Ownership is important to your business. You not only must own your business, but also own yourself. Leaders who take ownership are respected, while those who do not, are not. Leaders who take ownership also recover faster from mistakes, take pride in what they do, and are generally happier. However, although many network marketers own their businesses, they may not take that extra step of owning themselves. But, to lead a successful business and earn the respect of those you lead, one must take ownership. 

Take responsibility

The best leaders take responsibility, the foundation of ownership. They don’t play the blame game and blame others for their failures. Or make excuses and blame the economy, their timing, their lack of knowledge, or the people around them. They own up to their role. 

Assigning blame is another form of an excuse. It is easy to make excuses, especially when things aren’t going the way you had planned. However, you cannot control everything. What you can control are your actions. If you work hard, follow a system, do a daily Power Hour, and focus on building relationships with people in your network you can be sure that you have built the foundation for a successful business. This is the formula that successful people use to build businesses, regardless of the industry. Your actions control your fate. That’s why it’s important to take responsibility for both your successes and your failures.

Often we are quick to take responsibility for our successes. We will chalk up extra sales to doing more consistent Power Hours. Or we will say that memorizing and using the scripts paid off. However, if we experience a setback, we’re often quick to assign blame somewhere. We’re quick to identify anything that could have possibly prevented us from completing the task at hand, whether it was possible or not. We will say I’m just so busy with other things right now, instead of admitting that we could have added another Power Hour to the week. Or, will say that we’re just not feeling on our game or people just aren’t responding to us. In reality, we may be putting off important activities like follow-ups or not focusing during the Power hours. Your network deserves your attention, as does your business. If you want to succeed it’s important to take responsibility and ownership for all of your actions.

Set the Example

The benefit of taking ownership is that other people will see you doing it and will feel more comfortable doing so when the opportunity arises. If your team sees that you are taking responsibility for both your successes and your failures they will be more likely to admit issues that they encounter on their journeys to success. Taking responsibility shows your team that you are humble enough to admit when you could have done better. It allows you to admit that you’re human and are not perfect. This makes you a more effective leader, one that your team is sure to follow and respect.

Focus on what you can control

How often have you become frustrated when you experience a setback that you never anticipated that has thrown you off course, even slightly? We often beat ourselves up in situations that are far beyond our control. We wonder what we could have done differently to avoid an issue. Sometimes the issue would have arisen even if we had done everything perfectly. The only person you can control is yourself and your actions. This is what successful leaders understand. They understand that they can only focus on what they can control. They can’t control situations, people, or outcomes. What they can control is their own actions and attitudes.

When you need help maintaining this perspective, keep this mantra in mind:

I can’t control outcomes, but I can influence them by controlling what I do consistently. 

What I do consistently influences what my team does consistently.

So, what can you control?

You can control your actions and your attitude. 

Are you focusing on problems or are you finding solutions? 

When you focus only on the problem it can be difficult trying to figure out a solution to it. Your mind isn’t open to thinking of solutions at that point. Instead, when you focus only on the problem you can’t see beyond it. You may focus on what you could have done differently, or find an excuse that can fit your internal narrative. However, when you assess the problem and then focus on solutions, your mind is open to the possibilities. Similarly, are you wallowing in the negative or finding the positive in the situation? When you can only focus on the negative, you’re unable to see the silver lining in the situation. Thinking positively also allows you to consider solutions you wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

How do you react to situations? 

Are you more likely to get angry or feel anxious or just want to give up? Many people think that it’s easier to just give up than it is to follow through and get to the other side. In reality, Opportunity often arises out of challenges and setbacks. Although it’s natural to feel a bit bummed out at first, if you look at the positive and see challenges as learning experiences then you are more likely to feel empowered in challenging situations.

Are you able to forgive others? 

Again, it’s very human to feel upset at first. However, remember that grudges only punish you. They don’t punish anyone else. In fact, many of us hold grudges and the other person has no idea that we’re holding a grudge against them. It doesn’t affect their days, so why should it affect ours? Don’t let grudges impact your attitude and mindset. After all, grudges only Poison the Well of your mind. If you forgive, you hand it to God and you free yourself and your mind.

Are you consistent? 

Consistency is one of the keys to success. After all, you are what you do everyday. If you are consistent it will show up in your business and in your ability to meet your goals. Be sure to model the activities that you want your team to do. For example, if you want your team to do a Power Hour every day, you have to do a Power Hour every day. They will see you doing it and they will be more likely to do it themselves.

Are you committed to learning? 

Learning is another essential ingredient of success and ownership. The most successful people in business are committed to learning. Whether it’s learning to become more efficient, better at sales, or a more effective communicator, the most successful folks look for ways to learn and improve their skills. Another added benefit of learning? It allows you to connect with experts and even potential mentors. If you want to learn a skill or just learn something new, you can find out who’s in the know and learn from them.

Do you plan your day?

Plan your day or your day will own you. Many of us create to-do lists every day and then Wonder why we haven’t crossed more things off. We’re so focused on completing everything on our to-do list now we get disappointed when we feel we’re not being as productive as we should be. Although creating a to-do list is helpful, it’s more helpful to time block your day, assigning blocks to different tasks that you absolutely positively need to complete that day. So how do you find out what these tasks are? You prioritize your day. Prioritizing your day is the difference between wasting time or investing it in the things that will help you achieve success. Many of us waste so much time doing activities of little or no value each day. Instead of running a business, we are letting our day run us. This is not fair to your business. It’s also not fair to your team. The most successful leaders are not only able to plan their days and get more done, but they’re also able to inspire their teams to do the same.

Harness your creativity

“Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”

-George Kneller

Leaders are creative. They can see beyond what is in front of them to find solutions to both common and uncommon problems. They may enjoy having an opportunity to use their creativity to help themselves and their teams thrive by thinking of unique Solutions. So how do you harness your creativity?

First, get on the solution side of the problem. Once you have assessed the problem, start thinking of solutions to help you overcome it. What is a positive outcome for the situation? It’s easy to think of the negative outcomes, and your mind may naturally head in that direction. However, the more productive thing is to focus on the positive outcomes. What can you do to create a positive outcome?

Next, identify how to create that positive outcome. What do you need to make it possible? Identify what you will need to get in order to create a more positive outcome. Consider enlisting the help of your team or other people you know who can help you.

While you’re thinking of help, ask for it. There’s no shame in asking for help when you encounter a tricky situation. There are people out there, both on your team and in your network who would be happy to help you achieve a positive outcome. Consider asking them for help.

Teamzy can help you take ownership and become a better leader

Did you know that Teamzy offers online courses to help you improve your leadership skills and become more effective for your team? It’s true. We offer many online training courses to help you and your team improve your skills so you can be a more productive network marketer. Find out more.