In this fortnightly series, Alison Glynn-Baker discusses some key concepts in Mandy Holloway’s book, ‘Inspiring Courageous Leaders’. She also poses some provocative questions. We invite you to provide your opinion and join the discussion.
Choose your attitude
While reading this chapter I could not help but think back to Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, and how important mindset is in achieving leadership mastery.
Many leaders become leaders almost by default. They may have superb technical skills. They may have won the business some large contracts. They may have ‘done their time’ in a certain role long enough to be promoted. This is especially true in vocational professions such as law and accounting. All these really important skills don’t necessarily make a leader, though.
What is ‘mindset’? According to Dweck, there are two. The fixed mindset rewards achievement and discourages making mistakes. According to this mindset, we are born with a certain aptitude. So, great leaders are born, not made. Don’t expect to be something you are not. For people with a fixed mindset, as soon as it gets difficult, it’s
no fun.
The growth mindset rewards learning and trying. It says you can be anything you want to be, and you are not bound by your past limitations. If you’re not making mistakes and being vulnerable, you’re not learning.
What is leadership mastery, according to the Courageous Leaders Model? It is how you think, how and when you act, what you say and what you believe. Aside from personality, which is a fairly fixed part of a leader, we have choice in everything else we do and are.
Mandy talks about 4 facets of leadership mastery
Self – being confident in who you are and courageous enough to behave authentically
Relationship – communicating openly, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and being seen as delivering on your word
Business – making the right decisions, allocating resources and executing plans
Technical – this may be what currently defines you, and it may be the reason you are now a leader. But it has the least impact, according to Mandy, on how you fare as a Courageous Leader.
Recently, a friend was complaining about a poor cooking demonstration he’d seen at Sydney’s Good Food and Wine Show. The chef, who has become one of Australia’s darlings for his pastry creations, was apparently ill-prepared and uncommunicative. He kept disappearing under the bench to fumble around for equipment and would then shout to an assistant at the back of the hall to get him what he needed. Apparently, he mentioned a dessert which he then did not complete, so that people came away wondering what had happened to the rice pudding. A quarter of his audience had left two-thirds of the way through the presentation.
This chef, who is no doubt technically excellent, has not developed his ability to share his knowledge with or engage others. While it is not a corporate leadership example, it does demonstrate what can happen if, once you’re a leader, you rely solely on your technical ability.
Coming back to mindset:
If you have a fixed mindset, you will find it very daunting to work on your leadership mastery, and will be tempted to hide in what Mandy would call your “cage of habits“. You will be afraid of making mistakes, of appearing vulnerable.
You may be very reluctant to own who you are and what is important to you. I would encourage you to consider the reward of adopting a growth mindset. Mandy would describe this as flying out of the cage of habits and into the learning zone. Beyond that lies infinite potential. But only you can decide to go there.
What makes a great leader? Is this really something you can work on? Are leaders born or made? This is your chance to have your say.
Don’t have a copy of Inspiring Courageous Leaders? Buy it now
About Alison Glynn-Baker: Alison Glynn-Baker has 15 years’ experience in professional services marketing, business development and operations. Through her own consultancy, she has combined her two passions – training and writing – to help clients improve performance both personally and in business.
