#009: Leadership, Mindgames and Mindsets

In case we haven’t met - my name is Narayan Kamath. I am an Executive and Leadership Coach, helping engineering/technology leaders evolve into inspiring and impactful business leaders by working on their inner and outer game.        

Hello from Bengaluru!

First, I want to share some good news

We have a new addition to our family - my granddaughter - our second grandchild arrived in this world and into our hearts last week.

Having had some experience with her elder sibling, I am more confident about holding her, and changing nappies - which is pretty much the only interaction with her.

But looking forward to the experience of watching both of them grow together.

??♀? Making Leadership Your Day Job

Speaking of growth, the biggest impediment many managers (especially in Engineering, Technology and other specialist functions) face in growing into the next level of leadership, is the difficulty in letting go of their own expertise, and focus on delivering through others.

One of my clients describes it as making leadership their day job.

The difficulty most managers experience is in giving up something that has made them successful so far, and embracing something new that they don't feel very confident about.

And it's not just a matter of learning new skills.

It's about changing mindsets, beliefs, values, mental models, habits and traits that have worked so well thus far.

It not only seems difficult - it seems to go against who they believe they are.

It's not only working on the outer game - the necessary skills and behaviours, but also the inner game.

Successful specialists and functional managers either fail to make the transition or fail to deliver to their potential because they can't or won't accept, embrace and act upon both - the inner and outer game of leadership simultaneously.

How about you? What is getting in the way of making leadership your day job?

?? Mindgames

Our mind plays all kinds of tricks on us.

For instance, it fools us into thinking we know more than we really do.

It's only when you write down your thoughts that you realise the gaps and fallacies in your own thinking.?

So writing, as in journaling, is an important part of making sense.?

This is even more important for leaders, as they are constantly required to make sense of new information in a complex and ambiguous setting.

Most leaders would benefit immensely from making reflective journaling a part of their thinking toolkit.

Writing is a good way to clarify your thinking - however, it is still a conversation you have with yourself.

So it is still possible to entertain the idea that we have it all figured out. Our own mind will do this very convincingly.

The real test of clarity and coherence comes when we try to explain this to someone else. And they ask us questions we would gloss over if we were talking with ourselves.

This dialogue can bring to light our beliefs, judgements, assumptions and biases - and make us question their validity.

Robust thinking, the kind that is expected of leaders, is best done with a thinking partner.

The best thinking partner is one who do not have an agenda, has no interest in convincing you about their own opinion. They ask questions, not to satisfy their own curiosity, but to make you challenge and clarify your own thinking.

If you have someone in your team, or in your life, who plays the role of an ideal thinking partner, then consider yourself lucky.

However, this is not easy - because whether they are a colleague or a friend, they probably have a stake in the issue you are dealing with - which makes it difficult for them to be neutral. Even unfair.

Leaders who wish to bring their best thinking to their most a significant challenges should consider engaging a professional thinking partner - an executive coach.

It's an investment that will pay off several-fold in a very short time.

If you are someone who might benefit from more robust thinking, let’s talk. Hit Reply.

?? Updates - Difficult Conversations Workshop

I'm offering a virtual public workshop on Difficult Conversations in July.

If this is of interest, and you would like to be informed when it is announced, drop me an email and I'll keep you in the loop.

?? What I'm Currently Reading

The book I'm currently reading, Building A Second Brain by Tiago Forte is really new - it was launched just this week!

These days, we consume lots of information, yet we find it difficult to recall and apply it effectively when the need arises. And that's because we don't pay enough attention to capturing, organising, distilling and expressing it. In other words, we neglect PKM (Personal Knowledge Management). Tiago Forte is the person I look to for his ideas and very practical approaches to PKM, and this book is filled with plenty of gold nuggets.

What are you reading currently? Share in the comments.

?? Blast from the Past

Your mindset determines your success.

You become what you think.

Why does this happen? Why does mindset matter?

Mindsets determine how you see the world

Your mindset is the aggregate of your assumptions, evaluations, and beliefs.

It serves as a lens through which you see and interact with the world.

It shapes attitude and determines behaviour.

Read more about this in Why Mindset Matters

? End Quote

To end this edition, here's a quote I've been pondering on this week:

“Follow your envy - it shows you what you want.”?―?Lori Gottlieb

Envy is considered as an undesirable and negative emotion. It's also looked down in most religious and cultural traditions.

Yet, it is, ultimately a very human emotion - something each one of us feels, at one time or another.

Looking past the negativity, like all emotions, envy can provide useful information. In the case of envy, the data it reveals is our own desires - conscious and unconscious.

How we use this information to our benefit is entirely upto us.

That's all this week! Thanks for your time. ??

Narayan

PS: When you are ready, here are some ways we can work together to amplify your impact:

1. Grab a free copy of my Deliver Through Others Checklist?-?It’s a useful summary of the key principles to working better with and through others—?Click Here

2. Work with me privately?-?If you are an Engineering/Technology leader aspiring to evolve into an inspiring and impactful Business Leader, let’s talk! Set up a no-obligation exploratory call with me -?Click Here