The Hidden Currency of Leadership: Julia’s Theory of Political Capital
Julia Bardmesser
Accelerate the Business Value of Your Data & Make it an Organizational Priority | ex-CDO advising CDOs at Data4Real | Keynote Speaker & Bestselling Author | Drove Data at Citi, Deutsche Bank, Voya and FINRA
It was performance review season, and I was fuming.?
After delivering exceptional results, leading multiple successful initiatives, and a great rating as a manager - I was very disappointed.
My performance review got the second-highest rating, not the highest as I’d expected.?
My relationship with my boss was strong enough that I could express my feelings, so I walked into his office, ready to make my case for why I deserved that top rating.
On that day, his response transformed my entire leadership worldview.
He said,?
"Tell me, I could have used my political capital to get you a higher rating. Or I could preserve it to get you a higher bonus. What would you prefer?"
Ratings are great for the ego, but money is better.?
Until that moment,?
I was managing large teams and fighting every battle that came my way. If something felt right, I'd push for it relentlessly - regardless of the costs, the stakeholders and a few times, regardless of whether the victory was worth it. In fact, it was a point of pride for me.
That simple question opened my eyes to a dimension of leadership I had never fully grasped before - political capital.?
The game was so much bigger than just being right or fighting for what you deserve - it was about strategic choices and thoughtful use of influence. I sat down and created a framework that became a catalyst in my journey as a leader.?
Presenting, Julia's theory of Political Capital.??
Here we go.?
When you start a new role, you get an advance of political capital - just by virtue of having been hired. But like any advance, you need to earn it. Spend it before you've earned it, and you'll find yourself working from a deficit.
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2. The Mountain Climb
There are 2 ways to climb over a mountain.?
- Climb straight up, exhaust yourself, and get injured on the way down.
- Find the switchback route, pace yourself, collect fellow travelers along the way, and reach your destination perhaps slower but in a much better shape.
The same applies to driving change in organizations. The straightest path isn't always the wisest or the right one.
3. The Battle Selection
Creating the perception of another's victory while moving in your desired direction is often smarter than fighting every obstacle in your path.
Looking back, I realize how much this blind spot cost me. Fighting every battle didn't make me a better leader - it just depleted my political capital faster than I could earn it and made achieving my objectives that much harder.
The truth is, your effectiveness as a leader isn't measured by the battles you fight, but by the wars (impact/change/transformation) you win.??
Sometimes, we should let ourselves take the scenic route around the mountain instead of climbing straight up.
What's your experience or best advice on political capital??
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
P.S. Stay tuned for my upcoming series on building political capital with different C-suite roles. There's much more to share on this topic!
Every Friday morning, I'll email you 1 actionable tip to accelerate the business potential of your data & make it an organizational priority.
Former CIO, Executive Director Innovate@UCLA, Senior Avasant Fellow and Chair,Co-Founder at Immortal,ILO Fellow, Advisory board member Pandoblox/3GC and Mori Associates, Consultant
2 周I liked your article and have seen this type of action before. I never like performance reviews in an HR way. I liked my performance discussions to be more honest and thoughtful for the employee. Then I would fill out the form as HR expected. But the employee got to hear and discuss real issues. This led to more trust between me and the employee. As for political capitol, while a necessary evil in some companies, I always worked to build relationships on trust and results oriented. But I was alway aware of the politics. I think the new workforce coming may have other desires. Building your personal brand, being loyal to people vs. companies etc... Thanks for article!
When a leader decides to fight a battle, it also impacts the team - their bandwidth, morale, ability to fight another battle, etc. Hence it is important to pick the battles where you can make the most impact in the long term. I had not thought of this in the context of political capital though. Thank you for sharing your framework, it is a good reference indeed!
Data Architect
2 周Great thoughts, Julia! Let me add my two cents. The bigger the company, the harder it is to pick battles because, as a technical leader, everyone tries to involve you in every technical call and initiative to get your approval for their actions. From a process standpoint, various decision-making frameworks, such as RAPID, help structure the decision-making process and foster a culture of accountability. From a personality perspective, leadership style plays a crucial role. Servant leadership and a facilitator approach empower people to fight their own battles, providing them with the foundation to make decisions without the direct involvement of technical leaders, who can then focus on strategic and tactical decisions.
Data Governance | Data Privacy | Enterprise Data Operations
3 周As always, appreciate your insights and candor, Julia Bardmesser. A respected leader once said “You can’t do the right things if you don’t have the power to influence”, which speaks to the importance of political capital.
Digital analytics executive | Strategist and Implementation expert of Information management and analytics solutions.
3 周Very interesting. Will have to think through his aspect of Political Capital. I just tell my staff that I will go to bat for them any day. May be that's the wrong way to look at the battles we fight. Quite an intriguing angle.