Why do some leaders seem to create major shifts in their organisations with a single conversation, while others can speak endlessly and still get no movement? The answer lies not in charisma, power, or resources.
In leadership, the greatest form of influence isn’t loud declarations, visionary speeches, or even top-down mandates. They might have an impact only for a short run. But there is something else that lasts for longer. Let’s unpack a core leadership trait that separates high-impact leaders from those who struggle to gain traction, even when they work incredibly hard. The concept is the Currency Rate of Leadership—a metaphor that helps us understand the often invisible mechanics of leadership influence.
Every leader operates with a kind of personal “currency.” This currency represents the perceived value of their words, decisions, and actions across the organisation. Think of it like the exchange rate of a national currency: sometimes it’s strong, sometimes it’s weak—but it always determines how much purchasing power (or in our case, influence) that leader has.
Imagine a leader's behavior as a currency that is derived from the power of consequence. Every action, every decision, every follow-through (or lack thereof) either increases or decreases its value within the organization. When a leader acts with consequence – meaning their actions consistently align with their words and stated intentions – their "currency rate" soars.
A leader with a high currency rate can achieve significant impact with seemingly little effort. Their pronouncements carry weight, their directives are readily adopted, and their vision inspires genuine commitment. Why? Because their team trusts that what they say matters and will be followed through. There's a predictability and reliability to their leadership that fosters confidence and encourages proactive engagement.
Conversely, a leader whose behavior is inconsistent sees their currency rate plummet. Even with a high volume of communication or effort, their impact is minimal. Their team becomes hesitant, unsure of what truly matters and what will be abandoned. This inconsistency breeds cynicism, erodes trust, and ultimately hinders the organisation's ability to execute effectively. Like a currency with fluctuating value, the leader's pronouncements become subject to speculation and doubt, diminishing their power to influence.
Consequent behavior is the consistent alignment between a leader’s stated intentions and their actual decisions, actions, and resource allocations.
But isn’t agility more important than consistency today?
Yes—agility is essential. But agility doesn’t mean erratic shifts. It means being transparent and intentional when adapting. Yet, adapting is not a constant action, but rather an action based on the momentum and its context. Having adapted to the changing circumstances, you need to walk along the redefined path—that’s when consistency takes place.
Isabelle, the newly appointed CEO of a mid-sized European tech company, arrived with a clear mandate: restore focus and reignite growth after three years of scattered priorities.
At the annual leadership offsite, Isabelle delivered a bold new direction: “From this moment on, we are no longer a product-first company. We are a customer-first company.” The room buzzed. Slides were sharp. The vision was compelling.
The weeks that followed? Business as usual.
No follow-up messages. No budget realignments. No leadership reviews to reinforce the shift. In the meantime, the annual performance figures were heavily challenged by market changes, and Isabelle was focused on delivering here and now. Some weeks later, Isabelle’s next company-wide message was all about quarterly results—and never mentioned the strategic pivot again.
Team leads hesitated: Should they rewrite their customer journey maps? Should they revamp product feedback loops? And most importantly… would it even matter?
Six months later, the company launched two new products to boost short term revenue—both heavily feature-led, both aligned with the old way of thinking. The customer-first pivot had quietly died. Isabelle’s vision had become noise.
In the heart of São Paulo, Roberto, the regional VP of a global logistics firm, had finally found his rhythm.
After months of executive wrangling, he had defined five core KPIs for the upcoming quarter: cost-per-delivery, route optimization index, NPS, carbon offset targets, and employee safety metrics. His teams aligned fast. Dashboards went live. For once, the region felt… steady.
But then, a competitor launched a disruptive pricing model, undercutting market rates by 30%. The board panicked. Global headquarters demanded immediate action. Within days, Roberto was pushing emergency meetings about pricing agility and customer retention.
The original KPIs? Forgotten.
No explanation. No reframing. No bridge between the “then” and the “now.”
Field managers were left reeling. “So… do we still track carbon offsets?” one asked in a regional ops call. “I thought safety was a priority?” another muttered. Even Roberto’s most loyal lieutenants were confused.
In the next performance review cycle, teams gamed the system—reporting on old metrics while privately tracking new ones. Double effort with clear waste. Nobody knew what really mattered anymore. Roberto’s voice started to carry less weight.
Lena, head of the Central & Eastern Europe division at a consumer electronics giant, had just announced her three key focus topics for the next six months: increase regional market share in mid-tier products, boost service attach rates, and deepen retail partnerships in Poland and Slovakia.
She had done the hard work—workshops, internal alignment, even strategic roadmaps with every local manager.
