How will you help your team shift their mindset?
Have you ever made a mistake? I think we can all answer that question with a resounding yes! Over the course of my career, I have made many mistakes. Some mistakes were a result of a lack of focus, and some were the result of poor choices.
Early in my career, I made a colossal mistake! I was late for a major presentation. I was one of two spokespersons for the organization. When dignitaries or foreign officials came to visit our organization, the other spokesperson and I would present two 30-minute presentations.
Due to the presentation content, it was vital that they were presented in the correct order. Well, on this day, I forgot to place the visit on my calendar. When I received the reminder call, I knew I would not make it on time.
Since I was late arriving, my counterpart started his part of the presentation. I arrived about halfway through his presentation. After I finished my presentation, I went straight to my boss’s boss office. He was in a meeting, so I sat there for about 40 minutes.
When he called me into his office, I knew he already knew what happened. Before he could say anything, I said: “Sir, I am here to accept responsibility for my mistake.” He asked why was I late? I told him I messed up and I had no excuse.
My boss looked at me and said we would talk about this issue later. As I left his office, he told me not to let it happen again. Later that day, I met with my boss. He told me it took a lot of guts to accept responsibility for my mistake.
My boss told me that while his boss was not happy with me, he appreciated my honesty and leadership.
Your attitude towards failure determines your attitude after failure. “
John Maxwell
Over the next two years, I was never late to a presentation again.
As a leader, I have shared that story with many young leaders. Why? More than any particular set of skills, leadership is all about mindset.
There are three key mindsets that leaders share and if you can cultivate these three qualities in yourself, leadership will come much more naturally.
- Accepting Failure: A leader needs to be unafraid to fail. Failure is a learning opportunity. If you’re afraid to take the chance, you’ll never seize opportunities available to you and reap the rewards. It’s easy to get over small failures, but not quite so easy when it’s something big and significant. To help you cultivate this mindset, learn about the lives of great business people. You’ll see over and over again that they failed many times over before they became successful.
- Awareness: Be aware of your own thoughts. How well do you know your own mind? Do you understand how you react to things? Do you get emotional easily? Foster an ability to observe your own mind and learn how to control it. If you can do this, you won’t blow up or lose your nerve when things don’t go as expected. A great way to learn this skill is to meditate.
- Take Responsibility: Take responsibility for your actions and decisions, and stand by them. Don’t pass off blame on others, but take full responsibility. Be accountable for the decisions you make.
Once you cultivate these qualities in yourself, it’ll be much easier to cultivate them in others. Plus, your behavior will rub off on your team members.
The organization will always mirror the behavior, habits, attitude, mindset, and pace of the leader.”
Darren Hardy
As the leader, you set the culture of your organization.
How will you help your team shift their mindset?
Your leadership guide,
Kim
Dr. Kim Moore | Your Leadership Guide | kimdmoore.com
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