frustrated.  I have also seen people in leadership positions take on a more controlling role. They micro managed their teams, checking every little thing there team was doing, and giving very little responsibility to others.  This was very suffocating to the team and demoralizing.  I believe with leadership, you need to balance this all out.  There are some times where you need to be a little more ridgid and times where it is okay to be laid back.

Balancing it all out in network marketing requires flexibility and wisdom.   You need the flexibility to adapt and respond to what is going on in the industry. If you are to be focusing on being a provider of solutions, flexibility is needed to find new ways of meeting those needs. You need the flexibility of helping your downline when they are struggling with an approach to build their business. Remeber that attraction marketing is not like the generic, simplified mlm recruiting methods of the past. You need to be flexible in your approach on when to be more structured and when to be a little more laid back. You may find that a more structured approach with someone in your down line is needed when they are brand spanking new! You are laying the foundation for that person and they need more guidance. The wisdom needed for such decisions come from experience. You need the wisdom to decide what actions to take, what approach you should use, and when to take action. I view leadership as a fluid and flexible. There is a right time and place for different leadership roles.

Have you ever been told by someone in a Network Marketing company that if you don’t succeed with the opportunity, it’s basically all your fault?  I had that experience when I attended a weekend training promoting the more traditional methods of marketing.  Using these old-school MLM methods made me feel like there was something wrong with me. I was not comfortable with using the methods taught and really struggled to build my business.  I felt I needed to change things about myself.  Maybe my “Why” was not big enough, or maybe I needed to develop more confidence.  I also found myself getting irritated.  My experience has taught me that leaders also have a responsibility in a teams’ success.  I was not buying into the trainers belief’s anymore. This was confirmed as I learned more about  Attraction network marketing.  People who are not experiencing success probably need to learn more effective methods of Network Marketing.  There are tons of people who work really hard at the business with very little to show.  It is too easy to shift all the blame onto those people.  Yes it is true that people on your team are responsible for taking action and are primarily responsible for their own success, but a leader with integrity shares some of that responsibility. The following are just a few thoughts on this subject:

• If someone on your team, or someone that you are coaching is not experiencing success, you have a responsibility to discuss this with that person.  It is quite possible that person does not have the right information or tools to effectively accomplish their goals. In addition, they may need a different approach.  Remember that success in network marketing is not about having everyone utilizing a one size fits all type of method.
• Leaders have a responsibility of empowering their team to be successful and to become leaders themselves.  This means providing your team with quality information, tools and skills necessary for success.
• Leaders have a responsibility to keep current with their industry and what methods are most effective for building their business.  They need to keep themselves educated, find a coach if needed, and work on self-development.
• Leaders have a responsibility to keep an open mind.  They need to be willing to look at new ways of doing things as our society grows and changes.  What is working today may very well be an “old school” method down the road.
• Leaders cannot rest on their laurels.  I believe that great leaders continue to work on their business.  They don’t cling onto their past successes.  They lead by example.

I would love to hear feedback and thoughts on this subject.  I welcome your posts!

To your success!
Cheryl