Is Your Mindset Holding You Back?

Leadership Mindsets are key ingredients to success

The wrong mindset might be the very thing holding you back from achieving your potential. It doesn’t matter what specific goals they set for themselves – career change, job shift, promotion, better work/life balance – we inevitably end up talking about mindset.

I see this time and time again with my clients. 

 It is only when we have a calm, clear, focused, intentional mind, that we do our best work. This is when amazing things happen!

Clarity and Focus - Performance Mindset

This state – one of clarity and focus – is also known as a “performance mindset,” and a high-performance mindset is an essential tool in your leadership toolbox.

It determines how you think about and interprets situations. It determines your emotional reactions. It determines the decisions you make and the actions you take.

All crucial considerations and choices for any leadership role in this global, complex, urgent world today.

• Take the example of the emerging leader who has proven herself in her company, driven results, and built effective teams. If she had a bit more confidence, she wouldn’t get thrown off her game with tough executives and demanding clients.
• Or the example of the senior operations leader who has the runway and the support to grow her team and take her career to the next level. If she would realize she doesn’t need to do it all herself and be a martyr for others to appreciate her value.
• Or the example of the high-performing sales executive who has grown her territory by 50% in 1 year through strong customer relationship skills. If she would just let her results speak for themselves and stop approaching every internal resource as the competition that she has to outpace and outrun.

…The emerging leader is focused on increasing her confidence.

…The senior operations leader is focused on delegating to her team.

…The high-performing sales executive is focused on internal collaboration.

To be successful with any developmental strategies that improve these areas, the right mindset is required FIRST. Your mindset directly supports your ability to reframe your thinking and create new habits for success.

 How are you showing up each day?

If you aren’t operating as your best self every day, then it is likely you are bringing beliefs and thoughts to the table that are not serving you and could actually be pushing you further away from the life you want.

3 strategies for a high-performance mindset each day.

Slow Down: 

So many high-achieving leaders charge forward. But the most successful leaders I coach, seek clarity first. Go slow, to go fast. When you slow down, you have time to assess the situation, gather additional inputs, and come up with an intentional plan of action, free from speedbumps and unintended consequences that take you off course. Slowing down will help you go further, faster.

Practice Positive Daily Habits: 

One size does not fit all. Building and sustaining a high-performance mindset has to be authentic to you and it should be reflective of the way you naturally approach the world. The practices, patterns, and approaches will look different for everyone but they generate the same outcome – increased confidence, a sense of calm, and most importantly, awareness of your emotions and behaviors. Positive daily habits like – affirmations, gratitude, physical exercise, meditation – start to automatically produce thoughts and beliefs that are productive.

Know Your Motivation: 

Why is it important for you to do well? Define your greater purpose – that reason beyond yourself that you connect to and that motivates you to show up as your best self. Harnessing this motivation will help you be mentally tough and give you the energy and resilience you need when things get hard.

A high-performance mindset requires practice.

Start small and build from there. Committing to new habits and nurturing a calm, clear, focused, intentional mindset will be a differentiator in your success.