The beginners mindset

I haven’t blogged in a while because I didn’t have the mental space to write anything. Being swamped with work and personal stuff made me want to focus on other things, so I’ve let my energy level and feelings control the pace more than usual. Lately, however, two things have stood out to me and that I thought were worth discussing. Hint: it’s about being open to keep on learning. I am keen to hear your thoughts as well.

Learn from professional coaches

Firstly, in a meeting with the management team, we started discussing a specific topic, and people were telling us if something could be done or not based on their previous experience. In the scaling-up methodology and hence one of our rules in meetings is that you adopt the beginner's mindset. We approach all things fresh and with an open mind.

Vulnerability?

Our coach, who is there for team dynamics, intervened and asked if this approach was indeed a beginner's mindset or if we were telling someone what could not be done. I don’t like it if people tell me something can’t be done because we are here to work on solutions for complex problems as business leaders and not think of ways why something cannot be done.?The question also showed me what a wise decision it is to have someone coach you during your meetings to get the best out of the meetings. This goes beyond ensuring the meeting is streamlined; it also concerns vulnerability. Being confronted directly by someone who doesn’t understand the subject you are discussing but is monitoring how you are saying it and how everyone is responding to you means that you give that person the authority to confront you, that you have an open mindset, that you are sometimes corrected and that you are willing to learn. Perhaps we need a bit more of that vulnerability in society as a whole.??

We actually have two coaches at Intercept, one at a personal level and another for team dynamics and getting the best out of ourselves as a group, who also know the scaling-up methodology. Being trustworthy and having a beginner's mindset is vital for a business leader. For a book tip, check out The Trillion Dollar Coach about Bill Campell.

A new personal? challenge

The other one in my personal life is that I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or BJJ in short, this April. Talk about a beginner's mindset, a humbling experience if an 80kg guy sits on your stomach or wraps himself around your leg, and you don’t know what to do. Constantly adapting, innovating, and working around new problems are live lessons, and they are best thought and understood early in life and business. And think about Resilience: Rising after a fall: In BJJ, every setback is a stepping stone to improvement. Embracing a learner's attitude helped me view challenges as opportunities to grow and cultivate a robust professional demeanor, leading to significant personal growth.

Keep on learning

Not only is learning something new essential for growth, but It also keeps your brain young, makes new connections, and has tremendous health benefits (check out some lessons by Arnold Schwarzenegger or read this blog). So remember that a teachable spirit and learning something new occasionally could also be a second language via Duolingo, which can help you develop problem-solving skills and find new ways in life and business. I also learned that by pausing my writing for a moment, I had the opportunity to learn new things that inspired me to share with you. It might sound a bit cliché, but I will share my lesson anyway: sometimes pausing for a moment also means progress.