ECI partner, Lewis Bantin, recently caught up with Harvard Business School professor, coach and podcaster Archie L Jones, to discuss his new book, The Treasure You Seek.
In the book, Archie outlines the “5 C’s” of Leadership Capital (Capability, Culture, Communication, Connection and Confidence) and how each is a building block to deploy that capital.
Whether you’re a corporate leader or entrepreneur, leadership is not about title or status. It’s a “process of social influence that maximises the efforts of others toward the achievement of a goal”. Whatever you want to achieve, Leadership Capital is the resource you need to get there. It’s the currency of change.
Here’s what Archie had to say…
Why did you write the book?
The main reason was around building confidence.
Throughout my career and particularly when teaching at the Harvard Business School, I was acutely aware there wasn’t a shortage of capability by any stretch. But I found one of the biggest challenges I witnessed was a lack of confidence. The confidence to actually go after the things that you aspire to.
I don’t feel you can teach confidence, but what I can do is help build confidence. So ‘The Treasure You Seek’ is about building confidence for both aspiring leaders, as well as those who’ve already been titled as leaders, to continue on that journey of building and stretching their confidence.
How did you develop the 5 C’s framework?
The framework came off the back of notes I was capturing when coaching leaders and we kept coming back to the same themes. I was also cataloguing the advice I was giving and it repeatedly fell into these five buckets. So I distilled all that knowledge into the book’s framework with the first four C’s working towards building the fifth C, Confidence.
The first C, Capability, describes finding your superpower. Does everyone have a superpower?
I believe so, yes. But the one thing about superpowers is that they rarely align perfectly with a job description or career, and that’s part of the journey. The book provides ideas, processes and examples to help align your superpower to a career, overcome the natural barriers that often present themselves, and help you make the leap.
Imposter Syndrome is a recurring theme, why is that?
The book deals with the internal journey you have to go on, and Imposter Syndrome is often a key element of that journey. But in most cases, it’s not other’s discomfort with you, but your own discomfort, so you have to build that confidence internally. Until you believe that you’ve got all the skills to be an exceptional contributor or leader, it’s tough to exude that externally to others.
Which of the 5 C’s do most people struggle with?
Personally, I find it’s the third one, Culture.
Potentially because it’s where most Imposter Syndrome lies – does my culture disqualify or qualify me for the opportunity? Someone’s background often provides the excuses, and sometimes they’re good excuses, not to move on. But they are just that, excuses. I think the most powerful part of anyone’s journey is thinking differently about themselves.
What do you want people to take from the book?
I didn’t coin the phrase “having the confidence to exceed your ability”, but that to me is all the magic coming together and you attain the confidence to reach beyond what you know is attainable, where you know you can succeed, where you know you can outperform. To actually go to those uncomfortable places where you think “I’ve got 80% of it, I don’t know where that other 20% is going to come from, but I’m going to reach for it”.
Who’s the book aimed at?
I think it has universal appeal, but I really wrote it for those aspiring and undiscovered leaders. Those who don’t think of themselves as leaders and have yet to find that catalyst or spark. But there are definitely truths that can help anybody with the confidence to achieve what they want.
You were nervous about writing the book. Have you found the treasure you sought?
It was a million times worse in my mind than it’s turned out to be. In reality, it’s been phenomenal. The fact that I’ve been able to share my coaching with so many people who will never be in my classroom, and hearing that it’s changed their trajectory, is fantastic.
But there’s been another surprise. Junior Achievement Africa, which trains 800,000 aspiring leaders across 18 countries on the continent, was so inspired by the material they’ve included it in their summer leadership program. That’s more than anything I could have wished for.
Archie L. Jones Jr. is a Harvard Business School Professor, founder and CEO of NxGen COACH Network, investor and host of the Training Camp For Leaders podcast.
