To quote a famous hip hop rapper in my country, "…You gotta show and prove." What I mean by this is you constantly have to log in daily, score your VP, and show your team how hard you're working. In other words, be both an awesome affiliate and a sponsor. Your downline will see you putting in work and will follow suit.
Simply work with your workers, but also work alongside them. Remember your days as an affiliate and use that to motivate your team.