October 7th, 2009 | 
Author: When it comes to finding a leader in the same business niche as you, what do you look for? I’m sure the common traits to look for from many people would be honesty, trust, straight-talker-no-bull attitude, knowledgeable, authenticity, professionalism and so on.
As you journey through your own personal and business growth you will come across three types of leaders.
A. The real experts in their niches
B. The “leader” in sheep’s clothing
C. The “leader” who rides the success coattails of others
How do you know the real deal from the fakes? There are some clear signs and these are what you should be looking out for.
1. Articles are fantastic sources of information about specific topics, but it’s also the written work and words from a knowledgeable business person. How does it read? Is it understandable and does it drive the point home for you? Some people can be great writers, yet they hold back on their knowledge like they are afraid to share their most successful secrets. They will only provide common sense knowledge which really is not sharing information at all in my humble opinion.
If they rehash or regurgitate a lot of their old material for newer articles then it’s a sign they aren’t expanding their knowledge.
Subscribe to their article feed or new article alerts. This way you can keep up with all the new articles they have written. In time you will be able to see if what they are writing is really content worthy.
Keep up with their blogs and blog comments. Again this will reveal whether they are truly knowledgeable in their business niche. Do they add value to what’s already being said by a blogger? Do they offer a different perspective? Or are they readily agreeable most times and reiterate what is already being written even when misinformation is presented?
2. Social networking sites can tell a lot about leaders. Niche forums are so wide-opened all you need to do is visit them daily and focus in on two leaders in same niche for comparison.
A leader you want to follow openly engages in all discussions from business related chat or informal chit chat. Not only does it show them as a leader, but it shows them as a real person someone can identify with. Leaders aren’t afraid of controversy nor do they stay away from business discussions. Ask them anything and they are willing to share and talk; they aren’t vague in their responses.
Many leaders also work on personal development. They are always learning and striving to be better all the time. They motivate and inspire, they have clear goals and they think outside the box. They are creative and original.
Fittingly so eventually you want to be business leader A. You want to be able to stand on your own two feet. No riding on someone else’s successes or pretending to be someone you’re not.
Follow your leaders’ footsteps as a guide. Always strive to learn more today than you knew yesterday and be true to yourself.
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Posted in Business Basics, Direct Sales, Recruiting, Work At Home Jobs and Tips | 
Tags: business leader, leader
Sophia,
You made some great points and this is a very valid post. I get sick and tired of seeing folks running around online proclaiming to be a niche leader when in fact…they are not.
If you are a leader, you will be helpful and giving of your time and expertise. I see a lot of these so-called leaders trying to sell their ebooks, tips, training & coaching and so forth…but yet, offer very little (if anything) for free. Don’t get me wrong, we all do what we do to make a living, however, you can’t expect people to constantly fork out money and you give nothing FREE in return.
When it comes to reading articles by so-called niche leaders, I look for all of the things you mentioned. I don’t want to read rehashed & regurgitated information. I want to read some creativity…a new spin on an old idea. Something original please! Furthermore, don’t slap a load of information in an Ebook and run around and try to see it if we can get the information for free by reading your website or articles. That makes no sense to me.
Shelly