No one makes it alone without a leader or a mentor.

I have had mine at various times and points or landmarks in my life. Albert Einstein had Max Talmud, his first mentor/ leader. Max introduced a 10-year-old Einstein to key texts in math, science, and philosophy ( three disciplines that helped formulate Einstein’s holistic view of the universe ). They met every week for 6 years after dinner at Einstein’s parent’s house as Talmud led and guided Einstein’s perspectives.

In the profession of network marketing, John Maxwell and others quantify and qualify the different stages of leadership.

Otherwise, without a path to follow and without the wisdom to learn, it becomes guesswork….like “ For I am their leader, which way did they go”. And that happens to people who enter our profession and become disenchanted with the noblest profession known to humankind, because of not connecting with the proper leader.

Low levels of leadership can be identified when people follow because they find themselves having to in a traditional job infrastructure.

But in network marketing, everyone is a volunteer, so they only follow if they want to...

In the next level of leadership, those who lead are given an agreement to lead and are those who we feel are “successful” by whatever standard….they have a credible level of success, so new members of the community agree that it’s ok to be led by the upline at this juncture. The developing leaders, in this instance,  have to like people and trust grows as lasting relationships are built. I have had that privilege with one of my first sponsored network marketing recruits….a 35-year friendship that is like family to me.

Track record leaders can demonstrate and prove that they’ve been there and done that and their output and production are usually well documented. These leaders become agents of change resulting in increased productivity results, increased morale, goals are achieved and profits go up, as well.

As a professional in this industry, be sure to work on your personal development and invest in leaders to help them grow.

I have always recognized that our profession of Network Marketing is a personal growth business disguised as a product delivery platform type of business. We should know that investing in others creates long-term stability for the business. Take steps every day to help people on your team to grow. And, you must be continuously growing yourself at every level and develop other leaders. This takes you and your business to the zenith.

Know where you are going, because if you don’t know where you’re going, all roads lead there.

For further insight, study leaders who lead by example. Lead, follow, or get out of the way….these books are for reference: The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and The One Thing.