Getting the tone right in leadership can be one fine balancing act, not to be overwhelming and yet not to be missing in action.

Are you leading by example, providing duplicatable systems, being supportive, or simply over-involved and burning out.

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself.  When you become a leader success is all about growing others” ~ Jack Welch

There are different types of leaders, which we will explore in more detail momentarily, there are “Helicopter Leaders”, “Martyr Leaders” “The PTA Leader”, “Tiger Leaders”, and “Legendary Leaders”.  Just how do you get the leadership style right for you when it comes to developing leaders in your teams?

When a newbie comes into your fold, just like a newborn baby they need special care.  Smoother them, and they will suffocate, neglect them and they will suffer SNWD (Sudden Network Marketer Death). 

They require regular feeding, naps, a little love, and healthy boundaries when they hit toddlership, the bit where they don’t think they need you and cause a glitter bomb trail of destruction, you need to show them how to sprinkle gently and use glue.

How do we then help these newborn Network Marketers grow up threw to maturity without being patronizing!  First, you need to learn your leadership style, have a look through, and where do you relate – usually it’s where you laugh on this one. Let’s get this straight right now, you will naturally fit into one or more of these categories unless you are superhuman.

The Helicopter Leader

The helicopter leader is the one that is always hovering over every zoom call, constantly sending the “just checking in mate, did you eat your breakfast” text.  The helicopter leader encourages their leaders to be independent, and pushes them to go out into the field, but is always there, interfering and redirecting their leaders, ready to swoop in and “rescue” at the slightest sight of distress or difficulty.  They grow into leaders that believe that they are independent, yet still, ask how to tie their shoelaces.

Ultimately the recruits of the helicopter leader are left with plenty of motivation, but very little self-confidence to step out on their own two feet.

Martyr Leaders

Martyr leaders are responsible for everything, with an attitude of if you want a job done properly do it yourself.

They insist on leading all the team training, turning up with full-blown COVID and half a leg hanging off.  They take great pains in announcing to the world on social media that they turned up despite the apocalypse and that if they can do it, so can everyone else.  They parade the sacrifices they made in their family life as a badge of honor and are totally incapable of delegating.  If any member of their team is living through a personal health challenge or tragedy, they take glee in reminding them that they got up on stage hooked up to a drip hours beforehand to deliver an award-winning speech with a 42c fever and a parent in ICU.  They sucked it up and so should everyone else.  If they don’t they will be shown the door.

The recruits of the martyr leader often are united together in solidarity of not liking their leader, in fact, they think they are a bit of an asshole.    Yet they fail to flourish as they never feel good enough or appreciated for what they do.

The PTA Leader

The PTA leader is recognizable as the one who organizes everything.

They are usually a parent of multiple children, serves on the school parent-teacher association, turns up at meetings with home-baked cakes, perfectly color matched to the team's branding, and every fiber of their hair in perfect placement with a color coordinated arch lever folder with floral scented page markers.

They always have a close inner team, who also socialize together.  The photos on social media are great, always in the same crowd of smiley faces, and seem to get it all together.  Whilst the Martyr is plowing through the apocalypse, they are organizing the response team and delegating everything like a pro.  New baby leaders feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of excel spreadsheets and having their virtual calendar color coordinated and synched with their leaders.  The PTA leader's close team is successful and has an amazing income, however, if you don’t make it into the clique with this leader, you are going to feel like an outsider.

The Tiger Leader

Always red in personality, the Tiger leader protects their team as if their life depends on it.  You mess with my team and I will mess with you.

They drive their team for the incentives and push targets and goals as though they are going out of fashion.  They work fast and play hard and everyone in the team understands what the minimum requirement is to gain respect.  The Tiger leaders are masters of cheerleading, and it can be hard to distinguish between a major league's American Football Coach and a Network Marketer.

They go into the team's rooms invited or otherwise as they fully believe that everyone’s life and aspirations revolve around them, as a member of their team, you need to be sure to turn up to every training session, early and ready to go.

The Tiger leaders attract new people into the business easily, with excitement and energy.  Who wouldn’t want to be IN this leaders club, they will force you to grow, and force you to make money.  Yet they have absolutely no boundaries, getting too closely involved in the private lives of their leaders and when it hits the fan the mess is toxic.  Tiger leader's teams can easily go boom and bust and often lack stability.

The Legendary Leaders

The ones who pick up ALL the awards.  They lead by elegance and example and are often featured picking up awards for this and that.  They are skilled and have been in the profession for more years than the mean age of their recruits.

Everyone looks up to them and aspires to be them, on the outside, this is the best leader to be.

They snap up new recruits left, right, and center based on the name and reputation they have made for themselves.  After all, they are LEGENDS.  It takes a lot of self-confidence from any of their recruits to ask for their help, they are afraid of taking time.  The legendary leaders are often the result of a successful and mature martyr leader and push their teams with recruitment and seeking accolades.

Those who gel well with the Legendary Leader and have the aptitude to self-learn and be self-disciplined will go far with the business.  However smaller recruits easily feel abandoned or set up for failure.

You have one job when developing leaders, one job ~ Be kind. 

Recognize your natural leadership style and put systems and processes in place to help you balance your strengths and weaknesses.  As you grow a leader, start to progressively give them more space and time to stand on their own feet.  Be compassionate and lead by example, it’s not a competition, for there may just be a baby recruit, annoying, crying all night, colic, and attachment disorder, that is going to turn out when they grow and mature in the business to be a hundred times the leader you ever will be.

Celebrate them.