HUMAN CAPITAL IS THE ULTIMATE CAPITAL.

THERE IS NO “I” IN TEAM

You don’t manage a team as if you’re the only person on the team. Whether in a huge company or if you’re the leader of a church band or the captain of a sports team or even the head waitress at a restaurant, the same rules apply.

You cannot run a business or a company without human capital. Even if you have a team of five, everyone on that team should be valued.

Communication is key in any management situation. I may not know much, but this I do know.



You cannot exclude the “little guys” from big decisions. You don’t have meetings and make decisions and apply changes with only those who hold fancy titles or with the people in your close circle when those same decisions affect so many other people.



It’s not fair and quite frankly, it’s considered selfish.



When you start excluding people and start isolating them, you cut off valuable insight that could grow your business or change your perspective.

That is the thing about being a good manager and a good leader; you need to be able to listen and you also need to be able to admit when you’re wrong.

Just because you are in a leadership position, does not mean you are always right.

Not providing a communicative platform for those who work for you, will be detrimental not only for your business and your team but also for your reputation.



I’ve seen many real life examples of people who are meant to lead, take the people that they are leading for granted.

In fact, I’ve been in that situation and it troubles me that it happens so often.

If you are not going to take care of the people who work for you, they will either leave the business, betray you (in extreme cases) or just refuse to deliver excellent work.

But can you imagine what the world would be like if we all pulled our resources and talents together and worked in an environment that was conducive to the ultimate productivity all of us possess?

Can you imagine what we could create?

If you are a leader, CEO or supervisor of any team or business in any sort of context, even the head of your family, you need to realise that your ultimate capital is the people who work for you, the people you lead, the family you are taking care off and the people who surround you and look up to you.



Do not ignore the people who do not have fancy, high-level titles. Nurture them, speak to them, get to know them and find out where their strength lies and how you can work together (key word being “together) in order to use those strengths and talents to the advantage of everyone involved.



I understand not everyone has the same personality, you have people who are more outspoken than others and then you have people who are more sensitive than others which can make them more susceptible to hurt feelings when being criticised but as a leader it is your responsibility to nurture and work on understanding how the minds and personalities of those who work for you, work.

You can’t run a business or manage a team without knowing each and every person in your company and I know it’s difficult especially when you’re running a huge enterprise but it’s not impossible and it is worth the effort and time.



People become more open to share and discuss ideas when they feel they are being listened to. Don’t immediately shut down ideas when they are being presented. It might not be exactly what you want or what you are looking for but simply dismissing someone’s idea or thoughts, is a recipe for disaster and it’s also rude.

Find creative ways to implement ideas from various people but try and make everyone feel involved. Again, I have to emphasize, do not exclude people, even the ones that don’t speak much or struggle to express themselves. Find ways to help people open up more in a comfortable and safe environment.

Once you’ve established that environment, you’ll find that so many people start enjoying their work and confidence starts building within those very people and when someone has confidence, they become more eager to produce. Allow people to believe in themselves.

When people are bitter because they feel ignored or side-lined, it causes friction and favouritism amongst the team members which is a breeding ground for tension and eventual failure.

One thing I know about humans is that we want to feel valued, we want to feel and know that we matter and that we are contributing. If we don’t have that, we somehow end up doubting ourselves and question our purpose on this earth.

As a leader, you have so much power to make that feeling a reality for so many people and once you affect one person with that power, it spreads and before you know it, your legacy has grown and touched people you have never even met.



In the words of Uncle Ben,

“With great power, comes great responsibility”



Use your power wisely and grow more responsible leaders.

Be firm but be polite.

Do not enforce, instead encourage.

Nurture your team, grow your capital.

-Kimberly Flanagan