Have you reached the stage where you can start considering your broader leadership impact? If you’re wondering where you are on your leadership journey, this free Leadership Capital Assessment charts your progress along two axes: visualization and actualization.
Visualization involves figuring out what treasure it is you seek and charting the path to that goal. This requires developing the first two Cs of leadership: capability and culture. Actualization, or putting your vision into action to achieve your goal, involves developing the next two Cs of leadership: communication and connection. Once you’ve progressed along these axes and built your confidence, the final C, you’ve reached a phase of your journey where you can broaden your leadership impact.
Are You an Unfulfilled Leader?
Unfulfilled leaders are in a unique position. They’ve made progress along the axes of both visualization and actualization. These leaders are fully in flight, so to speak—they’re leveraging networks, pursuing purpose, and seem to have hit the highest heights of success.
But they want to fly higher, take their game to the next level, and tackle a new challenge, which often requires them to identify ways to serve others. These leaders are looking to answer the question of how to broaden their impact and fulfill their purpose by leveraging their leadership superpower to help as many people as possible.
As a coach, I spend a lot of time with in-flight leaders who are still unfulfilled because, the truth is, the leadership journey is never done. I still seek help from my own mentors, especially when I run into turbulence, so to speak—taking on new challenges, expanding my impact into industries I wasn’t familiar with before, and starting over again and learning something new. This happens whenever I start working with a new company as part of my board governance journey, and I also advise other executives on board governance. These are typically successful executives looking to take their expertise to a new territory or find a new purpose for those leadership skills.
What Treasure Do You Seek?
If you’re looking to broaden your leadership impact, the first thing to do is to think about your goals carefully. What is your Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or BHAG? In my book The Treasure You Seek, I call this a treasure analysis.
Ask yourself:
- What is the true treasure I seek?
- How can I leverage my leadership skills to help as many people as possible?
- What does my ideal impact look like?
Considering your legacy is a crucial part of this process. Reflecting on your long-term impact can significantly shape your current leadership approach and decisions. By envisioning the mark you want to leave on the world, you can gain a clearer vision of how to expand your influence beyond your current sphere.
Maybe you’ve had some success as a lawyer in helping your own clients, but now you want to establish a legal aid foundation to help as many people as possible who you could never reach on your own. Or maybe you want to use those same skills to address something you really care about in a different area, as a new adventure that speaks to your true treasure.
Whatever your ambition, a well-defined treasure will guide your efforts to broaden your leadership impact.
Invest Your Excess Leadership Capital
Like financial capital, leadership capital accrues when it’s wisely invested. Once you’ve reached the level of the unfulfilled leader, you start to have excess leadership capital that you need to start thinking about what you want to do with.
Consider impactful ways of investing that residual capital:
- Mentor the next generation of leaders
- Engage in board governance to influence multiple organizations
- Explore opportunities in new industries or sectors
- Establish foundations or initiatives that align with your values
By strategically investing your leadership capital, you can extend your influence—fully leveraging your superpower and expressing your leadership while doing so in a way that has the kind of impact that takes you from success to significance.