Leadership Investing

20 Apr Leadership Investing

Leaders invest in so many ways, to continue getting better.

Christopher Hart here with Transforming Lives Coaching and Consulting and we are continuing our daily Lead Strong series where our intention is to help leaders become stronger leaders in any environment whether it’s your business, an organization, in your church, in your family, leading for yourself, et cetera.  

Leading is investing.

So today we’re talking about leaders are investors and leading is investing; and so we’re going to dig into kind of the understanding of the meanings of investing, what that looks like and a model by which you can be a great leader investor, and how to get a great return on your investment; as well how to apply this into your own life as well as the lives of others and be able to just maximize your ability to be a strong leader.

So when we look at this, the question that we want to ask ourselves before we dig into this is, are we a good investor or a poor investor?  Now when we talk investing many people I believe their mind, their psychology automatically goes to monetary investment, like I’m taking my money and I’m putting it into something, whether it’s real estate, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, gold, precious metals, whatever; and that’s not necessarily always the case.  That’s one vehicle, that’s one avenue that you can invest.  

But what I want to share with you is a quote that I heard that was really transformational for me a couple of years ago, and Gary Keller the co-founder, and I’m not sure if he’s the president any more but I think he’s just a co-founder of….and he’s board of directors, that’s what it is, Chairman of the board of directors of Keller Williams the largest real estate company in the world right now, he one time… I heard him one time say that people are your greatest investment, they provide you the greatest return on investment in business.  

And so to me that was pretty profound because a lot of times in business you always see people that… we hire people to do a job and we may invest in a system, we may invest in a model, we may invest in particular tools, but the question is how many leaders are really looking at their people as their greatest investment?  And so that’s what we want to look at today is how can your people be your greatest investment to where you maximize a return on investment or return on investing?

How to define invest.

And so let’s look at the very definition of the word invest.  The word invest comes from the Latin root of investire, which is to clothe and to surround.  Notice it doesn’t really have anything to do with money.  Now if you look at investing, investment, then it starts to kind of take shape to more of a monetary perspective; but the word investire which is the root etymology of invest is to clothe, to furnish, to surround; and then it’s has some basically some subordinate definitions which is to furnish with power or authority and to grant someone control or authority over something or someone.  And so interestingly enough it’s kind of synonymous with the word empower which is defined as ‘to give someone the ability and authority.’  

So invest and empower are synonymous, so if I had to look at those two words to be synonymous I would actually say invest to empower.  Leadership is about investing, leadership is to empower people, well leadership is to invest to empower people.  So what we’re going to look at here is how do we clothe, how do we surround somebody or what do we surround them with?  Well if you look at empower it’s to give them the skill and authority.

My question for many of you leaders out there is are you truly giving people the authority to accomplish that which they want to accomplish?  And that’s kind of twofold, I think there’s a lot of leaders out there that say “Oh yeah I do, like I still have to work …like they do what they’re supposed to…like here’s the goal and just go and do it,” and we think we’re empowering them, we think we’re giving them the authority but not really in the manner in which it’s derived to be, and we’ll to talk about that in a minute.

And then there are some new leaders out there that are freaking just control freaks, like you’re just controlling every single little activity, you’re over their shoulder, you’re in their ear all the time, all day, every day, and so you’re not giving them the authority to accomplish. You’re being more of a dictator than you are a leader.  So how can we grant someone the authority is be more of a control freak around results, give them very clear concise guidance of what they need to do and be a control freak around the results, hold them accountable to the results, not the fart-and-fiddle activities and the minutia. So get out of that right, because we’re going to talk here in a minute exactly why we want to give them the authority so that we can be great leader investors.

But then there’s also the ability, the skill set.  The two As of empowerment are ability and authority, and ability is about giving them the skill sets.  And so when we start to look at to empower people to give them skill sets that’s where I believe investing, being a leader investor really starts to take shape.  And what does that look like?  I have an acronym that I like to use to coach and to teach to and it’s the acronym of the word time, T-I-M-E.  And so to break that down the very first word of the acronym time is actually the word time.  

