Close your eyes, and think of you and your organization. Do people think of you as a leader? Does your phone ring with people asking for training, tips, and three way phone calls? How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself at the top of an organization, and thinking of all those under you in organization? You worked hard to get there, right? You should be at the top, after all you hear mantras like “climbing to the top”, “see you at the top”; our industry seems to be infatuated with being and staying on top. If you see yourself at the top of your organization, and everyone else is beneath you, this is a ego driven leadership value. True leaders know that this is flawed thinking. You are not the king of the hill, queen of the heap; people in your organization are not working to make sure you stay on top. This is a huge mistake and one that stops leaders from really grasping what true leadership is all about.
When you closed your eyes and visioned you and your organization, think of what it means to be a true leader. Leadership is a skill that you fine tune and I’m consistently learning more about. If you are truly thinking of leadership, you will see yourself at the bottom of organization and everyone is above you. You are serving everyone in your group. You heard it before, this industry is people buying people. People want to belong to something, they want to join you, they want to succeed. A true leader knows that their job is to whatever it takes to help their organization grow and succeed. This includes sacrifice, time, money, and effort. This is servant leadership and it is the best type of leadership in network marketing.
From Wiki: Servant leadership is an approach to leadership development, coined and defined by Robert Greenleaf and advanced by several authors such as Stephen Covey, Peter Block, Peter Senge, Max Du Pree, Margaret Wheatley, Ken Blanchard, and others. Servant-leadership emphasizes the leader’s role as steward of the resources provided by the organization. It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization’s values and integrity.
Now, go back and think of your organization. I am sure some of you know of so-called leaders in your company that believe they are at the top of their organization and have that mentality. You will also identify the leaders that believe they are serving and working for everyone in their group, you know the ones… they walk the walk and talk the talk. Who do you want to be more like?
Don’t make the same mistakes you see other leaders make. There is a reason you notice their top-down approach, because it isn’t genuine. Follow a bottom-up approach and work to serve your group. My guess is you’ll find your group responds faster to this and will grow in action because of it.
Until next time,
Bottoms up!
Donna Valdes
