True Leadership!
In 2001, my good friends Jan Ruhe and Art Burleigh wrote a book entitled True Leadership. The book has several short articles on "True Leadership" in it from authors such as Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, Tom "Big Al" Schreiter, Rita Davenport, Robert Butwin, Randy Gage, Rene Reid Yarnell, Burke Hedges, Richard Brooke and many more. I also wrote a short chapter in the book, and I think it would be good to share it with you now. So here it goes.
Find Mentors to Model, Who Listen and Empower
One of my favorite proverbs is "He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk." This simply reminds me of something I heard John Maxwell say, "Leadership is the ability to obtain followers." True Leadership, in my estimation, is knowing what these "followers" want and encouraging them to do what it takes to get it. In other words, it's about inspiring others to take action towards the realization of a desired outcome. The key word is inspiring, not forcing, coercing, manipulating, or tricking.
Since 1987, I have been running and operating a home-based business. In 1992, I got to what I call a "stuck point." I felt like I was pushed against a wall and didn't know what to do to break through. This is when I decided to use a technique called "modeling" that I had learned from personal development wizard Tony Robbins years earlier. Modeling simply means finding someone who's getting the type of results you desire and then start thinking what they think and doing what they do. Network Marketing Master Tom "Big Al" Schreiter was first on my list so I decided to give him a call.
During our first telephone conversation, I explained to him my situation and asked if I could buy all the training materials he had available. Instead of just selling me a bunch of stuff, he said he would like to meet with me since I was going to be in the
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT #1: Be genuinely interested in the success of others.
Not only did Tom spend over three hours with me during that first meeting providing me with powerful information and pointing me in the proper direction necessary to achieve my dreams, but he also left me with a bunch of his training materials free of charge. Even though Tom did not mention it at that point, I believe that he was seeing if I was sincere in taking the necessary actions to accomplish my desired outcome. This would let him know if it was worth his while to invest any more time in me.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT #2: Qualify potential followers for your time.
After that initial meeting, whenever I called Tom with a specific challenge, I noticed that he simply listened carefully to what I was saying, and then, in an almost subtle way, he gave me a chance to answer my own question. I always left the conversation very empowered. Since I came up with the answer, I owned it and felt more responsible for implementing it.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT #3: Give your "followers" an opportunity to reflect and come up with the answers to their own questions. Serve as a mirror so that the questions they ask bounce off you and go to them so that they can answer it themselves.
We're now in the 21st Century, and I'm a millionaire thanks to Tom's encouragement, inspiration, and guidance. Tom has served as a great example and I appreciate him for giving me such a powerful set of beliefs and actions to model.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT #4: Serve as a good example. Give your "followers" a powerful set of beliefs and actions to model.
That's what I call true leadership!