These days, I find myself thinking deeply about the invisible forces shaping our lives, our decisions, our relationships, and our institutions. One force in particular keeps showing up: incentives.
From Capitol Hill to City Hall, from corporate boardrooms to neighborhood barber shops, incentives are baked into how we operate, sometimes explicitly, sometimes unconsciously.
I look at policies that succeed and wonder, why did that work?
I see initiatives that fall flat and ask, what did we miss?
I notice decisions made in the name of progress that feel completely disconnected from the needs of the people, the real customer, which in my line of work often means the community.
And then I’m reminded of something I’ve known since college:
We are always responding to an incentive, even the ones we don’t see.
And more often than not, we’re reacting to systems built decades ago, responding to motivations rooted in stories we’ve forgotten.
That’s the thing about incentives: they shape our behavior while hiding in plain sight.
I work in banking. In my world, incentives are everywhere, written into strategy decks, built into compensation plans, living inside culture.
To lead well, I have to constantly ask: What’s in it for each person involved?
Not out of self-interest, but out of alignment.
Because when incentives are misaligned, systems break. Trust erodes. People perform below their potential. And even with the best of intentions, outcomes will drift.
“I’ve come to see incentives not just as tools for management, but as clues, signposts pointing to what people value, fear, or hope for.”
Incentives aren’t just about bonuses or KPIs. They’re often the unspoken motivations beneath how we behave.
So now, I’ve trained myself to ask two simple questions in nearly every situation:
Those two questions can clarify what hours of meetings cannot.
That difficult vendor? They may just be protecting their margin.
That slow-moving regulator? They may be under pressure to avoid risk.
That disengaged team member? They may be caught in a system that punishes initiative.
When we start seeing incentives clearly, we start leading more clearly.
And sometimes, what we find isn’t easy.
They reveal what’s possible, if we have the courage to see it.
Sometimes what’s best for the customer in the short term doesn’t match what’s best for the bottom line.
Sometimes what inspires your best people doesn’t align with the bonus structure.
And that’s where real leadership begins.
That’s when you have to step back, not just to make a better decision, but to redesign the system.
To create space for alignment between values and outcomes.
So next time you’re in a tough conversation or navigating a broken process, ask:
Because incentives don’t just explain what’s happening.
They reveal what’s possible, if we have the courage to see it.
Think about our shareholders. Why do they invest in us?
Because they expect a return. That’s their incentive. But embedded in that expectation is something sacred: trust.
Their capital is more than money. It’s a vote of confidence, and a call to stewardship.
And if we don’t deliver real, sustainable value, we violate that trust.
Now shift the lens. Why does a customer bank with us?
Maybe it’s the relationship. Maybe it’s the solution we offer at the right time.
But at the core, it’s always about value and trust.
Do they believe we have their best interest at heart?
Do they feel seen, respected, and served?
Because if they don’t, they won’t stay.
The bank has incentives too, deposits, growth, profitability. But the how matters.
That’s why when I first stepped into this role, I sat down with every leader and asked:
And then I listened. Because behind every behavior is a motivation.
And behind every motivation is an incentive.
If we say we want creativity but reward conformity, we’ll get stagnation.
If we reward volume over integrity, we’ll get shortcuts instead of sustainability.
People respond to what we celebrate.
That’s why we must be intentional about the incentives we create, because they become the culture we live in.
As for me, I’m driven by three core incentives
And yes, I want my family to benefit from my labor.
That’s real. And it’s biblical too.
“A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children…” (Proverbs 13:22)
But I want that benefit to be rooted in integrity, not shortcuts.
So what’s in it for the community? Why should they care if we succeed?
Simple. Because when we get it right:
That’s not abstract. That’s real.
That’s the single mom closing on her first home.
That’s the barber shop expanding into the storefront next door.
That’s the ripple effect of just incentives.
Zooming out, I understand the big incentives. I get paid based on performance. But if I only chase quarterly returns, I’ll miss the eternal returns, the legacy that lives beyond me.
Because in the end, incentives shape more than outcomes.
They shape culture.
They shape character.
They shape who we are becoming.
So if you’re a leader, ask yourself:
Because how we win matters just as much as if we win.
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…” – Luke 12:48
So let’s not just chase the next number.
Let’s build something worthy of trust.
Let’s lead with understanding.
Let’s be bold enough to align what we reward with what we believe.
The incentives.
That’s my reflection.
Now it’s your MOVE.