We hear the term "leadership" tossed around quite frequently in the Network Marketing industry. There have been a lot of great leaders throughout history. We can tell by how many people followed them. However, just because they were great leaders does not necessarily mean they were good people.



What makes us a good leader or a bad leader? It is really a matter of opinion. I guess if more people view you as a good leader, then you are a good leader. The same can be said for a bad leader.

I reflect back to when I got involved in Network Marketing in 1995. The leader of the organization that I was involved with had over 200,000 people in his organization.

Several of the Network Marketing leaders today were students of that leader. As a matter of fact several of his students adopted his training and made it their own, and ultimately became multi-millionaires.

I saw that leader recently. He is still leading, but I don't think he even has 200 followers. What happened? How can a person lose so much influence?

Well the fact of the matter is that the majority of people in this world will always be followers. Leadership can be a lonely, challenging road.

When the leader is at the top of his game, all of the followers will jump on board. However, if the leader makes a mistake, shows signs of weakness, or fails in the eyes of his followers, they will abandon him in the blink of an eye.

I am sure that there were times when leaders of the past were filled with doubt and uncertainty. I am sure that many of those leaders had no clue of where they would stand in history after they were deceased. Many of those leaders were probably not even motivated by being a part of history.

Some were motivated by a desire to help people. Others were motivated by selfish intentions.

Most of the leaders in Network Marketing are motivated by their desire to make more money. They sugar coat it by saying things like, "I just want to be free to do the things I love", or "I want to provide generational wealth for my family".

Because of this desire to make more money, we learn leadership skills, people skills, and how to influence others. This does not make us bad leaders.

Some leaders treat the people who follow them like dirt. They are dishonest, extremely selfish, and show no empathy for anyone other than themselves. The only reason these people are leaders is because people follow them. Why do they follow them? Because that is what followers do.

If you are too nice to people as a leader, they will use you until they have no more use for you, and then they will find the next leader to latch onto.

So to be a good leader, you have to find a happy medium. It is ok to be motivated by personal gain. Network Marketing is great because it allows you to get what you want by helping others get what they want. That is why they will follow you.

Just treat people like people, and not like animals. Don't be too prideful to admit when you are wrong, or even apologize when you do someone wrong.