Let’s chat today about some of the things that it takes to be a good leader and have the best results in leading your team.
Listen Now:
Training:
One of my favorite songs as a kid went like this “Do as I’m doing. Follow, follow me. Do as I’m doing. Follow, follow me.” To this day, those words stick with me. Why? Because when you are a leader, other people want to follow you. They WANT to do the things you are doing. To be like you. To find the success that you have. If they didn’t want to do as you were, they would choose to follow someone else, right?
Have you ever had a leader who told you to do one thing and then wasn’t willing to do those same things themself? Now, it’s one thing to suggest ideas that they haven’t tested and tried as a way to give you ideas that you can try out, but it’s another thing to tell you do to things or to take actions when they themselves have no intention of doing the same thing.
For example, in our business, this could look like a leader who is telling you to go live 3 times a week but has not gone live herself. Or maybe she is telling her team to order 500 PV a month and is ordering JUST enough to stay active each month.
It only takes a short time until the followers start to realize that she isn’t doing what she is telling them to do. She isn’t taking the actions she is asking them to take. And then there comes this disconnect. This gap. It becomes apparent that this leader isn’t running her business with integrity. She and her business aren’t in harmony.
And this isn’t the way you want your business running or your team to perceive you. You want to be able to say – “I’ve tried this and this is what works for me.” “I’ve done that and this is what I would recommend.”
Maybe it’s doing a live sale. Have you done a live sale for your customers? Can you tell your team members what has worked for you to organize your jewelry ahead of time? Where to get some reversed live numbers? What is a good lighting setup?
Or maybe it’s setting up at an event. What do you do to keep the wind from knocking everything over? How much change should they bring to the event? How should they setup their boards?
What about asking people to join your team? Are you talking to people about the business opportunity on a regular basis to keep your skills sharp or to know what kinds of questions people might ask before the join?
All of these examples and so many more are things that you can learn about and research but DOING them will give you a lot more insight into how they work and how to best help your team members and future team members to be successful at them.
Let me share a story. It’s one that I’m not exactly where I heard it, but I hope you will forgive my lack of context.
A commander was meeting with his advisors and captains to discuss the upcoming battle. This was a critical battle for the war and the commander had lost several key battles recently and knew that he desperately needed to win this one in order to win the war. The leaders were concerned because they would instruct and command the soldiers to march forward into battle but at the first sign of trouble, the soldiers would lose their courage and retreat or turn to one side or the other and run away.
As the leaders stood discussing how to best motivate the troops, the commander stood up, left the tent, mounted his horse and rode to the front lines. Once they he yelled “CHARGE” and the troops rallied around him and dashed straight into battle. The didn’t deviate to the right or the left. They didn’t retreat but pressed forward and fought with fierceness and courage to win that battle and ultimately the war.
So what do you think the difference was from when the leaders were shouting from behind, giving instructions and then sending the troops on their way to when the commander was right there with them. Fighting alongside them?
The troops looked to him for their strength. For his guidance. His courage. When he didn’t turn back, they didn’t either. When he wasn’t scared, they weren’t either. When the commander was back in the safety of the fort, they felt like he didn’t understand the fear, the pressure, the dangers they were facing. But when he was out in front, leading the charge they would have followed him to the ends of the earth.
So do you want your troops, your team to give up at the first signs of trouble? To quit when they hit their first speed bump? Absolutely not. If you want to succeed, to grow, to become an Elite Leader, you need your troops to push past those difficult times. To buckle in when those speed bumps hit. To double down when the stakes get high. And the way they are going to do that is if you are out in front, leading the charge. SHOWING them the way to push through, to persevere, to succeed.
So what kind of a leader are you or do you want to be? If you are just starting out or just growing your team, what kinds of things would you like them to do each month? Are you doing those things too?
Or if you are already a leader who is rocking her biz, in what ways are you leading from the front and is there something you need to do better at?
Never turn back, never surrender. Push forward, lead your troops to victory and push past the failures, the fear and doubts so that together you can rise to the highest ranks in Paparazzi.
Show Challenge:
What are some of the things you want your team to do? Is it to help 3 people a month to get their business started? Order 250 PV? Make a short list of these things and then be sure you knock them out each month too.