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 Characteristic????

Are you a heavy hitter in your network marketing business or is this something that you strive to be?  At first glance, one might think this is what the business is all about and a Leadership Characteristic one must have.

If you believe this to be true, I challenge you to keep your mind open and consider the alternative.

It is very understandable why you may feel you need to be a heavy hitter in the business based on your personal experiences with the industry.  It may have been how you were approached (or should I say attacked!) by someone who had the “perfect Opportunity” for you to join.  Maybe you received training that focused all your energy on overcoming objections, closing the deal and so on. I personally felt like a failure because I could not bring myself to do these things.

Heavy Hitters focus on outcomes and numbers.  So what’s wrong with that you may ask? Obviously you want to earn money and create a better life for yourself.  There is nothing wrong with that!  At the risk of sounding a bit cliche  - you need to consider the journey itself and how you get there.

If you are building a business, do you want to build one with someone who views you as another notch in the belt?  Someone who’s primary interest is the bottom line?  Do you think they have your best interest at heart? If you treat others like that – do you think they will want to work with you?

If you truly want success in building your network marketing business, you will want to forget about looking at each prospect as a stepping stone to building your own business.  I have learned that you really need to focus on building people period!

I used to believe that in order to be a success, I needed to convince people to join my opportunity and buy my products.  I was taught things that made me feel like I was being manipulative. It was not really my nature to do so but I felt that it was just a matter of going outside of my comfort zone.  Needless to say I did not get very far.

I was fortunate enough to come across great mentors and resources which taught me that my focus should be on building people.  Much more my style.

Think about it – if you place your focus on helping others, they will experience success.  Your return will be so much greater than what you put in.  It will be so much more enjoyable.  You will develop positive relationships.

So you decide – do you want to have a business with relationships focusing on building people, or are you interested in keeping a tally of how many people are on your list, how many people who have joined or how much money you earned?

If you are interested in building relationships, developing solid leadership characteristics, and learning more about this approach, please download this free book called Success in Ten Steps.  It is not an affiliate program and it is packed with useful information.

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

I just heard an interesting statistic – 96% of the population does not like to sell or be sold!  If this is true, then it is probably helpful to consider rethinking your strategy for effective marketing.

Home parties for example, can be a fun social event.  But when I ask friends and family about what they think of home parties, they feel like it is something they do out of support to who ever invited them.  They feel obligated to buy at least one product and listen to the demonstrations.

How do you really feel about making a list of 100 people?  How do you really feel about receiving phone calls from a family member or friend about their latest opportunity?  Be honest with yourself!

Do you really like the idea of “closing the sale”?  If you have to convince someone to join an opportunity – how committed do you think that person will be?  If 96% of the population truly does not like the idea of this – how successful do you think it will be? How much fun will you be having?

These are the things that people think about if they ever had experiences with Network Marketing.  It does not have to be that way.  With the onset of the Internet, you have opportunities to work with people who are interested in the industry. You can enjoy yourself and build your MLM Company!

Network Marketing is a great industry if you find the right company and get the proper training!  Don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to pay a lot of money for training either.  I have dished out a lot of money in the past and found that there is high quality free training out there.

If you are interested in learning more, check out this free e-book Success in Ten Steps.  It is not an affiliate program and with it, you can discover how to access free training calls.  No pressures to join anything.  You can utilize the training even if you are with a company that you love! Get your team involved as well!

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

I came across a very interesting report done by IBM called “Capitalizing on Complexity, Insights from the Global Chief Executive Officer Study” More that 1500 Chief Executive Officers world wide were interviewed for this study.

With today’s economy and high competition, the report indicates that CEO’s face a great deal of complexity like never before.

Creativity is the Leadership Characteristic that the CEOs in this study highlighted as one of the most important aspects of being able to deal with the complexity of the business challenges today.

So how does this apply to the business of network marketing?
Like all other business, Network marketing deals with the current economic state and the competition in the field.  While there are a large number of benefits to this industry, it is not isolated from the rest of the world.  Complexity surrounds us all! It is vital for companies within the industry to be creative in their approaches to building business.

This requires the leadership characteristic of Creativity.  So how do you  develop creativity in your network marketing business:

• Keep an open mind.  In my opinion, this is critical to creativity.  There are many ways of building a network marketing business.  Many of the traditional approaches have been replaced.

• Be flexible and willing to look at new ideas and ways of doing business.  If you have been in the MLM industry a while, you may be resistant to some of the new approaches.  If your business is not where it should be or used to be, consider looking at some innovative ideas.

• Re-examine past practices and toss them out if they are outdated.  Does making a list of 100+ or buying leads really help your business to grow?  Area you alienating your friends? Is it time to stop wasting your time and money on some of these practices?  Really think about this to see if it is still effective for you today.

• Interacting with your fellow team mates including those individuals who are new to the team.  Network marketing is about relationships.  What better way to learn, grow and come up with creative solutions than to interact with those in your business.  Even the new folks can shed a new perspective on a complexity you are facing.

• Finding out what your customer wants / needs.  Developing a relationship with them.  This can lead to creative ways of better serving them.  Having a happy customer is essential.  Think of the impact it will have if they see you are implementing one of their suggestions!

These are just a few insights on the Leadership Characteristic of creativity.  You have it within you and your team, be open to using it!

If you are looking for new ways of doing business that may differ from what you are currently doing now, I encourage you to look at the free report Success in 10 steps. It is free and offers an effective approach that can help your business grow.

Partners in Success!

