Tag: leadership mindset

Stress Is What You Think It Is

So Be Careful What You Think…

It’s often said that life is 10% about what happens to you and 90% about what you do with what happens to you. That’s why some people overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve great success.

Reaction vs. Response

Stress responseOur split-second reaction when something happens is based on our history of conditioning and responses in similar situations. We can’t control that reaction in the moment. But in the seconds and minutes that follow we do get to decide how we’ll respond: Follow our conditioning or choose something different. Choosing a different response creates new conditioning that will not only change our present course but also influence future reactions. Continue reading Stress Is What You Think It Is

Talk About It

The Danger of Assuming They Know

“They know that”. Possibly one of the most growth-stunting phrases in a leader’s mind. We tend to assume that others know what we know. The ideas have floated around in our own heads or in closed-door meetings for weeks (or months, or years), but they’re coming out-of-the-blue to others. We have to talk about them rather than assume others already share our head space.

Talk About What?

Here are some things you might be under-communicating because you assume others already understand them: Continue reading Talk About It

The Tensions of Leadership

Embracing Essential Tensions

Sometimes, tensions are a good thing to get rid of. Sometimes, getting rid of tensions can be dangerous. But the ones we keep need to be managed well if we’re to get the benefits that only healthy tensions can bring.

In his book, Building the Bridge As You Walk On It: A Guide for Leading Change, author Robert E. Quinn defines an unusual, but insightful model of leadership. To Quinn, leadership is a temporary psychological condition that we move in and out of. In our “Normal State”, we tend toward maintaining our own comfort. Whenever we move into the “Fundamental State of Leadership”, we embrace different mindsets that equip us to lead well.

The Fundamental State of Leadership

Figure 1 describes the four characteristics of this leadership mindset and illustrates the tensions that exist between them. Continue reading The Tensions of Leadership