How To Be A Leader
Now, I know that instantly, already some of you, upon hearing the title of this Blog post are already thinking “oh this isn’t for me - I’m not a leader” or “I don’t want to be a leader” or “I’m not a natural born leader” or “I’m happy to just slot in and follow the crowd.” Hang with me, because I know that there is a leader within you, even if you don’t realise it yet. For others reading this, you’re ALL in and ready to level up into the best possible leader you can be. Some of you may even be feeling a bit of imposter syndrome - you’re already a leader because you have a team but you’re not leading them properly or you don’t feel worthy of your leadership role. All of these feelings are normal, so whichever bucket you sit in, I want to make this relevant for you.
The first thing to remember is that we aren’t all born equal. Some of us are born as natural leaders, and this can be identifiable from a really early age. Some of us are born as pack followers…think of the child at nursery who follows everyone else around and copies what they are doing. You may have been that child and may therefore feel like you’re not a leader. I hear that so many times in this business “I’m not a natural leader.” But recent scientific studies suggest that leadership is 30% genetic and 70% learned, so even if you were not toddling around at nursery like you owned the joint, you can absolutely learn how to be a good leader as an adult.
When we think of our own personal leadership, we often default to imagining our role in the workplace environment. But there are many other ways in which we lead in life. Are you a parent? Well, then of course you naturally lead your children and guide them throughout childhood and adolescence. Do you lead in certain decision-making processes in your relationship? So, we all have the ability and capacity to lead in any situation, we just need to learn the skills, build our confidence and start practising.
What kind of leader are you? The two very basic types of leadership style are autocratic and democratic. Autocratic leaders are direct and they dictate. They are often very driven and successful but can sometimes struggle in the popularity department. Think of famous leaders such as Donald Trump or Adolf Hitler. Democratic leaders are less strict with structure and often ask the opinion of those around them. They tend to be popular leaders but sometimes need to be firmer in their direction. Famous examples of these leaders are Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. Having a balance of both qualities is advisable. Now, here are some essential traits for you to develop in order to evolve into the best leader you can be.
There are 6 key traits of Leadership:
Energy! Your energy as a leader is everything. You have the absolute power to create a ripple effect of positive vibes throughout your downline. Whenever people have asked me over the years how I have cultivated such strong teams, it’s all down to the energy I have had throughout my business journey. I am always positively buzzing whenever I talk biz and it is that level of energy and vibration combined with hard work and daily activity that grows business or sells products.
Empowerment of Others. You need to elevate and empower others and make then believe in themselves. You need to reassure team members that they can do it, because the chances are, they are doubting whether they can reach District or Area or Nation. Everyone needs a cheerleader, so make sure you are their very own Mr or Mrs Motivator. Cheer them for every win, both big and small. When we are young, we get given gold stars when we achieve something, yet this level of recognition gets depleted as we age and by the time we reach the workplace, we rarely get gold stars! I have never forgotten a great quote I once read in a John Maxwell book (he is my top tip for Leadership books!) He said “you need to treat everyone in your organisation as if they have a 10 out of 10 stamp on their head!” Your purpose is to be the vision-caster and to give your team total or your clients total belief within themselves.
Loyalty. As a leader, you should have your team’s back. You are their support network as well as their cheerleader. They need to feel like you are the strong oak that can withstand any whirlwind. You are the captain of their ship and sometimes the seas get stormy….Anyone remember 2020? You need to commit to being the last man standing….if you cultivate and develop a sense of “don’t worry, I’ve got this,” your team and clients will feel safe and secure in your hands.
Productivity and good work ethic. This is the ability to get things done. It’s no good having all of the positive personality qualities….the passion, the belief and the high-vibe energy, if you don’t actually get the work done. As a leader, you need to ‘do the do’ and deliver the goods. A strong work ethic is so crucial, as is consistency. You need to still support your team and show up even on the days when you don’t feel like you want to.
Decision-making. Good leaders are brilliant at making tough or quick decisions. Quick and dynamic thinking is beneficial and this is something that can be learned if it doesn’t feel innate.
Professionalism. Leaders need to always behave professionally. You are representing your brand, company, yourself, your team and your product or service. You are competing with every other comparable brand or company out there, so always be the consummate professional and give yourself that award-winning edge that others will remember.
Also remember, even if you are at the very early stages of your business and you only have a very small team, your team will duplicate what you do. They will follow your lead. So, lead from the front by doing the do and showing them what to do. Yet, sometimes in business, you need to lead from behind. A good leader knows when it’s time to take a step back. Nelson Mandela once famously said “Lead from the back and let others believe they are in front”. A great leader will recognise that their platform was not given to not just elevate themselves but to empower others.
A great leader doesn’t just create followers – they create leaders.