Do you have the T.I.M.E

So we have T-I-M-E, and the T is time, we invest our time into people in the area so that we can give them the ability to accomplish that which they want to accomplish, but not so much time that we’re not giving them the authority.  It’s like we’re not giving someone so much of our time that we’re controlling every little fart-and-fiddle thing because if that’s the case you might as well just do it yourself.  Don’t hire people to be robots, they’re not there to be robotic, do every little thing you want them to do and you don’t give them the authority and any freedom to do what you really hired them to do which is to take the job, do it so you can gain back some more of your own time and get a greater return on investment. So the first word is time, we have to invest our time into people, you can’t just hire them… the other flip side to that is you can’t just hire them, say “Hey here’s the job, here’s some…here’s a job description…here’s some of our stuff, go figure that out.  Boom!  I’m out here, I’m going to go hang out and go golfing today or just go on appointments all day,” and do a trial-by-fire thing.  And then a month. two/three months into it you call your coach and you’re like “It’s not working out.”  Well it’s not working out because you didn’t invest any time into them, you threw them into the fire and hoped that they’d figure it out.  That’s not leadership.

So the second letter of the acronym TIME is I, which is information.  We talk about leaders are learners and the reason why we need to learn is we need to constantly be filling our cup of information so that we can invest that information into other people to give them the ability to achieve that which they want to achieve.

You see a lot of times leaders will hire people, throw them into the fire, not give them any of their time, not give them any information, not give them any clarity.  Information is about clarity, it’s about guidance, it’s about information that possesses new skills, or it’s about information to be resourceful to go acquire the information somewhere to achieve that which they need to achieve.  Information is a critical part of investing in other people so that they can be your greatest investment.  Your time, your information, it costs you nothing virtually.  We live in the information world, in the Information Age.  Quite frankly I don’t even think we’re in the Information Age, we’re in the Massive Information Age, there’s so much content being added to the World Wide Web on a daily basis that 20 years ago what it took you know years time is what’s being added in a day.  So the information’s out there, you can acquire it, it’s not costing you any money, it’s costing you your time.  But it’s that information that’s going to transform people into being a great investment so whereby you can get a great return on your investment.

So the third letter is M, T-I-M. Well that’s money, and I believe how you invest your money into people, you don’t just throw money at them and take this class, take that class, buy them this book, buy them this tool, every time they need something they come to you, you throw more money at them. I mean that could be a strategy but it’s not good for budgeting and economics of a business and the health of a business; but where we look at that is what are the skill sets?  There’s things that we should be identifying in the hiring process and the leading process to help us determine how do we maximize this person’s ability and authority to do their job really well.  And sometimes that’s investing money, like we invest money into them, maybe we send them to a class, maybe we send them to a seminar, maybe we send them back to college, and it’s not just to do it for learning sake, it’s doing it for return on investment sake.  

So money is also a critical part of that, and if you don’t have money then you’re left with time and information; and that’s okay too to the point where you can make money to where you’re reinvesting in it.  You see I think where a lot of leaders fail as investors is they want to take all this money so they can improve their life, they can go buy books, they can go buy cars; the leader has more stuff than the people do.  And when I say “stuff”  like you look at the leader they got cars, they got boats, they got houses, they got lifestyles, they got vacations, and the people barely even have resources in their job and in their role.  You’re not adequately utilizing your money for its highest and best purpose within your business to gain a return on your investment.  You’re putting money into something so you can gain a lifestyle, that’s selfish, that’s not leadership, it’s success through people, not because of people.

And then the third one is E, energy right.  Like we have to put effort and energy into people, our time, our information, our money, and our energy and our effort into giving people the ability and authority is going to empower them and give them the authority to achieve that which they want to achieve.

Now if we use these four basic tenets of leadership, investing our time, our information, our money, and our energy, it’s not just for output, it’s for income as well.  See it’s about… all investing is about return on investment.  The time that you put out should be so that you can eventually gain a significant amount of time back to go reallocate to some more…another project or more money making activities to increase the business’s effectiveness or to increase your ability to add more businesses to your entrepreneurial portfolio.  

And then information, like we should be giving information out as an investment so that people can go out and do more with it and bring back information.  If you’re the only one in your organization that’s knowledgeable, that’s pouring the information out and you’re not getting a greater return of information back, you’re not a good leader investor, you’re hiring the wrong people, and it usually has to do with you’re hiring people just to serve your needs and desires within your business.  So if you’re hiring the right people they’re learning based, they desire more information from you and in other areas, and they want to share that with you.  And so if you look at your organization and your people and you’re not becoming a better person information-wise and knowledge-wise because of them, you might have the wrong people or you might need to reallocate some resources for a better investment.

