Leaders are extremely busy! Why? Because we are prone to action. However sometimes we are reluctant to make necessary changes.

 

Prior to retiring from the military, I had the privilege of working for two different leaders during my last tour at the Pentagon. My first supervisor was a crusty old colonel. He was your typical old school leader.

When I sat down with him for our first meeting, he told me how he liked things done. He explained how the office worked and told me to just do what my predecessor did and I would be fine.

As my knowledge and comfort increased, I began to think about ways to improve our way of work. One day I decided to approach my boss with one of my ideas.

I knew my boss liked details, so I prepared a desktop presentation. To emphasize the time savings, I included several work flow charts to explain how we could improve the work flow. As I presented the information, my boss sat patiently.

When I finished, he thanked me for my efforts and told me he would consider my suggestions. Well you know what happened next, nothing! My boss had a fixed mindset and was not interested in making any changes.

After a year I changed positions and moved to a different office. While my new boss was about the same age as my previous boss, her leadership style was very different. During our first meeting, she explained the complexity of our work and the need to be creative in developing solutions.

Over the next year, my colleagues and I worked on several critical projects. When we would meet with our boss, she would listen and ask a lot of questions. Once we finished, she would ask us to adjust our plan to incorporate our discussion.

[callout] My boss modeled a growth mindset.[/callout]

As I prepared for retirement, my boss and I sat to discuss my future plans. During our conversation, I asked my boss why did she ask so many questions during our meetings? She smiled and told me it was her way of learning.

How will you maintain a growth mindset?

Dr. Nikki Martinez offers five steps to help you change your fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

  1. Learn to turn your failures into success
  2. Find role models who have succeeded
  3. Change your limiting beliefs
  4. Create visual of your goals and dreams
  5. Establish manageable goals

Setbacks are a part of life and you have a choice on how to respond. Maintaining a growth mindset will help you learn and grow from your setbacks.

[shareable cite=”Earl Nightingale”]We become what we think about.”[/shareable]

Leaders understand a growth mindset is an advantageous trait.

How will you maintain a growth mindset?

Your friend,
Kim

Dr. Kim Moore | Your Leadership Guide | kimdmoore.com

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Dr. Kim Moore

About the author

I'm Kim, your Educational Leadership Guide. I equip educational leaders with research-based and experientially learned educational leadership principles and best practices to promote student success.


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