Your Winning Support System (Ep. 20)

Episode 20: Your Winning Support System

Leadership is all about teamwork. There is no great leader in the world who does not have a great team. The whole idea of leadership is that it puts you in a position to add value to other people.

 

1. Leaders are Particular About Their Support System

It’s not as easy as just saying, ok… i have five really good friends so it looks like i have my support system.  This process is probably one of the most tedious parts of the leadership journey.  

You are the five people that you hang out with. One of my financial mentors once asked me, “MO, if you hang out with bank robbers, what do you think you’re going to end up doing?” If leadership is influence, we are allowing ourselves to be led by people every day. 

QUESTION 1: Who are the people that you are allowing to have leadership and influence in your life?

If you want to be rich, then you have to hang out with people who are rich. If you want to be a good baseball player, you have to hang out with other people who love baseball. If you want to be a great ballerina, then you have to hang out with others who share your enthusiasm.You are the five people you hang around with, period.

QUESTION 2: Look at the five people that you spend the most time with. Are those people either good leaders, or people who at the very least aspire to be a leader?  

So the bottom line is, you are the one who chooses the people you hang out with. If you don’t think that you are getting the results that you want to, then you have to change the people that you hang out with. 

 

2. Leaders Continually Build Their Support System

Just because you have a support system right now that you think is pretty good, doesn’t mean that it is going to be the same people in that support system in the next five years, or year, or maybe even sooner. 

You have to continually build that support system to reflect what you want to do in life. So, what do you care about?

I spent years developing my support system. And, without even knowing it I have categorized the people in my support system into three groups. And I would recommend that each of our listeners did the same thing.. 

• Mentors/Coaches: The first, and most important part of your support system is to find 

coaches and mentors in your life. You need people who have done it longer than you, and have some fruit on the tree. 

You can’t just want to be a leader. You have to find people who are leaders in whatever field you are trying to be effective in. If you don’t have people speaking into your life, then you’re not doing your people any good. 

• Peers: If you are in a leadership position you have to look for people who are also 

influencers. These are the people who should be like-minded when it comes to issues.

• Proteges: Now, when you are in the beginning of your leadership journey, you should really 

not be focused on this category of people too much. Just know that as your leadership influence grows, people are going to want to seek out your advice a little bit more. 

 

3. Leaders Add Value to Others Through Their Support System

The most important thing to remember is that the entire reason that you are a leader is to add value to other people. So, as you are choosing your inner circle, the support system, you have to ask yourself two questions:

1. Are the people that I am adding to my circle adding value to me?  
2. Am I adding value to the people who are in my support system? 

Leaders are always looking first to give value to others. If you continually give to others, then you will inevitably get the things that you need from those relationships. 

“Help enough people get what they want, and you will get everything that you want.” Zig Ziglar

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Ziglar On Selling, Zig Ziglar  

MO’s Final Thoughts:

The people that you surround yourself with are going to decide the success that you have as a leader. If you want to be happy, and perform well, and have your people do the same thing, then you need to focus on your support system. Don’t wait to start adding people to your inner circle today, even if they may not be there for the long haul. You have to start small, and you will eventually end up with relationships that last for several years, or in my case several decades. 

 

Amazon Book Links:

Ziglar On Selling, Zig Ziglar - https://amzn.to/3nmhWFh

 

Special thanks to:

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