In my first article on this topic, I discussed just what is “Leadership Capital” and what are the components that make it up. So, if we have a good understanding of what it is, let’s move on to see how we gain more of it.
This much I know to be true. It is earned in small amounts and often over long periods of time. Thus, you have the first half of my quote – “ . . . earned in pennies . . . ”
What Steps Can I Take to Build My Leadership Capital?
Be Approachable — Several years ago I wrote an article that reminds us that leaders are accessible and not aloof. Accessible and approachable are similar enough that for my purposes I am considering them synonymous. Leadership capital is earned by
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How do you measure leadership acumen? How is it measured as it gained? How is it measured as it is expended? Is there a subjective scale or is there an objective scale? And if so, what would be the markings or gradations?
These are the questions that I am grappling with today as I contemplate a variation on a quote that I have come up with in the last few days.
“Leadership capital is earned in pennies and spent in pounds.”
OK, I am not British and I realize that our currency is dollars. However, the point of the quote is that leadership capital is “earned” in small increments and it is often expended in larger denominations.
But before we can really talk about how it is gained or how it is spent, we need to get a handle on just what is “leadership capital?”
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My TimeHop today reminded me of a quote three years ago from George Will that compared Ronald Reagan to a ship captain. George Will said, “He calmed the passengers – and the sea.” On top of that, my Sunday School lesson that I taught over the weekend was about the words of Jesus Christ to his Disciples as he walked to them on the water — “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
All of that added up tells me that I need to be thinking about leaders and calmness in difficult situations.
Leaders Are Calm in Difficult Situations
Calmness and composure are synonymous to me in this context. The composure of a leader is reflected in their body language, attitude, body language, vocal tone, vocal volume, and overall presence. In today’s business environment, it is clear that leadership is not only about elevating the performance, aptitude, and development of our teams – it is also about the environment that we create within our organizations.
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New eBook – 4 Resolutions Every Leader Should Make – is now available!
Kevin Bowser’s latest eBook is now available for free download at his NoiseTrade site. This book is a collection of the first series of articles that appeared on the website starting January 1, 2016. This series dealt with the importance of establishing and writing down 4 specific resolutions that every leaders should make this year.
It is a very short book and will help you keep those first five articles in a handy format to reference throughout this year. You can get the ebook for free at Kevin’s NoiseTrade Author Site and you can get it for FREE.
Just click the link below and go directly to the NoiseTrade site and download your copy in either Kindle or Nook format.
Thanks again to my editor, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, for her work and for helping correct the grammar errors that I seem to keep making over and over again!
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Whenever the power that is put in any hands for the government of the people, and the protection of our properties, is applied to other ends, and made use of to impoverish, harass or subdue them to the arbitrary and irregular commands of those that have it; there it presently becomes tyranny, whether those that thus use it are one or many.
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John Locke
Second Treatise, Chapter 18
Like most young people entering the workforce in the early 1980s, I had great aspirations. I aspired to be a big-time manager for a major corporation. I knew I was not CEO material. But, I wanted to be a manager. And over the next 15 years I achieved that. At one point, I had almost 100 people reporting to me.
Then, something inside of me began to change. I began to have other aspirations. I yearned to lead and not just manage.
I have nothing disparaging to say about managers and management. Many writers and practitioners of leadership development have very little that is positive to say about managers. Managers are vital to the overall success of an organization. We need managers. Well, we need good managers. But for purposes of today’s article, I want to draw some distinctions between leaders and managers.
Here Are Three Key Differences
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We have already come to the end of the first month of the year 2016. I cannot believe how swiftly this year is progressing. Many of you made resolutions. Did you write them down? They are just ideas until you write them down. They only become real goals when you write them and commit them to paper.
May of you have a vision in your head about how 2016 would look by the time that 2017 would be knocking on the door. Having a clear vision of what or where you want to be is vitally important from a leadership perspective. But let me ask you this:
How will you make your vision a reality?
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Emotional Intelligence coaching has played a very significant role in my overall leadership development process. I am always looking for new information and new research in this area. Often, I get introduced to new words and terminology. Yesterday, I came across a new phrase — emotionally elite.
There is much more to be learned about emotionally elite leaders. Unfortunately, the word “elite” has some negative connotations. For many of us, this goes against our nature. We are not comfortable referring to ourselves as elite. Nevertheless, consider the word “elite” devoid of the braggadocios or the conceited way that we often see it used.
So, what does it mean to be “emotionally elite”?
After doing some research online and in some academic circles, I can report to you that there is still not a lot of material available with keywords “emotional” and “elite” used in combination. And some of the links that I followed took me to a well disguised online dating site. (Unfortunately, now some 39-year-old woman from the Ukraine wants to be my “friend”.) So, I need to be a little more careful in my research!
What are some common characteristics of emotionally elite leaders? Consider these five characteristics of those who are emotionally elite.
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I remember when my father-in-law was still alive. His name was John. But he was known to us as “Grandaddy”. He was a great man. He was a patient man. He was a successful man. And he was a smart man. No. Better yet, he was a wise man.
Only recently have I had the opportunity to live anywhere close to where my own actual father lives. And yet, we have lived close to my father-in- law for many years, so I have often gone to my father-in-law with questions that a young husband or a young father would normally take to his own father. John was older. John was wiser. — I think those two things just might go hand-in-hand.
And then this happened. I noticed several years ago that some younger men were starting to come to me for advice from time to time. Some of them just wanted to bounce their ideas off of someone. It sort of just began happening over time. I didn’t seek it out. It just started occurring. That was a bit of a troubling realization!
Then it hit me. They were looking to ME for advice. They were looking to ME for wisdom. How did that happen? I don’t feel qualified. And I don’t feel worthy. Am I getting old? Am I getting wiser?
Then, I had a thought. I wonder how Grandaddy must have felt when I used to go to him for advice?
What is the Leadership Lesson from this reminiscing?
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It was 3:30 am and I finally came to the conclusion that I needed some medical attention. Why that realization came to me at that time of morning is simply because I could no longer ignore an issue. So, it was off to the hospital emergency room and all the fun that that little trip entails.
So, what is the Leadership Lesson in the last 24 hours?
I think that there are at least three things that I learned from this experience. And they are as simple as they are obvious. But they have direct implications to leadership. And here they are:
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