Here's a really simple way to think about the ins and outs, the doing and practice or attitudes and behaviors of being a leader.

Many times I get asked certain questions that tell me that there seems to be some confusion concerning these critical areas of the leadership mission:

1) When and who can, should or will leaders need to lead?

2) What do leaders actually do?

3) How and in what ways do leaders appear to lead?

This article will show you how to analyze, define and perform the most important task of a leader's job - that is, to enrich human capital.

You will appreciate this one essential truth: leaders need to invest in and leverage the various factors, variables and elements of the "human capital equation".

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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy - Number 1: Learn the Nature of Your Capital Assets!

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You will want to use your understanding of the four generic asset categories that form "human capital".

In a word, your success as a leader depends on your answer to this simple question: what are human capital assets?

Our capital assets are defined as the ways we bring value to our world, to our environment and to our evolution.

Because people purposely add value to the circumstances of their lives, I call each of those value-appreciating areas, a "capital asset".

These assets or value-enhancing capabilities are:

Production - the ability to create, evaluate, perform, deliver, process, supply, execute, apply, produce and many other "functional" activities.

Knowledge - may be thought of as having an ability to think, analyze, conceive, extrapolate, interpret or translate and other mental, reasoning, cogitating or intellectual actions.

Social - the forming of relationships, communities, teams, partnerships or alliances, the developing and sustaining of networks, interactions, exchanges or transactions with and between other people.

Utilization - concepts involving capabilities towards, growing, improving, enhancing, evolving, developing, learning, educating and progressing beyond one's innate or natural ability - an ability to act towards and achieve the fulfillment of one's potential

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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy - Number 2: Focus the Considerable Impacts of Our Capital Assets!

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If you can maintain the idea of focusing attention on, sharpening the impact and magnifying the effects of each of those 4 capital asset areas.

You can be certain that when you do all of these actions, you will find a venerable treasure trove of positive outcomes.

So what should you concentrate your efforts on developing? Here are some possible beneficial pay-offs:

Value - you will increase the impact of this desirable benefit simply by constantly questioning the meaning of your group's work engagements - are we doing this task to add value or because we have to or are supposed to do it?

Quality - improving the quality of the processes that your group uses to accomplish its work must be a continual process unto itself - how much and in what ways do we leverage the 4 capital asset areas to enhance our efficiency, our resourcefulness and effectiveness?

Motives - what inspires you is many times just as important as what your motivation inspires you to achieve - does your group invest any of their time and energies into exploring the values, beliefs, meanings, purposes and objectives propelling their daily efforts?

Capacity - building upon the competencies, performances, know-how and knowledge, facts and figures and growth opportunities are critical in these days of disruptive, brutally dynamic, break-neck pace of change - how do you develop the capacity or potential for each of the 4 capital asset areas?

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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy - Number 3: Fully Engage the Power of Your Capital Attributes!

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You are already very familiar with each of your capital attributes - they are, your physical, intellectual, spiritual and developmental natures.

Successful leaders endeavor to fully involve those attributes of our human natures - they understand that people are at their best when they totally engage:

- Their 5 physical senses,

- Their creative and cognitive minds,

- Their soul [their will, psychological and emotional natures] and spirit

- Their ability to learn new things and then innovate and apply their new knowledge to problems, challenges and situations.

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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy - Number 4: Grandly Evolve, Expand and Energize Your Resources!

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The most important thing in every organized effort is the human resource. There are just three rules concerning the human resource - it should not be under-utilized, it should never be under-estimated and it must not be under-developed.

It's really a sickness that most leaders inflict on their groups. 95% of all organizations violate all three of those rules everyday - want proof?

Just look for any of the following symptoms of the disease in your organization, base of operations or yourself:

- Unimaginative, uninspired work products or practices

- Frustrated, fearful, worried employees

- Sabotage, theft [minor items like pens, paper, etc.]

- Lapses in ethical behaviors, morality and truthfulness

- Absence of leaders who are or feel empowered to act

Excellent leaders seek ways to maximize, expand-upon and broaden the scope of involvement of their people's bodies, minds, spirits and souls - nurture your people and they'll nourish your prosperity.

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Human Capital Asset Enrichment Strategy - Number 5: Inspire, Influence, Involve, Incite, Instigate, Incentivize, Include, Incorporate, Increase, Incubate, Inculcate, Indemnify, Induce Them to Enrich Their Capital Assets!

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Leaders are "In-" it all for the long haul - leaders always "In-"vest their energies "In-"to the growth and enrichment of their people.

You should attempt to follow Strategy Number-5 with all the zeal, enthusiasm and love that you can muster - when you do, you will discover that literal chest of treasures that usually lies hidden deep "In-"side your people.

You'll discover that there are numerous opportunities "In-" the resources, attributes, potential impacts and assets of human beings for you to "In-"geniously, "In-"variably "In-"veigle and demonstrate your care and concern for your people's welfare and advancement.

It's "In-" your best interests to work exclusively and fully "In-"volve yourself "In-" the critical activities of coaching, mentoring, counseling, guiding, challenging, educating, "In-"spiring and empowering your people "In-" all that they do.

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Whether you called a leader or think of yourself as just a follower you too can enrich the human capital assets of the people under your care.

If you work with knowledge, perform some service or supervise people or a process, you can use the lessons learned in this article to add value, leverage human resources, inspire others and develop potential.

Now that you know the strategies of human capital appreciation, you should experiment first with your own work activities, then try it these principles on your friends, families and associates at work - make your world a better, more enjoyable place, enrich your space today.

Author, consultant and successful leader, Jim Rohn, tells us that, "A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better."

You can turn these 5 enrichment strategies into a wonderful, productive, positive and tangibly glorious reality in your own life.

You don't need a business card to say you are a leader, your boss doesn't have to appoint you to a position of leadership and you don't need a badge to act like a leader.

As the famous advertisement urges us all to, "Just Do It!"

Mustard Seed Investments Inc. Copyright ? 2004, All rights reserved.

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Bill Thomas publishes "The Leadership Toolkit" and "Your Leadership-UltraNet" - performance-booster programs that energize your leadership skills, enrich your creativity and transforms you into a persuasive, empowering leader. Inspire Confidence, Be Creative, Enhance Your Leadership Influence - "All-the-Tools-You-Need-To-Lead-and-Succeed!" - Learn How: http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/bonus_info.html