At Teamzy, we understand that personal development is important. That’s why we encourage you to carve out time each day to enhance your skills and knowledge. One of the best ways to improve your business and leadership skills is to read. When you read books by and about successful business people, you’ll learn from their success. You’ll also learn from their failures and misses as well. What better way to learn how to address the challenges you may face than by learning from the mistakes of others?

People always ask me what books I’ve read that have influenced me. Here are my top five:

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

Pastor and author John Maxwell has created a long and successful career inspiring business leaders and helping them succeed. In this book, Maxwell outlines 21 principles to help you become a more effective leader. He notes that while these timeless principles never change, how you apply them in your business may. The good news is you don’t have to learn or master them in order. You can take them one at a time. Each one reinforces the other principles and will draw people to you, depending on how well and how often you apply the principles in your business. Throughout the book, you’re encouraged to check in with yourself and how well you’re applying that principle in your own life. If it’s an area for improvement, there are steps to take to make it a strength. 

One of the most striking principles is the second, the law of influence. Here, Maxwell explains that leadership is not synonymous with management or position; instead it’s your influence. Leaders have the seven factors that people are drawn to: character, relationships, knowledge, intuition, experience, past success, and ability.

Another principle, the law of addition, involves adding value to your followers through service. Since relationship marketing is all about serving others, this is one that is important to master if you want to lead a successful network marketing business. Think about ways to add value to your customers, prospects, and team members each day. Are you currently doing this or is it something to work on? If the latter, make it a goal to reach out and serve others every day.

The 20th law, the law of explosive growth, says that if you want to achieve explosive growth, you have to develop leaders. As network marketers, your success depends on growing your business. As you develop your team, your focus will be on growing and increasing your network. Sure, you’ll be able to achieve your goals this way. However, if you want to build a thriving business and experience exponential growth, it’s essential to tap into the leadership aspects of each person on your team to encourage them to lead as well. Leaders will lead others to succeed as well, which in turn, increases your sphere of influence. 

Click here to learn more.

The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma

Although he began his career as an attorney, Robin Sharma has become an established leader in the field of professional development. In this book. Sharma explains how to take your business to the next level, regardless of the state of the market or other outside factors, and regardless of your title. It’s about learning how to influence others and work with them in a way that they trust and support you. Additionally, he explains how to develop a resilient and unbeatable mindset that will give you the strength and courage to lead in your field, while enjoying balance in your life.

One of the most important takeaways for network marketers? He outlines a strategy to help you not only build a powerful team, but also deliver better experiences to your customers. Click here to learn more.

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek made a name for himself several years ago when his lecture “Start with Why” went viral. He followed it up with this book, which delves into the service aspect of leadership. The statement “leaders eat last” means that true leaders will take care of the needs of their people first before their own. One of the ways to do so is to internal threats to protect the tribe. As a result, the tribe (or team) will be more likely to take care of one another and help make the group’s goals a reality. 

Throughout the book, Sinek reinforces the importance of people and service to leading a successful and thriving business. Although many business leaders place emphasis on numbers and driving numbers higher and higher, Sinek advocates for serving your team. Using real-life examples of business leaders, he explains that while businesses that focus on returns over people may have more growth initially, those that have leaders who empower people do better over the long term. If you want to become a more effective leader, Sinek outlines ways to improve your leadership skills and become the type of leader who empowers their team to be at their very best. 

Click here for more information.

Dare To Lead by Brené Brown

Brené Brown appeared on people’s radars with her best-selling book, Daring Greatly, in which she explained how to harness vulnerability to become a more effective and inspiring leader. In this follow up, she outlines how to encourage and cultivate a daring and more courageous leadership and team. Brown has spent her career researching the role that emotions play in our lives and applying it to the corporate environment. The result is a set of actionable steps and strategies that anyone can take to improve their leadership skills and lead a more courageous and authentic business. 

Brown explains that a courageous leader knows they don’t have all the answers. But they are open to learning more and finding out. They don’t seek power in order to keep it to themselves; instead, they use their power to empower others and bring out the best in their teams and customers. Additionally, in challenging times, they use their vulnerability as a tool to help and serve others. To Brown leadership is more than developing tangible skills, it’s also about developing interpersonal skills, including a heart for service. This book will motivate you to move beyond the comfort zone. You’ll become an inspiring leader who serves from the heart. Click here for more information. 

Servant Leadership in Action by Ken Blanchard & Renee Broadwell

Ken Blanchard built his career helping business leaders create businesses based on servant leadership. Servant leadership is about putting your team ahead of yourself and finding ways to bring out the best in all of its members for the good of the overall team. Put another way, it’s more “we first” than “me first.” As a result, team members feel more fulfilled, engaged, and committed to the mission, which over time, leads to increased growth. 

In this book, Blanchard has compiled a collection of essays by notable business experts who practice servant leadership in their businesses. The book serves as a guide for anyone who wants to lead a stronger, more fulfilling business, based on strong relationships and the heart to serve others. It offers advice and strategies to practice servant leadership in your own business. By the end, you’ll have tangible tools and use with your team in your network marketing business. Click here to learn more.  

These are all great books that have influenced me professionally and I recommend reading them all. However, you may find it difficult to find time each day to read. After all, you have a busy life and a ton of commitments, not just your business. Here’s how to find the time to read:

• Break it up. Anything can be done in smaller pieces. You don’t have to dedicate an entire afternoon to reading. Try 10 minutes when you wake up or before bed. It helps to keep a notebook nearby to write down any points you want to remember or highlight them with your tablet or in the book.
• Schedule it in. Spend part of your Power Hour developing your mind. Unless your network is huge, it likely won’t take you a full hour to connect with everyone on your list for the day. Use the remaining time to read a chapter from the books above, or another title by or about an inspiring business leader.
• Set goals. Make it a goal to read a book a month or even a book a week. Then work toward that goal. Teamzy makes it easier to work toward and complete the goals you’ve set.

Check out our new leadership training program

Sharpen your leadership skills with our new resource to help you become a successful leader. We created our Teamzy Lead 4-week leadership development course to help network marketers develop the skills. It’ll help to improve their leadership skills so they can take their businesses to the next level. Take your business to the next level, sharpen your leadership skills, and grow your team. Click here for more information.