But then came an email from Global Headquarter about the launch of a smart home integration platform in Western Europe. To exploit the presence of the vendor who had developed the platform, the roll-out to Central and Eastern Europe became a short term priority.
Lena scrambled. She pivoted. She called an emergency leadership meeting to meet the headquarter’s demand. As the headquarter had not asked questions or taken the local market situation into consideration, there was a misalignment between what was prepared and what was needed.
The carefully planned roadmap? Put on hold.
Confusion spread. Some teams tried to juggle both. Others dropped the original focus topics altogether.
Each of these leaders—Isabelle, Roberto, and Lena—had the right intentions. They weren’t lazy, weak, or disengaged. But they acted inconsistently. They didn’t anchor their shifts in transparent reasoning. They didn’t close the loop.
Their currency rate dropped—and with it, their ability to lead with impact.
After the failed “customer-first” rollout, Isabelle sensed the shift in the air. A key colleague’s resignation letter was a wake-up call.
Instead of doubling down on her authority, Isabelle did something unexpected—she called a strategy recall session. Not a re-launch. A reckoning.
“We failed to follow through,” she admitted, standing in front of her top 40 leaders. “And that’s on me. But the direction hasn’t changed. We’re going to make it real this time.”
She brought in a cross-functional steering group. KPIs were rewritten to reflect customer-centric goals. Internal comms started spotlighting customer stories. Even Isabelle’s own calendar was published—showing biweekly check-ins on customer experience metrics. She changed meeting formats. She started walking the customer service floor unannounced.
People noticed.
A single, visible act of consequence—the leader admitting failure and realigning her behavior—reignited trust.
When Roberto realised his KPI shift had confused and demotivated his teams, he decided to pause the sprint.
He gathered his core managers and said: “Let’s stop pretending we’re not in transition. Our priorities have changed—but that doesn’t mean we forget everything else.”
He launched a new practice: The Bridge Briefing. Every Monday, Roberto would open with three questions:
He stopped chasing perfect alignment and focused on coherent adaptation. Instead of abandoning KPIs, they created a dual-scorecard system: one for continuity, one for responsiveness.
That subtle shift made all the difference. Teams felt trusted. They could make judgment calls instead of chasing unclear signals. Within a quarter, customer churn stabilised—and energy returned to the floor.
Lena was under pressure. The global platform was sexy, high-visibility, and backed by the C-suite. But she also knew that her regional roadmap had real value—especially for local teams that had fought hard to build momentum.
So she didn’t fold. She negotiated.
In a late-night call with HQ, she presented a revised rollout: “We’ll support the platform implementation—but only in three pilot markets. That gives us capacity to maintain retail initiatives where they’re already in motion.”
It was a gamble. But she backed it with data and local credibility. HQ agreed. Then she did something bold: she sent a region-wide voice message to her teams.
“I know what we said mattered. It still does. We’re adding the platform, but we are not abandoning our focus. This isn’t about speed—it’s about scale that lasts.”
That message got forwarded hundreds of times.
Her leaders breathed easier. Retail partners re-engaged. Lena’s stock rose—not just as a competent manager, but as a consequent leader.
In each case, what made the difference wasn’t heroic effort—it was deliberate alignment. Clarity. Follow-through. And the courage to own the narrative, not let it drift. These leaders raised their currency rate—and with it, their power to lead with far less friction.
What did Isabelle, Roberto, and Lena all rediscover? That leadership is not about volume. It’s about value. And value, in this context, comes from consistency between what you say and what you do—consequent behavior.
A strategic direction isn’t real until it shows up in meeting agendas, performance systems, resource allocation, and daily behavior. If you announce something and then let it quietly fade, your team hears that louder than the announcement itself.
Behavior is your loudest broadcast.
Leaders must respond to changing markets. That’s not the issue. The issue is when changes aren’t framed, explained, or connected to what came before. When you pivot, bring people with you. Narrate the change. Draw the line from “what was” to “what is.” People don’t just need certainty—they need coherence.
Every time you drop a declared priority without closing the loop, you lose a bit of trust. If you must shift focus, name it. Integrate the new. Defer the old with respect. This shows your team that when something matters, it stays visible—even under pressure.
Your credibility, influence, and strategic impact grow over time through consistent behavior. But a few misaligned moves, especially if repeated, can tank your currency. Rebuilding it is harder than guarding it.
Leadership currency isn’t earned through charisma or positional power. It’s earned through consequential actions, day in and day out. And when your currency rate is high?
You don’t have to shout. You don’t have to push. You move the organization with a whisper.
