Essential Mindset Traits of a Leader

 

Essential Mindset Traits of a Leader!

Leaders are the foundation of any sustainable organization and the strength of the company depends on them. It is therefore, important for leaders to maintain their level of thinking and align it in the direction where they need their organization to follow through. Here are some of the qualities of a great leader:

THINK BIG!

As a Man Thinketh, So is he.

James Allen, the author of “ As a Man Thinketh” explains the importance of thinking big to achieve success. He explains that you are only going to become what you think about yourself all day long! That means it is your responsibility as a leader to inculcate a positive thinking attitude in yourself and your team.

In a 2013 TED Talk, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk revealed his secret source to achieving extraordinary achievements. He reduced all things down to thoughts. He explained that he failed many times earlier in his career but never allowed the circumstances to overpower his thoughts and dreams. And now, he has a number of impressive accomplishments under his belt.

Rather than playing a ‘wait and see’ game and never getting anything done, they follow through on their ideas and thoughts and make them reality no matter how big their dreams or thinking is. To be a successful leader you need to sell yourself and your team, believe you can succeed and you will. If you think that you will fail even before you start, well you probably will! Most leaders hold themselves back not because of what they think they are, but because of what they think they are not and cannot become. Leaders must know the importance of thinking big and applying it in their lives.

So make sure that you think right. Think bigger, better and Bolder!

OPEN-MINDEDNESS

Change the way you perceive

Leaders with an open-mind have been time-tested to benefit their organizations than those with a fixed mindset. An open-mind is not only important for a leader in an organization but also for every individual they lead. An open-minded leader never stops growing.

Always learning: Great leaders are life-long learners. They are always committed to improve themselves. They never set a standard for their growth or their organization.

Consider the example of Bill Gates. When asked about the secret of success in one of his interviews, he simply said, “ I read 50 books a year”. He told that it’s important to keep learning all the time even after you succeed. A leader must be a reader and maintain a learning attitude towards everything life. This reminds us that  even though we do great work, there is always an opportunity for improvement.

Perception: An open-minded leader looks at things differently from others. While others are frustrated when faced with a  difficult circumstance in their life  or their organization, an open-minded leader is busy figuring out the solution to that problem. They have different attitude towards their life and with this attitude, they create a good work-ethic in their company.

An open-mindset for a leader is necessary for their improvement and for the people they lead and ultimately their organization. Difficulties in life can only be converted into opportunities to do great things with an OPEN-MIND!

 

WINNERS FAIL FORWARD!

Much of today’s management literature fosters warm feelings and unimportant results. It has good intentions but it leads to sterile outcomes. Though the age-old natural human impulse is to recoil from failure, it is important for leaders to understand failure and use it effectively to achieve success. Perception of failure must be changed in order to manage failure effectively.

Perception of failure: Often, failure is seen as end of the road to our destiny. Failure is therefore, perceived as something to be avoided and not to be managed. Failure must only be seen as an interruption or a detour to your success. It should never be considered as a permanent problem. Failure provides the opportunity to the leaders to analyze their shortcomings and learn from their mistakes that they have made in the past.

Colonel Sanders was in his late 60s when he founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken(KFC). He suffered many failures and misfortunes. He tried to franchise his restaurant. His recipe was rejected 1,009 times before anyone accepted it. But he saw failure as just an interruption, never gave in and finally expanded his franchise internationally! He learned from his failures and used that wisdom to succeed. Leaders must learn from this example of Colonel Sanders and make it a testimony in their life.

It is not important how great you fail, but what matter is how you comeback after that failure. Winners will fail over and over again until they succeed!