Are you a leader? As a network marketer who leads your own business, you are whether you realize it or not. Leaders have a passion for their businesses, are excellent communicators, are clear-headed, and are inspirational to their teams. They want to lead their teams and their businesses to excellence.  Whether you’re aware of your leadership skills or want to sharpen them, we’ve got you covered. 

How to Sharpen Your Leadership Skills

In order to sharpen your leadership skills, you have to know what skills you already have. What are your leadership skills? Do you have great listening skills or the ability to make others feel special? Are you great at inspiring people or encouraging them to bring out their best? 

If you’re not sure what your leadership skills are, ask someone. Ask a team member,  a loved one, a friend, or a family member what your leadership traits are.  They may have more insight into your best leadership traits, as well as where you can improve. 

Once you know where you excel, you can figure out what skills you want to improve or keep sharp.    

What are the traits of a leader?

Here are some common leadership traits to start with. 

Leadership is a choice, not a position.

Stephen Covey

Listen 

Listening is the most important trait to have. Most of us talk for the sake of talking and don’t listen to what the other person is saying. We’re always thinking of what we’ll say next.  But, a conversation isn’t a monologue. Of course, you want to share what’s going on in your life,  but don’t forget to ask what they have going on as well… and listen to what they say. Don’t try to one-up or interject your own story or witty comment.

Listening shows you respect and care about the person you’re speaking with because you’re showing that you’re interested in what they have to say. Leaders ask open-ended questions and then listen to the answers. When the other person responds, ask more questions. Although it’s nice if they mention a need that your product can help with, it’s not necessary. Simply by listening you can build your relationship.

How to develop this skill:

Develop this skill by practicing it often.  Whenever you’re speaking to someone, make a conscious effort to listen to them. Hear what they’re saying and resist the urge to interject or talk over them. Then, get in the habit of asking the next question. This will not only help you build the relationship but will also give you insight into how you can help.

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

Jack Welch

Pay attention

The best present you can give someone is your presence.  How often do we get so wrapped up in what’s happening around us that we ignore those around us, even those we’re talking to? Or we’re so focused on our phones that we put a wall up around us. This is not only rude, but it is disrespectful to those around us. 

Leaders pay attention to those around them, including those they’re speaking with. They don’t focus all their attention on them; instead, they focus on the other person to learn more about them.  This gives them insight into how they can serve or help them. This brings us back to listening – you’re sure to hear more when you focus on the present and the person you’re with. 

How to develop this skill:

Prayer and meditation help you quiet your mind and focus on one thing while staying in the present. Taking time out of your day to do this will train your mind to be present, especially when connecting with others. 

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.”

-John Maxwell

Embrace transparency 

We all have the illusion that success just happens. Success seems effortless because we often don’t see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. And, many leaders feed into this illusion because they don’t want to appear weak. 

However, the best leaders are authentic and in that authenticity is the self-awareness that they can’t do it alone. And, there is a ton of work that goes into becoming an overnight success. Be upfront with your team and network about how hard you’re working.  If you missed your goal, think about why and share it with your team. Then, encourage them to view it as a learning opportunity to learn. You can even ask them what they would have done differently.  After all, your challenge may be one they face someday, too. 

Also, we’re not at our best all the time. Sometimes our actions or thoughts aren’t optimal. People form their impressions of us by more than the words we use, but also in our body language, tone of voice, and more. If these don’t line up with our intentions, think about why. Then, discuss it with the other person or, if that’s not possible, discuss it with your team.  Share what happened and what you would have done differently.

How to develop this skill:

Share your challenges and successes with your team. Explain what you did and how you would do things differently next time. This not only shows your transparency and willingness to be wrong, but it also gives your team ideas about how to handle a similar challenge they may face in the future.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

John Quincy Adams

Mentor 

If you want your team to behave in a way that builds their relationships with their network, it is vital to model that behavior. A step further is to mentor them. 

Mentors are leaders who use their expertise and experience to teach others how to work more effectively. They take from their own experiences – both positive and negative – to explain ways to do things effectively and build relationships. Although they share from their own lives, they look for ways to apply their lessons to the mentee’s life so they can avoid the challenges they have faced. 

Leaders are mentors to those on their teams and actively look for ways to mentor them, whether it’s setting up one on one time or providing mentorship during team meetings. Or,  even if someone is sharing a challenge with you, you can take the opportunity to mentor them. 

How to develop this skill:

Look for opportunities to connect with your team. Similarly, look for people who can act as a mentor to you. When connecting, ask yourself what you wish you had known when you were in their shoes and let that guide you. 

Follow up

Although it sounds funny, following up is a leadership skill. The most successful network marketers are follow-up experts. They’re also great leaders. Following up allows you to take charge of the relationships you have with your network. Instead of waiting for them to contact you, you’re taking the initiative to contact them and check-in. This helps you to grow the relationships. 

How to develop this skill:

Teamzy makes it easy to remember to follow up. Simply log in to your dashboard to view a list of people to connect with and follow up with each day. All you have to do is reach out and log your progress.  

Teamzy can help you develop your leadership skills

Teamzy is more than a CRM. It offers tools and training programs to help you improve all of your skills, including your leadership skills. With a variety of training resources and programs at your fingertips, you can develop and sharpen the skills that will help you serve your network better and thrive in network marketing.  Click here to learn more.