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So how do you do that? We’re going to explore that throughout the rest of this book. But let’s set the foundation here. Let’s revisit the definition of a leader I gave you in the introduction:

Inspiring people to become the highest possible version of themselves—and building the environment that facilitates this process. Here’s what that looks like in practical application:

You use your power to make those who follow you more powerful.

There are lots of parental analogies we can use here, but the best one is that of “helicopter parents.” Just as these parents harm their children by hovering over them constantly, trying to protect them, you can create the same result with your team. You need to protect your kids from pedophiles and kidnappers, but you have to allow them to skin their knees and fall off their bikes. The omnipotent, charismatic, dynamic leader who for all practical purposes runs a benevolent cult ultimately weakens his people and destroys the team. They suck all of the oxygen out of the room.

We can take my definition of strong leadership above and break it down into two components. The first part is about inspiring team members to become the highest possible version of themselves. To do that begins with leading yourself. You have to be the example, the person modeling the behavior, and most importantly, the one going after your own dreams.

There are legions of negative people who will doubt you, ridicule you, and even try to sabotage you. If you’re not willing to fight for your dreams, the haters win. Your team needs to see you winning this fight yourself in order for them even to have a shot.

The ironic thing about inspiring leadership is that it doesn’t come from simply being positive and recognizing good results. To actually inspire others, you must challenge them in some way. People look to leaders because they want someone who dares them to have a higher vision, raise their eyes above the horizon, and strive to accomplish more, whether for themselves or a noble purpose.

The best way to do that is always by modeling the behavior. Barking orders at people certainly isn’t going to work. We place way too much emphasis on control in our profession. Because we’re dealing with an all-volunteer army, control doesn’t actually work very well. When you operate in control mode, you’re really offering people only two options: Comply or Defy. And since most people hate being told what to do, a lot choose the latter option.

Simply becoming the world’s best trainer and presenting the world’s finest training won’t succeed either. (Especially if you’re not actually doing what you teach yourself.) Your team will draw the biggest cues from watching the actions and behaviors they see from you. So be the example showing them the path to follow.

The second part of strong leadership is building the environment that facilitates your people’s process of becoming their highest version of themselves. This is an important responsibility of all top leaders in Leveraged Sales. You do this through the system, training, and tools. It’s also vital that there be a defined leadership track to follow.

Your people need to know what the pathway for becoming a leader with the team looks like. If you’re a new recruit in the army and your dream is to become a general, you have an idea of what all the ranks leading up to that rank are and the responsibilities of each one. Your people need to know what ranks, behaviors, and team activities put them on the path of becoming a leader with the team. (This will become much clearer to you in later chapters.)

Once you are working well in these two areas—inspiring people to become better and creating an environment that facilitates that—you have the two fundamental elements for developing a strong infrastructure of leadership throughout your team. This will allow you to develop strong growth and true duplication.

Now that you know what the role of a positive, empowering leader looks like, let’s explore the most important step you will take towards that end—accepting the sacred responsibility that comes along with sponsoring others.