From skill sets to mindsets
Leadership development has tended to focus on skill sets without sufficiently addressing the underlying mindsets. Helping leaders to explore their underlying mindsets or values and how these values drive their behaviors or habits provides an opportunity to increase self-awareness and to shed light on the extent to which their current behaviors might be serving them well or getting in their way.
For example, a highly controlling person, or someone with an excessive need to be liked will need to tackle the underlying drivers before they apply a skill set of delegation which requires trusting others or the skill set of being able to be decisive and make difficult decisions that may make them unpopular. Uncovering these underlying drivers and defensive psychological mechanisms that may be preventing them from unlearning and growing new more productive behaviors and practices allow behavioral breakthroughs to take place and enable skill sets to actually be applied.
The mindsets work of world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck has powerful implications for learning, development and performance. In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They focus on getting the right grade or answer. They believe that talent alone creates success, without effort. When something gets difficult or they might fail they disengage or use defensive mechanisms, which act as barriers to their growth.
Conversely, their counter parts with a growth mindset believe that it is not a question of intelligence but rather just something that have not learned yet… This view creates thirst for learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. They view failing as simply a necessary part of the journey to achieving and are not put off but rather fuelled by the extra effort needed to master the next step. Virtually all great people have had these qualities. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports.
Neuroscience, neuroplasticity and mindfulness applied to leadership
Whereas this body of knowledge is hardly new, it is continually evolving, especially in its application to leadership. A healthy caution in interpretation and focusing on only robust research can bring a valuable added dimension to the development of the leadership function.
Creating an agile workforce with future skills
The institute for the future and Oxford Economics, Human Capital Report 2021, as well as other reputable sources agree that future skills and agility are needed to effectively compete today and in the future world of work.
The how and when of leadership development
We need to make learning easily accessible anytime and in a variety of formats to suit individual learner preferences such as podcasts, videos, e-learning interactive lessons, articles, factsheets, e-books, clubs, coaching and e-communities.
Our history as a function is one of taking learning out of work and placing it in a classroom. We might want to consider flipping this orthodoxy as well by building learning inputs into actual work or strategic priorities so that as people do their actual work they have opportunities for input, to reflect, to integrate and consolidate new skills and insights rather than divorcing learning from the work and relegating it a classroom.
It is clear that there is much to be done in the evolution of leadership development.
Tracey is a Canadian Expat of 20 years who has lived in Asia, Europe and North America. She has worked in regional and global roles for the last twenty years. She has been part of the executive team in multinational corporations such as Standard Chartered Bank, Honeywell, Henley Business School in the UK and as Managing Director international for the CIPD.
www.corporateedgeinternational.com
Leadership Development Feature