What makes people do what they do? More importantly, from a business perspective, what makes people do what we want them to do to advance the objectives of the business?
There is a reason why some teams (whether in business, sports, or other organizations) achieve more than others. Learning what makes that difference and learning how to employ that difference is what makes one boss stand out above the others—less because of who they are and more because of how their team responds to them. I intentionally say boss instead of leader, as not all bosses are leaders. I venture to say, however, that the boss who is able to achieve better results has learned what it means to posses leadership capital.
People tend to do more of what they want to do than what they have to do. Leadership capital is the currency that bosses use to get people to voluntarily and happily do things. Money is a form of capital that engages people’s hands and feet, but it is leadership capital that engages people’s hearts and minds.
Leadership capital cannot be acquired, but must be earned over time. How much is earned is typically a function of how others perceive what we are, how we are, and why we are. In other words, people place a value on our skills, actions, and motives. The amount of value they attribute equates to deposits in our leadership capital account.
The challenge is that leadership capital is earned slowly over time, much like earning trust, in fact the two are closely linked, and must be spent wisely. The best leaders build their leadership capital account and only spend the interest. They also realize that their capital can be quickly eroded when people perceive a lack of authenticity and care—the two key attributes that also underwrite trust.
Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.