And then money, like the money that we put out should cause us a return on our investment.  The same Gary Keller, co-founder, Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams says we look at money as a return on investment with people three to one, for every dollar I put out I want three back, why?  One for one, save your money;  two for one, you’re in the game, you’re winning but you’re barely in the game and there’s too much risk to call that a good investment; three to one, you reduce risk and you’re gaining a greater win as far as a return on your investment.  So if you’re putting money out and you’re not getting a three-to-one return it’s not a good investment.

And then energy, you see there’s times we hire people that we have to put a lot of energy, like drama, issues, BS, whatever; we’re putting a lot of output of energy and we’re not gaining any energy back, they actually become energy sucks.  See I think when you hire the right people and you invest your energy into them and they take that and they create a greater opportunity within you that will empower you, that create a greater energy within you.  If you’re not energized by your people something’s wrong, poor investor or poor investment.

So to put this all together, we invest our time, information, money, and energy, and effort into people so that we get a greater return of time, information, money, and energy within us so we can go off and go do more and create more opportunities for our people who are showing us that they are a great return on investment.  So if you’re analyzing your leadership and you’re analyzing your people and you’re going “Ah…”  a lot of times here’s what investors do, or leader investors do, they look at it and they go, “Ah I’m getting more time and I’m not getting more information… I’ve got a money suck and I got an energy suck. I got the wrong people.”

Maybe, maybe not, you may be the wrong leader; and when I say leader, you may be a poor investor, you may be improperly investing that time, information, money and effort and energy into your people.  So what I would tell you is rather than point the finger out, look at the three that are pointing back at you first.  Self assess yourself as a leader and say “Am I properly investing time into them?  Am I properly investing information into them?  Am I properly investing money into them?  Am I properly investing energy and effort?  And if I am, then am I getting that in return?  And if not then maybe…” hey Grant good to see you man, from South Africa; love your brother, love the fact that you’re following us this morning …so if you’re not getting that return on investment and you see that you are putting time, information, money, and effort, and sometimes money is coaching, like I won’t plug that, I won’t point a finger at anyone, get your people into coaching, that’s investing in money, that’s investing your time, that’s investing information and energy to get a greater return.   Don’t wait for people to fail and then say “Oh let’s get him into coaching.”  Get them into coaching, make that investment.  And if your people are in coaching and they’re not giving you that greater return then maybe at that point I would say you have the wrong person; and it’s not the wrong person, they’re just not a match, like God determines who’s right or wrong and none of his creations are bad, the Bible says that.  It just means that they’re not a match for that role or your organization.

So hopefully this topic brought some value to your life and your business.  Are you investing in yourself?  Are you investing time into yourself?  Are you allocating time within your day and your week to improve yourself?  Are you improving your information on a daily basis and multiple times a day or are you so damn busy that you don’t even have time to read five pages of a book, one chapter of the Bible, one freaking blog, listen to one audio, go on a treadmill?  Do you not have that time, or you’re not in engaged, you’re not increasing your own information?  Do you not have the monetary resources to live out the purpose of your business which is to fund the perfect life?  Do you not have the energy?  

If you don’t have any of these things, if you’re lacking them, hey guys reach out to me at Chris@transforminglivescoaching.com email me, text me, my cell phone number 843 855 9673. I’m willing to give out my personal information because I desire to help you become a better leader and a better investment so that your people…so that you can be that return on investment for people, so you can be that vehicle that they see you to be, the vehicle to their success.  And in turn they become your greatest return on your investment, they become your greatest investment that you look back and you say “You know what, not a single one of my stocks, bonds, precious metals, could ever perform like these people perform,” and that’s because how you perform for them in T-I-M-E.

Guys I hope this information is valuable to your life, to your business, to your organizations.  Utilize it for yourself, utilize it for your families, utilize it for your organizations, your churches as well as your businesses.  Don’t just look at this content strictly for business entrepreneurial purposes.

Guys thank you for joining me. God loves you, so do I.  Have a empowerful day; invest in your people, invest in yourself, and lead strong. God bless.

About the author:

Over the course of 8 years, Christopher Hart went from an enlisted Private First Class to a Commissioned Officer-Captain. In 2005, Christopher chose to move on from his military career to focus on starting a family and embarking in the world of entrepreneurship. Christopher’s passion is now working to help others be the BEST version of themselves and helping them Lead others to the same!
To learn more about Christopher Hart or to get in touch with him regarding a coaching program you can email him at Chris@TransformingLivesCoaching.com