Some things we pay for with money: a train ticket, groceries, medicine, some new shoes.
Other things are deemed to be free: belonging, kindness, trust, honesty, inclusion, companionship, humility and love, and many others besides.
Indeed, some of these things not only cannot be bought for money, they are destroyed by it: if i try to buy your trust, invoice you for kindness, or charge you to belong, these things lose value.
But that does not mean that they do not operate with any kind of currency at all: these things are traded as social currencies. Gifted, shared, reciprocated, and of course withheld, blocked, or corrupted at times too.
Social Leaders operate at the intersection of formal and social systems. Between the power granted to them by their position within the system, and the social authority they earn beyond it.
This means that they trade in multiple currencies: formal and social, monetary and social.
Take 60 seconds today to think about the currencies that you will use this week: where will you use cash, where will you spend gratitude, who will pay you in kindness?
As with the money in your wallet, some of the social currencies must be earned, and some can be saved up. Most of this happens intuitively, or without thought, but some people may lack the opportunity, energy, or connection to truly earn what they need.
Again, as a Social Leader we operate in two spaces: one that is moderated by the marketplace, and the other by our morality.
More than anything, Social Leaders do what is right. The challenge can sometimes to be figure out where that lies in these complex multi currency marketplaces.