5 Superpowers of a modern leader

We are living in a modern world. Isn’t it about time we matched this reality in our minds!?

I invite you to take a glance at the following quote from 麦肯锡 :

“Just as important as assessing your skill-set requirements is understanding the employee mindset shifts needed to improve organizational health and performance. Many leaders don’t take this aspect of change as seriously as they should—and as a result, struggle to lead successful change at scale. In the roughly 70 per cent of change programs that fail to deliver results, the vast majority of problems can be attributed to the “soft stuff”: On the flip side, taking the time to surface limiting mind-sets and reframe them in a way that accelerates performance and health creates a fast track to successful, sustainable change at scale.”

This is from an article aptly entitled: The hidden step in leading large-scale change.

Mindset is something we are talking about more openly and frequently, especially in the context of change and transformation.?This excites me and fills me with hope about our future until I start searching for evidence of this in practice, investment, priority and resource: Understanding and mapping current mindsets and beliefs, then working with people to develop self and organisational awareness to then start to make shifts.

It's no surprise really, mindset methodologies, frameworks or programmes are thin on the ground, and the old organisational systems of triangular org charts and middle-aged men in power roles still linger in so many places, rendering mindset talk as wishy-washy, intangible and foggy at best.

I get that. We also don’t tend to include mindset work as a norm in our learning and development portfolios, we might mention it in a slide (truly, this is something I personally have experienced just this month), and we might merge it with some behavioural work but we rarely single it out with the HOW rather than just the WHAT.

The good news on the horizon is a growing number of coaches talking about mindset, and research is becoming richer of course, digital technologies are emerging to help people at home and at work start to manage mindset.

What is mindset?

Quickly and simply – Our mindset is made up of the thoughts and beliefs that drive our behaviour and actions. Do you want lasting change in your organisation? Then you need to brush up on mindset theory!

Thoughts can be conscious and unconscious – we can have thought habits – an example might be: every time someone questions you, your default thought is they are attacking you!?They are probably not by the way! That's a thought habit, and we have hundreds of them.

Our beliefs are thoughts we have repeatedly fired over such a long time that they become our reality – they become our programming – the paradigms through which we filter the world around us.

We can shift mindset – it’s not easy and takes commitment and effort, but it’s possible and supremely more powerful than behavioural work or initiatives that get people doing things differently. Why? Because when we change our mindset (thoughts and beliefs) we change our identity. If we can recognise those thoughts and beliefs that don’t serve us well – we can change them. This brings lasting change and sustainable change.

This is where Modern Mindset Theory comes in. You may have heard of growth mindset v fixed mindset, if you read last week’s blog you also know about abundance mindset v scarcity mindset. All these are important in our modern work environments. They guide us towards the future with courage and hope, rather than fear and doom.

However, in addition to the value of cultivating growth and abundant thoughts and beliefs, there is a need to acknowledge the ever-changing environment and conditions within which our organisations, institutions and governments are operating in. It is this changing reality that drives Modern Mindset Theory.

Modern Mindset Theory supports leaders, practitioners, and employees to build awareness and understanding of thoughts and beliefs that either serve or don’t serve individual and organisational evolution in today's world. Given the number of organisations that are keen to engage in transformation, I think this is a pretty big deal! Modern Mindset Theory is dynamic because the world we are navigating is dynamic.

Modern Mindset Theory talks about 7 dimensions that together help us to become modern in our thinking, our behaviour, and our actions.?If you would like to know more about Modern Mindset Theory and how you can bring this into your own practice or your organisation, please DM me or comment below. However, for today, I want to share with you 5 superpower beliefs I have evidenced in leaders over the years that are foundational, they also fall into the 7 dimensions and support both personal and professional success.?These are beliefs, that are deep-rooted into the identity of successful leaders in our modern world:

The 5 superpower beliefs

Everything is connected

This is everything, literally – our energy, our actions, our decisions, the conditions we operate within…these all impact each other and ripple out. Leaders with this belief always recognise they are a part of something much bigger. They consider this bigger picture in everything they do – impact on other humans, society, and the planet. If everything is connected, that makes the next decision you make today more important than you may have considered prior to reading this. Freaky huh!??These leaders also take this belief inward: recognising we do not just mind, we are mind, body, heart and soul. Each element needs to be balanced and in harmony with the others. This helps us so that we don’t get to burnout, we build strong immunity, so that our emotions can be shared and recognised, and our mind constantly expands and can shape-shift like plasticine.

