How to Develop the Mindsets for Successful Leadership
Have you ever said “This is just how I am” as a response to something you did or said? I think many of us are guilty of that. Where I see an opportunity is examining why? It’s when we uncover the “why” that we get insight into our mindset.
What is mindset and why it’s important
Mindset is your mental attitude, it’s the thoughts that results in the attitude you display.
Your Mindset is important because it provides a sense of who you are and how you perform in your various roles. It determines every opinion you have, every decision you make and every action you take.
When faced with situations, a leaders mindset will determine what she focuses on and what she makes those situations mean. This in turn creates the internal fuel that drives all her actions and its those actions that create results.
It explains why two or more leaders will experience a situation and respond in completely different ways. Your thoughts matters, it is the most crucial part of the process and that is why your mindset matters, become aware of your own mindset.
Here is an example:
A Senior Manager who thinks that her team members don’t pay attention to details, are unable to complete tasks on time and are more interested in “sucking up” to her is likely to see evidence that supports these thoughts. Because of this, she is likely to feel that she is at the mercy of whatever these team members do. She is more likely to take on more work herself and ultimately feel stressed and burnt out because she doesn’t believe she has a strong and capable team.
It’s likely that her mindset is that of a VICTIM, she doesn’t have any control of her life and her leadership, that these things are just happening to her.
Mindset is very powerful and is the foundation of my work as a coach.
In every role that you play, there requires a set of mindsets that you adopt in order to have success in that role.
Mindsets can serve you well or not.
When I was a young mother, my mindset was that I, alone, know what my children need. That later changed to, my children are in perfect care regardless of who was caring for them.
They can interrupt me anytime to I’m available between certain hours.
Parenting is and continues to be an on the job training and I do the best I can in all the situations and learn as I go along.
Mommying is a guilt free zone
As a wife. My Mindset is completely different in this marriage than in my previous one.
I am and want to be completely vulnerable
I trust and want to trust explicitly
I am and want to be a partner in every sense of the word
As a coach. My Mindset is to help my clients achieve their goals and I do this by being open to listening deeply, to providing them with tools to remove any block or obstacles in their path to meeting their objectives.
I come to my sessions have centered myself to coach them completely and fully
Think about your attitudes, beliefs, and expectations that you hold that act as the foundation of who you are, how you lead, and the ways in which you interact with your team.
As a leader. Your mindset is what determines how you shape your organization, the culture you create around you and the tone you set for your team.
Mindset is particularly challenging for business leaders because there are so many demands on a leader, demands such as:
- The increasingly connected global economy
- The non-stop technological advances
- The rapid demographic shifts
Business leaders are expected to increase shareholders values and continuously improve financial outcomes while at the same time, have a strong vison and purpose for the organization and align behaviours to company values. They are expected to inspire creativity and innovation as well as think strategically and globally, while collaborating across the enterprise and manage the many levels of complexities that exist.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Leaders are being required to reinvent not only their organizations but themselves as well!
The leadership mindset is one of the most important, least understood and the most neglected element in the growth of a leader.
Many senior leaders today grew up in a world where focus was on operational efficiencies and product innovation, this then shaped their careers and determined their values and attitudes. But today, it’s all about changing strategies, coming up with new business models and transforming their operations.
The goal is to do it faster, easier, cheaper and bigger.
If you are stuck in the old mindset that you started out your career with, you are going to struggle in the new business world.
Some mindsets to re-evaluate as you grow in your leadership are:
- Moving From functional leader to business leader
- Moving From expert to manager
If you want to create a remarkable company with successful outcomes, I have identified 8 of the most important mindsets that leaders should consider developing in themselves and in their team members.
These are the mindsets that matter.
As you read through, think about where you gauge yourself in each area.
1. Relationships: (growth, trust, conflict, people)
Are you unfriendly & don’t trust others or do you build relationships and trust with others?
2. Energy: (catabolic or anabolic)
Do you see problems and feel frustrated or do you see opportunities and feel challenged?
3. Learner: (continuous learning & improvement, tolerance for failure,)
Are you open and ask questions and comfortably admit that you don’t know or are you judgemental and blame others for mistakes?
4. Collaboration: (Inclusive, transparent communication, diverse thinking, safe)
Are you excited about sharing information with your team and know that they can rely on you or are you suspicious of others and either do not participate or share info on a need to know basis?
5. Ownership: (accountability, autonomy, delegation, feedback)
Are you passionate about and committed to what you do and how you do it and accept the outcomes of your decisions or are you reluctant to make decisions and feel powerless in your ability to influence outcomes?
6. Grit: (persistent, resilient, reinforcement)
Do you persist despite obstacles, challenges and criticism or do you avoid challenges, find excuses and give up when faced with obstacles?
7. Innovation: (curious, creative, risk-taker)
Do you make changes by trying new methods to go faster, easier, cheaper and bigger or do you lack creativity and hold on to traditional methods?
8. Vision: (forward thinker, open to change, resourceful, humble)
Do you surround yourself with people who you can learn from and are you willing to look to the future and anticipate what’s next? Or do you surround yourself with people who only want to learn from you and are unwilling to learn from others?
You may have just uncovered the reason for some of the challenges within your organization. Where do you go from here?
How do you develop the mindset for Leadership?
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The first thing to do is to make a decision that you want to work on being a leader or being a better leader. Think about why this is important to you.
Having made that decision…
One of the best ways is to hire a Leadership Coach. Unfortunately, many people feel they can go it alone. And I’m certain they can take some steps. The question is how equipped are you to really challenge yourself?
Have you ever heard of an athlete who is serious about her or his sport, who wants to make a real impact in the game, do it without at least one coach? Many have several, a skills training coach, a conditioning coach, a mental coach, a strategy coach. Athletes learnt a long time ago, the value of having a coach. None would even begin without one. Why are you?
Professional Coaches offer assessment tools that provide a tremendous number of insights. In addition to that, coaches are skilled in asking revealing questions and can help you to see more options than you can usually see yourself, we help you to identify your strengths and reveal to you areas that need further development. Often, it is within a coaching relationship that leaders uncover their blind spots which create blocks and obstacles, preventing them from making their way forward. Coaches work with you in partnership to get you where you want to go.
Imagine …2 minds working on one life? That’s the benefit of working with a Leadership coach.
I’m Nadine Seaga and I’m a Life & Leadership Coach, Founder & Chief Energy Officer (CEO) of People Development Consultants. I can help you to harness your full potential and the full potential of your most valuable asset! Check out more of my website here at pdconsults.com for more information or shoot me an email at nadine@pdconsults.com to connect and get started on this life-changing work.