A Leader always sets the trail for others to follow

One of the most exciting parts of your home business will be building and leading a team. When I first started in my company, I had zero experience. My home business was my very first at home anything I had ever done so I had A LOT to learn. It has been such an incredible journey going from someone who had no experience at leading a team to someone who has grown an organization of thousands. I'm SO excited to share with you how I did just that!!

My 10 tips for you follow the letters in LEADERSHIP:

L - Learn from other leaders. When I first started my business, I didn't have any experience at this sort of thing at all. I was so green to this business and didn't have the slightest idea how to lead a team. One thing that really helped me was watching my mentor and the other leaders within our team. I watched and learned everything from them. I watched how they ran their businesses and lead their teams and I started implementing a lot of the same things they were doing. When any of them would give advice, I would listen and listen hard, whether it was a one on one conversation, on a team call or on stage at an event. They had already built dynamic organizations so it just made sense to follow their lead rather than reinventing the wheel. I remember asking my mentor "What do you do, because that's what I'm going to do." I listened very closely to her answer and took notes because I figured if she could do this business, I could too!!! I have always believed that if you surround yourself with successful people and do what they do, you too will reach success. And basically, everything else I am about to share with you guys is what I learned.

E- Environment - You want to create an environment for success. An environment where your team members can learn, have fun and most importantly GET IT DONE. And the way to do this is by getting them connected. Not only connected to you and the rest of their upline but to each other as well. What makes our group great is that our entire organization works together as a team. I have everyone connected with each other and we are a very tight group. The reason to do this is because it's so easy to feel like you are working by yourself when you work from home. Make it your goal for them to know that we are working FOR ourselves NOT by ourselves. You want them to feel a part of something big and special. It was my goal to create a special team environment and it's worked out beautifully. Some things you can do to accomplish this goal:

* Get your team connected on a Forum or Yahoo Group that you setup for your team - This was probably one of the best things I've done for my team. There have been a lot of great friendships and business relationships built on these. This is a place that they know they can go to to ask questions and get immediate answers. That way, for example, if someone on your team can't get a hold of you right away, they know they can go there for support. It also doubles up as a time management tool. A lot of new team members or team members in general have a lot of the same questions. When we answer them on the group or forum, that could answer five other team member's question that they also have which saves you time in answering them over and over again. It's all about working it smart guys.

* Setup challenges for your team and do the challenge with them! For example, I've done 90 Day Challenges with my team. Where we set specific goals to reach within that period and we all work hard toward them. The keyword being WE. Meaning if you want your team to do it, you need to do it. Leading by example is everything when you're building a team

* Get them connected to the team calls that your team and company provides. Host your own team call. Even if it starts with two people, start small, it will build up. Your team will appreciate hearing your voice every week. Until you feel comfortable doing that, send them to your upline's team calls.

A - Attitude - I'm just going to start by saying that attitude is everything. In every aspect of your life but especially in your business. When you maintain a positive attitude throughout your day and life, you can move mountains. Attitude is 90% of this business, the other 10% can be taught. If you're up, down and all around.....your business will be up, down and all around. Now I'm not saying it's not okay to have a bad day, we all have bad days. But don't let a bad day turn into a bad week or even worse a bad month. When I start having a bad day, I give myself an attitude adjustment. It's a choice that I make. Either sit and be miserable with my bad attitude or shake it off, put a smile on my face and keep moving forward. It's especially a very important choice when you're leading a team. Your team is watching you!! Attitude reflects leadership. If you want them to have a good attitude, you must have one!! Never complain to your team members, ever, if you're having a bad day, don't show it to your team. Attitudes are contagious, so ask yourself if yours is worth catching???

D - Daily Action - Your team is watching YOU!!! You MUST lead by example. A very common mistake I see new leaders make is that they go into management mode. This will put a screeching halt on your business. You can't tell your team to go out and recruit new team members and customers, if you're not recruiting new team members and customers. One thing I noticed when I first started was that my mentor was still putting business on the books every single month, even at the top level in our company and $250K in lifetime residual income. She wasn't just talking the talk but she was walking the walk and that inspired me to go out and do the same. I'll never forget what she told me when I hit my first level of management, she said "You're team is watching you, if you're adding business and promoting, they will follow you." She also told me to keep my name on the lists, meaning the top recruiter lists. That's been my goal ever since she told me that. It will make your team proud of you and it will inspire them. It will also give them a much higher respect for you as a leader if you are actually out there doing what you're asking them to do.

E - Embrace every obstacle and struggle that comes your way- This is something I didn't really understand fully until about my third year in my business. Many of us go through obstacles and struggles in the beginning of our business. I know I had a lot of struggles and discouraging moments in the beginning of my business and now I'm so happy that I did. For me, mine were everything from going through a divorce, being a single mom working a full time job outside of the house, my utilities getting shut off, I had a HUGE fear of the phone, I made about 200 presentations before getting my first yes, I had very little money for advertising, I could go on with more stuff but you guys get the point. I am a person that firmly believes that everything happens for a reason. At the time, all that stuff seemed really big and hard but what I didn't know was that was a part of my training to become a better leader. Because when my team members go through those things, I can relate to them and help them through those times. I can inspire them and let them know that if I did it, they can do it! So, think of it this way. Embrace every obstacle and struggle that comes your way, because you're going to learn from it and when YOU are a Top Leader in your company, you can help your team members through it! It's all about attitude and perspective!

