All leadership starts at the personal level. That’s true whether you’re leading an organisation with thousands of employees. Or you’re a teenager standing nervously standing behind a till in your first Saturday job. We all have opportunities to lead ourselves every day. We’re all the CEOs of Our Lives Inc.
And, as our very own CEOs, what guides us in life and business is a leadership mindset. Not skills we learn that we hope will make us leaders. And not management models telling us how to manage people or projects.
A leadership mindset is a way of thinking and behaving that makes us willing to stand up and to stand out.
And I’m not just talking about when we’re feeling sure of ourselves and our vision. As important as vision and confidence are, it’s not such a great challenge to lead when we have a clear direction. Or we’re confident of what we can achieve.
It’s when we don’t have enough information, or we’re facing unpredictable outcomes that a leadership mindset comes into its own.
I’m thinking about the times when we have those back of mind doubts our organisation is taking the right path. Those meetings where everyone nods in agreement, yet someone mutters “I’m not sure why we’re doing this” later that evening at the bar. The times when things are unknown and we’re feeling our way in the dark.
That’s when we need a leadership mindset.
Why? Because living in a time of uncertainty often makes us risk averse and more likely to stick with the status quo. As social animals our urge to conform is strong. And yes, social conformity is a useful part of human life; without it we’d be living in anarchic chaos. Yet the drive to conformity can also stop us leading, because when we lead we necessarily stand out.
It’s a leadership mindset that gives us the wherewithal to go against the grain and stand out. That’s a decision we can only make at a personal level. And that’s why developing a leadership mindset begins at the individual level by leading yourself first.
Well, here’s the good news. Although leadership isn’t a skill we learn through models, it’s also not a ‘magical’ quality only a few special beings have.
A leadership mindset consists of seven specific mindset qualities that have corresponding behaviours.
These mindset qualities and behaviours are symbiotic – they feed off each other. This is good news because it means that you can start by trying out any one of the aspects or behaviours. So if a particular mindset quality is a challenge then practising one of the behaviours will impact your mindset in any case.
Let’s take a look at three of the seven leadership mindset qualities.
Mindfulness has become a hot topic recently, especially in the business and leadership spheres. And even if it seems like yet another trend it’s actually one I’d encourage anyone to get on board with.
So what’s different about mindfulness? If we strip it down to its essence mindfulness is about being fully aware of what’s happening in the present moment, with full acceptance.
We need mindfulness to lead because it gives us the mental clarity to see what’s really happening vs what our fears might be telling us is happening. That means we can make decisions in a head space that’s free from pressure and perceived necessities.
How can we develop mindfulness as part of a leadership mindset? You’ve probably heard about meditation. If that sounds arduous there are mindful behaviours you can practice in your daily business life.
A meeting is a good place to try out these behaviours because it gives you lots of opportunities for being present. My tip: instead of focusing on your own thoughts and planning what you’re going to say next try focusing your attention on the people around you, and tuning into what they’re saying.
This quality of a leadership mindset often gets a few quizzical looks, if not outright disagreement when I bring it up in my consultancy work. How do we lead without making judgements? It’s a good question and observing without judgement isn’t about passively sitting by and not making decisions.
It’s about taking in all the information and making decisions at the right time. It’s about listening to people even when we think they’re wrong. Observing without judgement is the opposite of making reactive decisions.
Reacting to people and problems and making a quick judgement is often a habit. To break that habit a good place to start is with the people we work with: striving every day to bring a generosity of spirit to our interactions with others.
Interested in a tip? How about if it feels like a team member is blocking progress, observe your reaction, put it aside and really try to understand where they may be coming from. Maybe doing that might allow for an outcome different from our off the cuff reaction.
Lots of us have experienced that moment when we’re working on a project and we realise a cherished idea just isn’t going to work.
Our realisation often comes because we finally notice (or someone points out) that by holding tight to our brilliant idea we’ve made all kinds of unnecessary changes to the project plan. And because of that we’ve gone off track.
Flexibility of mind is about not being attached to particular ideas when it becomes clear they won’t work. Try starting with the thought “what if I’m wrong”, and then interrogate your idea as just an idea and not a fundamental aspect of your being.
When we practise flexibility of mind as part of a leadership mindset we often need to say things others don’t want to hear. By trying it out with your own ideas first it becomes easier to practise flexibility of mind with team members’ ideas too.
I get that these are easy things to say and hard things to do.
As I said at the beginning, all leadership starts on a personal level. And the journey toward a leadership mindset does too.
You can cultivate a leadership mindset by practising the behaviours whatever your role or stage in your career. It takes effort and practice over time for the mindset and behaviours of leadership to take hold. When they do, it becomes, not easier so much, as a way of thinking.
To get to that point it takes commitment. A willingness to try out one quality or put into practice one behaviour. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month.
And because a leadership mindset is a virtuous circle that one behaviour changes us and the people around us for the better.