In my first article on this topic, I discussed just what is “Leadership Capital” and what are the components that make it up. And in the second, I discussed how we accumulate and increase our supply. In the final installment, we will take a look at spending that capital – and spending it wisely.
As hard as it is to come by, it certainly seems to be flowing out at a faster pace than it does flowing into our leadership “account.” Yet, I finished my last article urging you to spread it around as a means of accumulating more.
Where Do I Spend My Leadership Capital?
Spend It On People — One of the best places to spend any kind of capital is on your people. It is all the truer when it comes to leadership capital. I have used the quote before that a leader’s primary role is to build more leaders. So, spend your capital on your people. Spend it in terms of your time. Young leaders need mentors to help them develop. Use your leadership capital and make an investment in the lives of some young leaders. If your organization does not have any type of mentorship program, start one! And if that is not possible, volunteer with some non-profit organizations that are always looking for mentors.
Spend It On Projects — Projects are usually vital to an organization’s growth. So, don’t waste your valuable leadership capital on frivolous endeavors that do not bring value to the organization. Don’t waste it on frivolous things that will not last. Ask yourself; “What are the top 3 things that will transform our organization?” Is it developing a new product or service to bring to the market? Then go make it happen.
Spend It On Processes — Sometimes, there can be great value in the processes. Spend your leadership capital on creating or refining processes that will make your organization better. Make sure those processes resilient and strong enough to carry your organization through any unforeseen changes in leadership. But make sure those same processes are flexible enough for them to be adapted to an ever-changing market.
Spend It On Promoting Your Organization — One of the often neglected roles of a leader is to be a “Cheer” leader. Always take every opportunity to speak highly of your organization and the contribution that it is making to benefit our society and to improve our culture.
How Do I Spend It?
The easy answer is this. Spend it liberally! Don’t try to hoard it. Instead, spend it as generously as you can. Spend it as often as you can. Spend it in as many places as you can. Spend it with as many different people as you can. Leadership capital doesn’t do you or anyone else in your organization any good just sitting in a “bank.”
Here is the good news. The more of it you that spend, the more that you will have. It is crazy. But that is the way that it goes with leadership capital.
How is your supply of leadership capital? Do you have all you need? Or are you running low?
Where can I find the first two articles?
In case you missed the first two articles in this series, just click the links below and get caught up on them as well.
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