It starts with you

Following on from the first superpower, this is about a deeply held belief that who we are is where everything begins and should start. How we show up, and how we interact ripples out to everyone around us. We don’t do things to others; we are a part of 'it'. So these leaders walk in others' shoes, experiment, and focus on being role models others can follow.?‘You’ also takes on a plural meaning – you as in every human involved. Taking a human-first approach to everything we do means being ethical and sustainable. When we hold this belief as truth, we invest time and money in understanding and supporting the betterment and well-being of all humans around us and their environment, which naturally includes our planet – it’s our home with a big H!

Positive energy drives unlimited growth

This is my favourite belief and something I have had to discover over the years in my own identity – but something I have intuitively always known and been aware of.?When we think about energy, traditionally we think about 4 areas: physical energy, emotional energy, cognitive energy, and spiritual energy.

Take a moment to think about these energies. They are all limited. When we carry out lots of physical energy our muscles and lungs etc. tire. With regular high or low emotional states, we can get anxious or frazzled or crazed! When we focus deeply on thinking or decision-making, we can become mentally fatigued. All these energies deplete and demand that we stop to recharge, rest, renew and grow. If we don’t, we all know what happens…

Now consider positive energy. When you are around someone (not Pollyanna remember!) who emanates positive energy it’s infectious and it has the capacity to increase the other four states. When this person leaves you are not depleted or tired at all, you are inspired, you are invigorated, and you are perhaps more buoyant. This is because positive energy is unlimited! It’s amazing. Once more, I would point you to the work of Kim Cameron and his book: Positive Energizing Leadership. Who wouldn’t want a bit of positive energy in their team, their manager, their leaders, and themselves!? Maybe you can be that Duracell bunny after all!?

Digital + Data can be used for the good of humanity and the planet

This is perhaps the belief that most uniquely talks to the modern reference in the theory. Please, please do not think that digital or data are too complicated for you to take some ownership and responsibility for – whatever your role and whatever your level. Digital and data may need experts with these words in their job titles, but this doesn’t mean they own your part in the overall story either. Digital and data drive much of our modern world. We all have choices, from simply clicking on cookie preferences to challenging the humanity or planetary implications of our decisions and designs. Those of us who challenge, take ownership and constantly champion the use of digital and data for the good of humanity and the planet can be anybody and can work anywhere. There is no level or label that dictates this belief. If we want to complain about the shadow side of digital and data uses, we can and should counter this with our own behaviours and actions. Doing something is always better than doing nothing in this instance.

Finally,

Small is beautiful

Yes, it’s true – some of the most amazing things do come in small packages!?Seriously, this is an important belief we should cultivate and develop in our modern workplaces. This is a belief that holds the following as true:

• Tiny shifts in the right direction gather momentum over time, such that repeated and consistent practice inevitably generates progress and results. This is very different to tiny shifts in any direction and every direction.
• In terms of mindset, it also holds true that ‘we become what we repeatedly do’. Building awareness of the small things we do habitually and how we might be able to shift those that no longer serve us can have a profound effect.
• Finally, perhaps the most important to the modern workplace is that we do have time. When we start to believe we have time, that everything can shift if we break it down enough our hope in the future starts to flourish. Next time you hear, think, or say, it’s too complex or big, or 'I just don’t have time to fit this in' – say this to yourself: “If it’s too hard, it’s not small enough.”.

Bringing more understanding and practice around mindset and energy into our leadership and work environments is key to a brighter future – as our world becomes increasingly complex with extremes of change becoming the norm.

Do you recognise any of these beliefs in your own mental model? Do you recognise them in others? Do you recognise perhaps the shadow side of some of this? It’s always important to remember that we are human and therefore perfectly imperfect – mindsets often show up as two extremes on a spectrum. We are rarely fully one or the other, knowing which part of the spectrum we naturally have developed towards is important, perhaps more important is recognising the triggers that shift us along that spectrum. Manage your triggers and you start taking control back of your life.

-----------

If you would like to know more about the power of modern mindset work to accelerate transformation success or become a practitioner in modern mindset and the framework that guides humanising transformation, please connect and DM me.

Perhaps you simply want to explore how some of these strategies could make a difference to the transformation you are leading or working on, why not schedule a 121 session with me directly - totally confidential ??

Schedule a session with me?HERE

#digitaltransformation?#digitalageleadership?#digitalleadership?#transformation?#humanisetransformation?#modernmindset?#mindsettheory?#identityshift?#modernleadership?#thedilynway?#thefutureofwork #growthmindset #positivemindset #abundance #modernmindsettheory