Qualities of Leadership Reside in the Word Leader

For most people the notion about being a leader is entwined with that of having followers. Right? Wrong! A leader is actually a follower and it matters little to him/her whether anyone else is following or not. Let me give you some examples.

Did you know, George Washington was actually having a very small clutch of people with him at the Delaware crossing and in the ensuing battles? But since they were all following a dream of liberty, and he displayed sixqualities I will write about shortly, his status as leader is embossed in golden letters.

Likewise, Mother Teresa was following a will of God, to uplift the downtrodden and spread the message of love and peace. To her it was quite incidental that she impacted millions who follow.

Since network marketing is all about leadership (and this is a premise beyond the scope of this topic) let me share with you what LEADER means. This is my view, and in my simple brain the word has 6 letters each with a meaning.

L stands for Loyal. There can not be a leader who does not stand for (follow) something or someone. I think it was Mark Twain who said, 'A person who stands for nothing falls for anything'. Do you see such people around you? Will you see the same people five years hence? In my opinion, highly unlikely. As a reader you may not like this, but one thing leadership is not, is about being popular. Leaders do non-populist stuff... which is why there are so few. Think about it.

E is Ethical. Without ethics and integrity, any leader will collapse, no matter how big their organization got. Enron is a corporate example. Hitler in politics. You can think of others. Ethics is a cornerstone for leadership and true leaders create such cultures within their organizations, which ensure longevity for all concerned.

A is about being Active. Constant motion in the direction you are loyal to. Why do you see Washington's statues on horseback? Because that's how he was always seen... in readiness... inspiring activity. Not self-serving, couch-potato-ing and giving orders. Nope. That was what became of the Roman empire and therefore it collapsed. Real Leaders are active.

D is for Daring. A leader's daring is several notches higher than the average person's. It requires courage to pursue action without results. And that often happens with us. Do you dare go on? Do you follow your dream because you're smart enough to know that if other people got there you can too? If yes, the passages will open themselves. No force can stop a man who knows where he is going. GE is the result of 10,000 failed attempts at the light-bulb by a man named Edison.

E is repeated because it is important to be Exemplary. Now we know that the world looks up to people who set a self-example. Who walk the talk. A leader's primary responsibility is to be successful. If I didn't play golf in my afternoons and have my passive income run my house, could I look you in the eye and tell you I am searching for the next serious entrepreneur who wants to become an internet marketing millionaire? But you may say, hello I'm new to this... how can I say that? And I will remind you, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Is your first step exemplary? Worthy of duplication?

Lastly, R represents Resilience. Knock the leader down 100 times and they will rise the 101st. My mentor says, a diamond is what comes of a piece of coal under loads of pressure. No one learns karate without bashing bricks. Well, network marketing is karate for the mind. My site (link below) will just make it more effective, enjoyable and fast!

Author's Bio

Sandeep Nath

Sandeep Nath is a success coach. For You To Realize Your Greatness Are You Open To Learn? We Coach Networkers For Success In Business And Beyond.

The journey starts here...

Customer Love Affairs - Relationships that Last

Google, Facebook, iPod… take a look at the fastest growing businesses and brands in the world today and at their heart you’ll notice one thing in common – their customers are so in love with their products they’ve become a free sales force.

Just like a teenager experiencing love for the first time, these customers are totally smitten. They can’t help themselves – they’ll talk to anyone who’ll listen about their new found love.

Most other businesses have numerous ‘one night stands’ with customers who, after the initial seduction (and promise of a long loving relationship) find themselves bitterly disappointed. There are millions of others that, after many years of loyalty, decide to divorce the business because they ‘just don’t seem to care anymore’ and ‘take me for granted’. Many others remain customers until the day an attractive, understanding, attention-lavishing and easy-to-deal-with alternative gets their attention.

At the heart of the most profitable and fastest growing businesses in the world is a positive emotional connection between three groups – the company or brand, its people and the customers. There is an emotional engagement between them; the customers are captivated by the brand or product, and the employees are proud to be associated with it.

In the 1980’s several Harvard Business School professors sought to explain the superior profitability of certain companies operating in specific service sectors. They looked at airlines, financial services, retailing, and professional services to name a few. The professors wanted to learn how one Bank, or airline, or supermarket, operating in the same geographic area with the same products, could be up to 40% more profitable than its competitors?

Their discovery is summarized in a framework called the Value–Profit–Chain. In simple terms, superior growth and profitability was generated by significantly higher levels of customer loyalty from profitable customers. I characterise these customers as STAY, SAY and PAY:

STAY means hey actively choose to do business with you rather than feeling handcuffed by some financial ‘loyalty bribe’.

SAY means that when their friends complain about the companies they feel handcuffed to, loyal customers SAY: “I deal with Company X and they’re fantastic!” (And before long, their disillusioned friends soon start to flirt with Company X.)

PAY means they recognise you get what you pay for… so they’re prepared to PAY a premium to access that product or service.

The Harvard Professors discovered that if customers perceive the value of your product and service to be superior, both in promise and in delivery, they would be emotionally engaged. Products are easy to copy; what’s not is the element of perceived value, the overall “customer experience”… how they feel from when they start thinking about your product through to when they are using it.

When your customers deal with your company, the quality of experience is largely a function of what it’s like to deal with your front–line employees: your sales and customer service people. Those customer-facing people in the outlets, on the telephones, and making the deliveries.

Now let’s leave the Harvard professors and go into people’s brains and nervous systems.

What is it specifically that gets customers emotionally engaged with products or brands? Just like House (of the U.S. show – the very friendly doctor with the walking stick), neuroscientists can now use technology to piece together a number of pieces that may well solve the puzzle.

The key is a particular brain cell or neuron called a “mirror neuron” that is automatically activated every time one person deals with another person… it is the basis of what the scientists call “emotional contagion”. This can be positive and negative. Just think for a moment about a customer or a colleague that you look forward to dealing with versus one you don’t… ever receive an email and get a sinking feeling deep in your stomach as soon as you see who it’s from?

Assuming that your products are well designed and represent competitive value for customers, the challenge and therefore the opportunity is to get your front-line employees to emotionally connect with your company and your customers.

Highly engaged employees are those that STAY, SAY and STRIVE. They STAY with you, they SAY good things to everyone about your company / brands, and they STRIVE to improve the business.

As a company leader, ultimately your role is to emotionally engage your teams and your people. When you can truly help your employees feel valued and involved, they will make your customers feel valued and involved…the mirror neurons will make it so.

A lifelong customer love affair requires a different but equally strategic approach to practices such as Six-Sigma and LEAN; a deliberate approach I call ENGAGINEERING… applying the art and science of personal and group engagement.

Author's Bio

Bill Lang

Bill Lang is an educational entrepreneur (and an entrepreneur educator), author, coach and consultant. As CEO of Bill Lang International, Bill helps businesses and individuals worldwide improve their performance and achieve their goals faster.

www.billlang.org – business improvement solutions.
www.scoresontheboard.com – performance improvement for leaders and their teams