I am going to share with you an analogy based on a true story about a Mother Duck and her 12 ducklings that shows the power of sometimes leading from behind. Every Spring, each mother duckling will generally begin with 10-12 ducklings only to have at best 1 – 2 survive. Sometimes, none of these ducklings survive and it is a vicious and cruel cycle every year. All mother ducks generally lead from the front with the ducklings following still very close behind. Unfortunately, this generally results in large fish, birds and turtles picking off the rear ducklings. However, this one particular Mother Duck decided to do something different. Instead of leading from the front, she led from behind, allowing her ducklings to lead the way as she kept a close eye on each of them. After the first week, all 12 ducklings were still alive. Week after week went by and all 12 ducklings were alive and well and Mother Duck had achieved the unthinkable – she led all 12 of her ducklings into adulthood and additionally introduced 12 strong new leaders to the duck community. There are powerful lessons to learn from this analogy – by leading from behind, we stop making it about us. Sometimes, we need to keep our egos in check. Business can be emotional - don’t react on emotion. Always sleep on it. Mother Duck empowered her ducklings to be natural born leaders by stepping out of their way. Know when it is time to step up and out the way to allow your leaders to promote closely behind you.
Here are some ways in which you can create intentional energetic leadership shifts:
SET THE PACE
Your team will replicate the pace you set. Have you ever noticed sometimes when you’re on holiday and you take a break, so does your team? “Oooohhhh, she’s chilling out….so can I…..she won’t notice – she’s too busy on holiday.” Being the chief pacesetter puts you in a very powerful position because you are the badass conductor of your very own orchestra! You can raise the energy anytime and increase the tempo of activity to create a crescendo of a symphony in your business.
SET THE VIBE
The vibe and the energy emanating from you needs to be positive. END OF. A negative vibe can drag a whole team down. If there is bad blood between anyone in your team, try to gently correct it (obviously some situations are unique, but personal issues should be left out of the workplace). I perceive forgiveness as an epic VIBE. Forget it and move on in harmony. Because success and harmony are perfect partners. I have learned a lot over the years about this. In the early days of one of my businesses, everyone in the team knew everyone! We all basically lived in the same town and I knew the names of everyone’s children and pets and there were never any dramas. The bigger your team gets, the more you can’t control what happens – there will be new personalities, different dynamics, people that challenge you, people that upset and offend you or question your leadership. This is normal. It’s business. But always have an honest conversation, draw a line and move on.
SET THE CULTURE & COMMUNITY
Community is quite literally life! Being part of an uplifting and supportive close community is continuously linked to a lengthy life by psychologists and philosophers. You should already have created your own beautiful culture that represents you and your brand, company or team. Be protective of that. Make it respectful. Make it fun – remember people will leave a job but they won’t leave a community or friendship. We spend so much of our lives working that it is so important that it is a fun and rewarding environment - this is down to the leader to create this tribe and vibe.
SET THE VISION
Our ultimate purpose as a leader is to be the “visionary”. We need to help others create their own vision by breathing belief into them and elevating their goals. We must show them what is truly possible in their work and life and remind them of what they are capable of. We are all here to shine and some people need a leader’s reminder to believe it about themselves. We need to dig deep and find out their true inner purpose and desire. What is that one thing that is their god-given talent that they have not yet launched or catapulted into the public domain? Why is someone holding themselves back from greatness when they have so much potential? It is fantastic to do a soul-searching exercise with an individual to help them find their inner “why”. This is where you ask them to put their hand on their heart and ask themselves “what is my purpose?” And with every answer, you ask “But why?” Eventually you unravel the true, deeper explanation behind their purpose.
Here is a typical scenario….
”Why have you decided to start a business/take this job?
“Because I need to make more money”.
And go back and ask them again “But why…….?”
“Because then I can have a more abundant life”
“But why?”
“Because money will give me the chance to do more in my life and give more to my children
“But why?”
“Because then they won’t have the childhood that I had where my parents had nothing.”
And that’s their deep rooted WHY – it’s not necessarily just because they just need more money, it’s because that person grew up with nothing and they want their children to live a better life. That’s a powerful, emotive “why” and that is what you as the leader need to remind them of on the tough days.
SET THE SYSTEMS
Your business will thrive more if you can create simple, yes SIMPLE systems that are easy to duplicate and easy to find. These need to be simple and duplicable because every leader is different and some will not respond to “information overload.” Some of your leaders may even want to create their own systems that are different to yours and rather than being offended by that, you need to welcome that with open arms because it shows that they are using their own initiative, which is a sign of a great leader. There comes a point where you have to let go and let the ducklings grow into ducks and let them sometimes make their own mistakes so that they personally learn from them.
Ultimately, we will never stop learning leadership skills. We will constantly learn lessons from different experiences and develop new leadership styles. And finally, if you always lead with love, you can never go wrong.