R - Recognition - This is my very favorite part. I love to shower my team with recognition. I will never forget the first time I saw my name on a Top Recruiter list. It felt really good. I was so proud and it put a fire in me. And from that moment on, I aim to have my name on all the lists. I remember telling my mentor that and she told me that people will work harder for praises than raises. It's so true. We LOVE to be recognized for things we're doing right, it's human nature. Recognition has been a HUGE part of my building a successful team. You can recognize your team in many ways.

* Team Newsletter - You can send this out weekly or at very least, bi-weekly. You can create an email with pictures of team members being recognized, graphics, articles and much more. For the recognition part, you can include the top customer and team member recruiters month to date, the Top Producer for the month (which includes all business added), New pin level and income level promotions and also do a featured team member of the week. Choose one leader every newsletter to be in the spotlight and include their bio in the newsletter. You want everyone on your team feel as special as they are. The best part, they ALL race for these spots. It's a nice healthy competition to get you're team moving!

* Team Calls - You can also mention all of those accomplishments on your team call. And at least once a month, I put a leader in the spotlight on my team call as my special guest.
* Mail greeting cards to those hitting new promotions/income levels - Everyone likes receiving good mail (you know, NOT bills) so a handwritten note from you is special. Taking the time to do that shows that you truly care.

* E-cards and emails for new business added - When someone enrolls their first piece of business, I'll send them an e-card with a short little message like "Congratulations on your first enrollment, remember if you can enroll one, you can enroll hundreds. Get ready for an amazing future." I also send a short little emails to congratulate my team members on new business. It could be something as easy as "Yay Traci, I'm so proud of you."

S - Step out of your comfort zone - I tell you, getting to the level I am now has required a lot of stepping outside of my comfort zone and I know that to stay successful, I am going to have to continue to do so. While this makes me a little nervous, I know that it is good for me. Picking up the phone to call a prospect is where it started, leaving fliers at businesses, being a special guest on a conference call (I will never forget the first time my mentor asked me to be on a call with her, I thought I was going to pass out!!!), hosting my own team calls, being in a television commercial and speaking at events, now THOSE last two were HUGE steps for me. However, all of those things have helped me to become a better person and leader. I love that my mentor pushes me to grow and be the best. It's a gift that she has given me. It might not have been as fun as getting a birthday gift...but after the fact when I stand back and see that I faced a fear and beat it, I am so grateful to her. The truth is, you must step out of your comfort zone to reach greatness in life. It will make you a better leader and your team will be proud of you!!!

H - Help your team - This one is kind of a given but still very important. When your team emails or calls you, it's important to get back to them quickly. I try to get back to them to same day but if I can't, at least by the next day. You want them to feel comfortable coming to you so they don't feel like they've been left hanging to figure it all out for themselves. Now, while it's very important to help your team, it's also important that you are working on your own personal production too. My team knows that I am unavailable for training between the hours of 12:00 - 2:00 Monday through Friday because I am working on adding new business. This also sets a great example of balancing training and prospecting for them to follow when working with their own teams.

I - Inspire and believe in them - Keep your team inspired. You can send them inspirational articles, quotes, videos, audios, anything to get their blood flowing. Also, by reaching different levels of success within your own business, it inspires them to know that if you can do this, they can too! Let them know the obstacles and struggles that you overcame and that you are absolutely no different than them. The only difference is that you have been here longer. Also let your team members know that you believe from the bottom of your heart that they can do this if they want it bad enough. From the day I became a leader in my company, my mentor has always showed me in many ways how much she believes in me and it was amazing to see how that made me believe in myself and made me more confident.

P - Personal Development - Personal Development is something I never realized was so important until I started my home business. I guess I thought I just "didn't need that stuff." It took me a few months to finally give into it. When I did, it was a shocker to see what I was so skeptical of transforming my life both personally and professionally. I am a firm believer that if you keep feeding your mind that you will reach greatness on every level. I incorporate personal development into my daily routine. Every morning, I get up an hour before my kids to and listen to an audio while I am checking emails and having my coffee. It's an awesome way to start the day. It really sets the tone for my day when I immediately start putting good stuff in. I also encourage my team to do the same, not necessarily my schedule but at least a couple audios or chapters of a great book per week. When you start incorporating personal development into your life and business, your family and friends will notice it. You will be a more pleasant and positive person to be around. It will rub off on your team and you will be amazed at the growth you will have in your organization. I have people ask me just about everyday, "How do you do it, how do you stay so happy and positive all the time?" I tell them it's a choice I make and that I continue to work on being a better person and leader everyday.

Those are all of the steps I have taken to build a HUGE team over the years. Following those steps will help you to build a DYNAMIC organization as well!!

GAME ON!!!!

Thanks Kristie Wooten for such a great article!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Lori