How to Think Like a Leader
Your mind is a ship without a sail about half the time.
Ask, “What are you thinking about?” and people often say, “Nothing.” But that’s not true.
A mind adrift seldom thinks good thoughts.
Unfocused thoughts descend into dark water. You obsess about yourself. You think about what’s wrong. You worry.
When your thoughts wander, they go to dark places. But that’s not all.
Wants:
Ask people what they want, and they’ll tell you what they don’t want. Ask people what they like, and they’ll tell you what they don’t like.
We lean toward negative thinking even when we control our thinking. Unattended thoughts are anchors and sometimes conscious thinking is dark as well.
At the helm:
Leadership begins with thinking.
What do you want to think about yourself? An unattended brain tends toward self-criticism. A little criticism helps. A lot of criticism paralyzes.
It’s only useful to think about things you don’t like and don’t want if you turn toward opportunities and solutions.
What DO you want to think about yourself in relationship to others? Stop obsessing about how people are treating you. Obsess about lifting others.
Your brain needs a rudder. Think about what you think about.
Would you follow a leader who thinks like you think?
- How are your thoughts helpful?
- How might your thoughts be self-justifying?
- How are your thoughts leaderly?
- How are your thoughts helping you elevate others?
Leadership begins in your brain.
Turn your thoughts to solutions. Shift your focus toward the future.
How might leaders get a grip on their thinking?
What does it mean to think like a leader?
Resource: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Daniel Goleman
Hi Dan,
I’ve been thinking a great deal about this topic recently in our own research and writing on courage at work– and have been struck by the large body of psychological research that says we are wired to remember bad incidences more than positive ones– for self-protection.
But that gives us a disadvantage as leaders who need the confidence to inspire change. We’ve been doing a lot of work to help leaders tap into their positive stories and memories of when they showed up with courage– and it worked. The time they spoke up and took a stand; when they had a great idea and brought it forward; when the took a risk and it paid off; or even when they did any of those things and it didn’t work– but the survived.
We need to proactively tap into those positive experiences to counter-balance our nature to remember the one time we acted courageously (even with a small “c” and it didn’t work.
I hope all is well! Karin
Thanks Karin. I’m with you. The bad is stronger than good research is eye opening. Great suggestions for putting a rudder on our thinking.
Leaders not only think about the current situation but also think about what’s possible—what we can become and achieve.
—The present and the future
Thanks Paul. “What’s possible?” Now that’s a leadership question.
What if
our purpose in life is not to fear (God),
but to create (God)?
How does that change your sensibilities?
How does that change your sense of accountability, your sense of agency, your sense of ethics?
More, or less, humbled?
More, or less, ambitious?
More, or less, intelligent?
We are each of us part gremlin / chaotic, part idol/deceptive, and part sage/principles.
Each part needs to tolerant and friends/trusting of the Other, not repressive. Know Thyself, first. IMHO. 🙂
Thanks Rurbane. The idea of being tolerant of each aspect of our thoughts. That seems different than simply letting our mind wander.
Having said that, your introduction of accountability is powerful. How does the way we think impact our accountabilities? That’s powerful.
So many quotes come to mind that reflect this belief that we become what we think about most. These thoughts determine our beliefs/mindset, which in turn affects our approach to challenges, problem solving, and goal setting. I have a friend who is a building leader that lets frustrations and push back affect her view of herself which ultimately impacts her effectiveness as a leader. Choosing to focus on possibilities and what can be done to align our why with our what and how is so important to our success and to the success of those we lead. Focus on the light not the tunnel.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Vicki. Very helpful.
As a sidebar, I wonder if our beliefs also determine our thoughts?
“get a grip on your thinking…I like it! Thanks Dan
Dear Dan,
Liked the conclusion!
“Leadership begins in your brain. Turn your thoughts to solutions. Shift your focus toward the future.”
All these after assessing the current situation and the available strengths. Leaders are positive-minded and have a basic faith in people. They are visionary and have the courage to take bold decisions & move forward achieving set goals with result-oriented approach.
In a past class, I was exposed to this statement: The organization will then create its future by continuously closing the gap between its current state and its desirable current state.
It means to me that leaders should be looking toward to tomorrow today. And a continual push to focus on the positive and leave the negative behind. Staying the course is another way of putting it. I think when a leader needs to get a grip on their thinking, they should take a look at the mission statement or their own drive in life. I think leadership and management become intertwined and it forces individuals to not only focus on the present and future, but a need to look to the past as well. Take time to detach from one self’s managerial task and focus on the leadership task.
Dear Dan,
Powerful content!
I beleive leadership is all about lifting others and every leader should focus on developing his team each and every day.
Secondly, I think that leadership begins in our hearts becouse it demands sacrifizing ourselfs to help our people grow.
Leadership is demanding path. Especially at the beginning. It requires consistency and careful observation of each team member so that nobody gets lost along the way.
Yes, we love the negatives. A good example can be found in this political season. Think for a moment about the many campaign attack ads we see on TV or hear on the radio. As voters we tend to not enjoy watching or listening to attack ads, but various national surveys have found that we still respond more aggressively to the content presented in a negative attack ad versus one that positively promotes a candidate (https://people.howstuffworks.com/political-attack-ad3.htm). The site I linked will link to a lot of sources that confirm this assertion. Now, to continue with this thought I would like to point how this relates to leadership. As leaders, since we are inherently attracted to negatives, we can get caught up in the negatives of our jobs instead of sparking the conditions that will facilitate positive future outcomes. How can we spark positive thinking if we are constantly drifting away into the negatives? This post reminds me of what it takes to meditate. I imagine meditating as closing your eyes and picturing thoughts and ideas as clouds passing by. The trick to effectively meditate, however, is to allow those clouds to pass by without following them down an endless path across the sky, and when you do catch yourself chasing that cloud you immediately reset to focus on the task at hand. Thinking like a leader embodies this concept. You are absolutely right when you say that “your brain needs a rudder.”