Curious about the title? Pam Herbert spoke at Thirty One‘s National Conference and told the story about her bull dog sitting in the rain. She has a bull dog who went out in the rain and proceeded to sit at the end of the walkway in a downpour. Alright, some dogs may like the rain but this bull dog, sat looking up at the sky and because of their facial structure, the water dripped down his throat and made him gag. Did he stop looking up at the sky to avoid the rain? NO! Even when tempted with treats, food and his favorite toy – he continued to sit looking at the sky, gagging as a result of the rain running down his throat. When did he stop and come in – when HE was ready. No amount of coaching or incentives could change his mind until HE was ready.
What does that have to do with direct selling? I am guessing that some of you have figured it out. Our teams are like bull dogs. No matter how much we try to inspire them, the motivation to grow into leadership or to increase their parties and/ or sales has to come from within. As leaders, we need to lead by example. According to Pam, no one person is BORN into leadership. Well, that was a relief because I never really thought of myself as a leader. There are traits that are common to ALL leaders and if you have at least one or two of these traits – YOU are leadership material. This was an AHA moment for me. Cast those doubts aside and let’s see if you have any of these traits:
- Do you share the vision? Can you share the vision of the company, your upline and your personal vision?
- Do you see the potential in others? Are you always looking for the positives in others? Do you encourage them?
- Are you humble in whatever role you have?
- Do you DREAM BIG knowing that no idea is crazy?
- Do you believe in yourself?
Here is one more way to visualize yourself as a leader – consider the people who have had a positive impact on your life, who have inspired you, who have become a mentor for you. Write them down along with three of their personality traits. What are some of the common traits that they had – kind, strong, independent, positive attitude. So, as I look to grow my team this year wider as well as deeper, I am going to look at not only my TOP 5 sellers but also the BOTTOM and MIDDLE 5 to see if I am missing any potential leaders.
Pam’s closing remarks resonate in my head, “Failure is an event not a person and can change at any moment”. So, TRUST your instincts, TAME your inner bulldog and DISCOVER the leader in you! So, who is ready to GROW into leadership? Remember that the greatest leaders seek the advice of others and don’t have to have all of the answers!
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 
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