How Do Network Marketing Leaders Deal With Failing Team Members?

In any networking organization, there will always be a handful of members who aren’t doing great. There are those who make bad decisions, and there are also those who stumble and fall towards unproductivity.

In any team, it is normal to have members who are currently underperforming – that’s why there are team leaders and supervisors in a place whose job is to encourage and guide these members towards a better path.

However, there are also situations where team members feel left out and unvalued due to low performance. In these cases, most of them would just decide to leave the team and business altogether.

In times of difficulties, especially in network marketing, a good leader should know how to listen, give support and mold their team members to become the best that they could be. In any business and corporate organization, leaders and managers who know how to handle their team members are vital to the success and overall productivity of the group.

They are basically the ‘parents’ of the workplace. And just like real parents, here are several ways how network marketing leaders can deal with failing or troubled “children” (team members).

Be the overbearing parent.

Overbearing parents are the kind who immediately run towards their kids to see what’s wrong. When their kid falls off a bike, the overbearing parent would immediately see what’s wrong, what’s hurting, and then rush off to get a first aid kit.

Of course, nothing’s wrong with making sure that your kids are safe and secure, but an overbearing parent ultimately raises a hyper-dependent kid. These kids would not know how to solve their own problems because mommy or daddy is always there to “take care of it.”

Just like kids, your team members will encounter troubles and accidents. When they don’t know what to do, they will immediately run to you. Being a good leader, you have to listen and help them solve their problems away. Because why not, right?

Be indifferent.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, a leader can also be an indifferent parent. An indifferent parent would just tell their kid to get up and stop crying when they fall off a bike. Indifferent parents will snap out kids from constant whining and just shrug off their problems (no matter how big it is).

This creates hyper-independent kids who may know how to solve their own problems, but are lacking in communication and social skills. They will not tell mom or dad about their struggles because they don’t care anyway.

This could also happen to your team members. When you just shrug off their problems and tell them to stop whining, they will eventually retreat back to their shell and refuse to open up – because you aren’t helpful. But the advantage is, they learn to be independent and resourceful to do good business by themselves.

Adopt a middle ground.

Obviously, being the overbearing parent or the indifferent one will do no good for your team members (or kids for that matter). That’s why it is best to deal with it by adopting a middle ground. So what would this kind of parent actually do when their kid falls off a bike?

They will still rush to their kid and check their injuries. But aside from that, they will tell their kids that falling off a bike is just normal and part of the practice. They have been there, but they stood up and try again. After that, they will teach their kids how to wash, clean and treat their wounds properly – so the next time they fall off again, they will already know how to take care of themselves.

Adopting a middle ground is best done when you are empathic. Good leaders know how to develop the best team through their strong empathy. You are not exactly taking the problem away, you acknowledge it and tell your members that they are not alone – and that you will solve all those difficulties together. You will also tell them that you have been through the same problems, but you managed to rise above it all – and they will too.

Adopting the middle ground also means that you should leave your team members to go through difficulties and solve the problem themselves. Sure, you are there to guide and support them, but you have to leave the actual work to them so they will also learn by first-hand experience.

They have to learn the reality that being in network marketing is full of hardships and obstacles, but it is possible to overcome all of this. Much like the kid who fell off the bike, you have to teach them how to wash and treat their own wounds properly.

So if you want to develop a strong, productive and resourceful team, the challenge is to develop a middle ground style of parenting. The type who is not too overbearing but not indifferent either. You have to be a leader who does not just guide or support, but also one who is relatable and capable enough to solve challenges as a team.

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Watch this video as we talk more about how networking leaders help their team members who stumble and fall.

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