Network Marketing Leadership:

The growth of your network marketing organization is influenced primarily by development of and duplication of leadership.  Period.  If you are serious about your network marketing business, and achieving the success you desire, then you have to get your head around the idea that you must become an effective, duplicable leader.

Developing Leadership in Network Marketing Organizations

In network marketing leadership development it is important to remember that this is a business anyone can get into, without consideration for education, experience, training, etc.  That’s the beauty of this business.  The other beauty of this business is that leaders come from the most unlikely places!  The lesson there is that you cannot and must not judge anyone in your organization as not having the ability to lead.  In fact, it’s quite the opposite – you must view every person in your organization as a network marketing leader.

I’m going to make a statement that may just ruffle a few feathers: I can take an effective network marketing leader and put them up against a Harvard MBA in a business contest, and the network marketing leader will win every time!  Why?  Because the network marketing leader knows how to keep business simple, what is important, what is possible, creates leaders as a habit, draws on the synergy of the organization, has strong belief, is an effective communicator, and knows how to synthesize solutions to business problems – to list a few reasons.

Yes, that may seem like a completely preposterous statement, but here’s the point: Network marketing is unique in the fact that leaders don’t succeed unless they create leaders who can duplicate.  Network marketing is not a hierarchical structure with expanding subordinate levels.  It’s a structure of leaders with a common purpose.  That is a very big distinction relative to traditional businesses.

To create and duplicate network marketing leadership you need to keep the process simple.  So let’s start with my simple definition of leadership:  Leadership is having the vision to see what can be, and the courage to pursue that vision. 

Let’s start with you.  Your mission is simple: look for a vision of what can be in the lives of everyone you know and meet – whether they are in your organization or not.  Get in the habit of spotting positive attributes, and identifying limiting beliefs that defeat the ability of the person to achieve a more profound life.  Sounds a bit heady, huh?  It’s not.  What you are doing is training yourself to find the leadership capability in everyone you meet, and identify limiting beliefs.  Your job is to encourage people to challenge their limiting beliefs and take small steps of courage.  Then you teach others to do the same thing.

Network Marketing Leadership is Pervasive

In your network marketing leadership development activities it is important to convey to your leaders that the skills they acquire in this journey are pervasive.  In other words, they will find this new-found skill influence all the other areas of their lives, and in the process open up new options in their lives.

Your leaders will soon see how the confidence they acquire and teach becomes fun and addictive.  When this happens you will have leadership exploding in your organization.

Keep Your Network Marketing Leadership Development Simple

Communication, involvement, and encouragement are three activities that will accelerate development of your network marketing leadership team.  Communication and encouragement are self explanatory, but involvement may not be.  Involvement simply means being aware of what your leaders are doing, or not doing.  Encourage and support those who are leading and active, and use them as an example to encourage others.

Keeping it simple also means doing the right things.  In network marketing we are not in the “management” business: we’re in the business of marketing, distribution, and duplication.  Simplicity duplicates.  Know what activities in your company produce results and encourage your leaders to teach, recognize, and reward those activities.

It Is Said: Systems Duplicate, People Don’t – Really?

Be very careful with the frequently heard mantra: “Systems duplicate, people don’t.”  Leadership in network marketing is not a system, although one can “systemize” their activities.  People are NOT systems, they are people.  Your responsibility is to develop people into leaders, and then teach them how to do the same.  That “system” of teaching needs to be as consistent as possible, changing as better practices are identified and learned.  Nevertheless, what you are trying to do is duplicate leadership, and that means duplicating behaviors and beliefs in your team.  

Yes, this is a bit subtle, but the bottom line is you cannot lose sight of the fact that you deal with people, not systems.  Duplicate leaders by celebrating their strengths, vision, desires, and passions, and making that a big deal.  Everybody is different, but they can be duplicated!

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Here’s to fun, profit, and lifestyle in your network marketing business!

All the best,

Dana