There’s one thing that I love about being an entrepreneur, and that’s working on myself just as hard as I work on my business.
Now at the end of this post I’m going to ask you how you define your leadership and I’ll give you the option to leave your mark for the community.
But first I want to share 3 simple actions that you can take right now…even if you’re brand new…that will expose your inner leadership.
These simple techniques are yours for the taking IF you act on them. Even when I’m coaching clients on blogging and branding I always hit the personal development hard.
Why?
Because that’s 90% of the game. Your mental toughness needs to be at its best. But that’s another story for another post.
Define Leadership
lead·er·ship
/ˈlēdərˌSHip/
Noun
- The action of leading a group of people or an organization.
- The state or position of being a leader.
What do you think of when you read the word leadership? More importantly, do you see yourself in that role?
We each define leadership differently. We use our; values, qualities, rules and an image of a leader comes into our mind. We see a leader as someone usually in a great position of power or service. But how did they get there? Where did it start for them?
Wikipedia defins leadership as “a process of insocial fluence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”
1. Define your leadership – in the beginning we follow someone who we think is a leader. We do what they do…ie model. We take action on what they say and in this online marketing world we buy their products. We take what we need and leave the rest. Or do we?
If we continue to follow the same leader are we really growing ourselves? Hmmm… at some point we need to let go of the rope. In a recent interview I told the story of how we can easily change our leader in the blink of an eye. It’s true, all you have to do is let go of the rope. Quick water skiing analogy…
Let’s say you’re water skiing and the leader you are following is the driver of the boat and you are the one on the skis. The driver can go where ever he/she wants right? They can go as fast or slow as they want. They are in control and YOU are in for the ride of your life.
But you are subject to their control. It’s not until you let go that you will start to stand on your own. Of course when you let go of the rope you are not skiing anymore. You actually top and sink. I know not fun. AND you are out there by yourself until the driver comes back for you.
But in the business world the driver doesn’t come back. They don’t wait for you. It’s now up to you to figure it out on your own. Hopefully you took action on their leadership and you now have the skills and knowledge to create your own boat.
Now YOU get to be the driver. By standing on your own, creating your own island, then the dock and then the boat, you become the leader. It’s actually a lot easier than you think. Yes you can still follow your previous leader, IF they are going where you want to go. But don’t do so blindly.
Make the difference and define your leadership
Ken Pickard
The Network Dad
P.S. Tomorrow we’ll talk about 2 of this leadership series with the different leadership styles. But for now leave a comment on how you define your leadership and visualize you being in the driver seat of your own speedboat and giving your followers the best ride of their life!
P.S.S. If you liked this post would you do me a huge favor and vote here as I’m in the running for “The Top 50 MLM Blogs of 2012”
Aloha Ken!
I like a lot your analogy with the waterskiing example. That also illustrates whaht happened to us, you a a leader and me as the sky-er, I dropped the rope… my hands were weak! My point is not here to tell you the rest of the story, on my side, but to emphasize YOUR leadership Ken, and to THANK YOU for it.
WE met for relating together to the idea that 90% of business is of Self development, and we meet again today on your blog, to define our own leadership.wow!
I found that definition of my own leadership a few weeks ago only, and it is SERVICE. The way I feel I lead with my best is in the purpose of service to individuals and to communities.
I’m sure you’ll see by yourself on my latest videos on my blog. They are the first videos by the new real Brigitte.
Thanks to the leaders who I followed, and you are one of the dearest.
Brigitte
Brigitte Charlon recently posted..HILARIOUS TRUE STORY AND CLOTHES FOR MONKS
Hi Ken,
First time i am visiting your blog,Find it interesting to read first article on Leadership.I liked your presentation and using example of water skiing and boat.
According to me there should be some things that leader should have.
Confidence
Control
Determination
The basic thinks what i believe and many other qualities should be there but i am going to share my other points on your second part as i am curious to see the rest of the article.
Thank You
Shorya Bist
From Youthofest
Shorya Bist recently posted..How to get success in life? 5 steps to succeed in life.
Shorya,
Welcome to my blog, thank you for stopping by. I agree, there should be certain traits that a leader should have. We each define those as traits that are important to us. This is why we follow certain leaders and not others. Maybe we don’t like the traits some leaders have. There seems to be a love vs hate thing with Business leaders like Donald Trump. While I think there are many more people who like Robert Kiyosaki over people who don’t.
Integrity, authenticity, honesty… we’ll talk more about these in the next 2 posts for sure.
Ken
Well hey Ken,
Great topic and of course I’ll be looking forward to everything you share on this topic.
Ah, the leadership role. Not a very comfortable position for me but I’m getting there. I definitely would have to say that a leader needs to have confidence in themselves yet patience to help others. A clear vision of where they need to go in order to help others get to where they are heading as well.
I also think just a darn good attitude helps to ya know! Helps me bond with them better!
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..HELP: TweetDeck Has Failed Me
Hi Ken
I came over here via your email link. Oh I laughed at your Jonathan Budd example as I can still here him too as I was reading your email.
Now to the topic of your post – Leadership. I have been a business owner for much of my life. I can remember trying to copy men I admired as leaders but that did not work so well. I did lots of courses and over time I think I just developed my own style.
Because I have been around personal development for most of my life I learned to incorporate some of the things I was learning there too. I think as a leader it is my role to inspire and to help people grow and learn.
I also like to lead by example.
A great post Ken and I look forward to the next one.
Sue
Sue Price recently posted..What do you do when Life Happens?
Great example! Leadership is such an abstract idea and I bet people do emulate others simply because it’s so hard to define your own path. At least for me, I know it can be hard to get that confidence to say “ok, this is my thing now!” But to really be a leader you have to figure that part out, as hard as it may be. I think the most important thing you said was to take action. Like it or not we have to find our way and you’re right – nobody is coming to pick us up (that isn’t quite the definition of success either, is it?) So take action whatever it is, take one step, and get going!
Carol Lynn recently posted..13 Tips To Boost Your Twitter Engagement, Win Fans And Get Leads
Hi Ken. What I’ve found since I started this journey to entrepreneurship is that leadership is hard to come by. I’ve met many people in this industry and many of them are not what I consider leaders. Leaders, by my definition, commands attention, someone who is willing to take the steps that we only squander, someone who is willing to help and provide the help someone needs without asking for anything in return, one who is willing to take the blame for failures and share the credit for successes. Someone willing to let each and every member participate. All these qualities are what I feel make a good leader. Of course, there are other traits, but these are just as important, but maybe not mentioned.
Barbara
Barbara Charles recently posted..JustUnfollowMe Already! Do You Have Twitter Followers That Don’t Follow You Back?
Hi Ken,
I landed here from Barry’s post.
This is a great post, I really like your analogy of water skiing.
I have worked in the industry for more than 10+ yrs and now I have started my own, I feel :
1. Leaders are not managers, we should not confuse these 2 terms.
2. Leader challenge the status quo, they don’t follow the conventional path of wisdom.
3. Leaders dream big and turn that into reality.
4. They have set of core values which differentiate them from others.
5. They are really proactive and can anticipate the challenges.
6. They promote innovation and creativity.
7. They start thinking from the point where Manager has stopped thinking.
8. They take criticism positively and work on that.
There are many more which I have seen and felt.
See you again on your next posts.
Thanks
Sapna
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Ken,
That really is a great analogy – if you’re following someone they control direction, speed, etc.
But even more than that, you start to be viewed as your mentor-lite. You do what he does, your blog looks like his. Where’s the extra VALUE you bring and the reason for people to follow you instead of just following your mentor?!
As you say, let go of the rope and start to make your own brand!
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