Cheryl

Merriam Webster defines Courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.  It takes courage to build a business.  It really is an important Leadership Characteristic that one must possess in network marketing.

My goal is to share with you my thoughts on Courage and how it can affect your Network Marketing business

Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the little voice at the the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow. ~ Mary Ann Radmacher

When I think of courage, the things that often come to mind are the acts of the brave fire fighters, police officers, and soldiers. Yes they truly are heroes and give a lot of themselves to help protect us. But Courage does exist in our lives more often than we realize.

Think of your day to day life.  Then take a look as some of the following examples of courage:

• Express your thoughts and opinions
• Stand up for what you believe in
• Go out of your comfort zone
• Start a new business
• Change careers
• Learn or try something new
• Make new friends
• Make amends
• Be open to others’ thoughts and views

In Network Marketing, courage is very much part of the business.  It is evident that a growing number of people are aware of using the Internet to build their business. But still for many, the first thing that comes to mind is making a large list of people, contacting all your friends and family, making cold calls to people you don’t know or getting 100 “No” responses, please rest assured this is very much unnecessary.

Courage is needed to go out of your comfort zone and develop relationships with those who are interested in the business.  It may be to learn skills necessary to grow a successful business.  It can be a shift in thinking, being open to new ways of doing things or possibly just taking an honest assessment of how you are doing. It can be as simple as committing to take consistent daily action regardless of the time spent.  Courage to believe in yourself.

Courage in business does not always involve a huge visible risk.  It is the small steps we take and the courage that goes a long with it that counts.  It is an essential Leadership Characteristic in building your business.

Courage is being afraid but going a head anyways ~ Dan Rather

]]> http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/leadership-characteristic-of-courage/feed/ 4 http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/handling-criticism-is-an-important-leadership-skill/ http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/handling-criticism-is-an-important-leadership-skill/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:45:01 +0000 Cheryl http://attractionmarketingleadership.com/blog/?p=360

Dealing with criticism is an essential Leadership Skill. I have just read another brilliant post by John Maxwell regarding this subject –  “When you Get Kicked in the Rear, You Know You’re Out in Front”  Maxwell indicates that criticism is a part of leadership and good leaders must know how to handle it.

He covers 5 key areas for dealing effectively with criticism:

• Know yourself
• Know the criticism and the critics
• Stay Open to Change
• Accept Yourself
• Forget Yourself
  

I highly recommend reading this article.  You can easily access by Clicking Here.  Handling criticism is an important Leadership Skill.

John Maxwell is an amazing leader.  I appreciate his work and find great value in what he has to offer.  His work is a must for anyone wishing to improve their leadership abilities.

Two Free Effective Marketing Tools for Network Marketers are Google Alerts and Google Reader.  It is essential to keep up on your niche, the network marketing business and anything else that may be related to your business. These are some of the best tools for the job!

Google Alerts: Google Alerts is a wonderful way to search the Web and have the results sent to your email account.  If you use a Google email account, you also will have the ability to manage them.  You can choose the type of content you wish to receive, the frequency and the number of results.  It also allows you to set up several alerts.  You can utilize different search terms based on your interests.

I have alerts sent to my email account on a daily basis.  It gives me an opportunity to see the latest news in my areas of interest.  I also have discovered some wonderful blogs related to my niche.  It is much easier than doing searches on my own.

Google Reader: Once you have located some great blogs, you may want to consider subscribing to them. Google Reader is fantastic for organizing all of your blogs. You can place the blogs in different categories (i.e. Network Marketing, Internet Marketing, Leadership)

There is no better way to keep up with all of the material and information.  Google Reader allows you to easily skip over articles that do not interest you and focus on the posts you want to read.  Google reader also gives you the option of sharing content with others.

Benefits: There are huge benefits to reading other’s content.  Obviously you will educate yourself on what is going on in your niche and with the network marketing industry.  It will also give you an opportunity to connect with others who share similar interests.  By reading other blogs and sharing your thoughts, you are opening yourself up to new business connections and positive relationships.

Some of the most effective Marketing Tools are free!  Google Alerts and Google Reader are two great examples!

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.

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.

Why is Personal Development so important to Success?
Personal development is something near and dear to my heart.  Without it, I tend to become stagnant.  I like to think of personal development as a way of adding to what you already have.  There was a period of time where I thought I had to change everything about me in order to achieve my goals.  Almost as if I was not good enough. This is NOT what self development is all about.  I was younger then and a lot more naive back then!  A very dear friend pointed out my strengths and that what self development is truly about. I am very grateful to her for this.

So why is personal development so important?  Great network marketing leaders already know the key to their MLM success. They follow other leaders and people they look up to.  They discover new things that they did not know about and make efforts to learn whatever it is they need to learn.  Leaders now that developing skills and knowledge is an ongoing process.  It helps to keep current with what is new in the industry.  If you are going to position yourself as someone who provides solutions, you need to be able to have a wide repertoire of solutions to offer.

What are some Key Areas of Personal Development for Network Marketing Leaders?
If you want to know what areas to focus on, start listening to and following current leaders in the industry. Don’t be afraid to learn about something that you never heard of before or is different from what you have been doing.   If you are using the attraction model of network marketing, it also helps to keep your eyes open on new technology related to Web 2.0.  You may discover new ways to connect with others.  You may also want to pay attention to other types of leaders as well.  Recently Trump University had a webinar on social media and how to use the tools to build your business.  It is interesting to see how other people apply the knowledge you have obtained to their line of business.  Another critical area for all leaders is anything related to relationship building.  This skill will help know matter what business you are involved with.  You need this skill to connect with others.