mindset – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Making Course Corrections

Posted August 3, 2023August 3, 2023
by admin

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

In 1829, Martin Van Buren, then Governor of New York, wrote the following to the President:

The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as ‘railroads.’ The federal government must preserve our canals for these reasons: If canal boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen, and lock tenders will be left without any means of livelihood.

Canal boats are essential to our defense. In the event of trouble with England, the Erie Canal could be the only means by which we could move supplies. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel through the countryside at the breakneck speed of 15 miles per hour.

This letter is a bit humorous now in the context of how far we have progressed with the railroads in the modern era. But the letter reflects the predominant thinking of the day as it relates to transportation.

As leaders, how we perceive change and what measures we are willing to embrace will in many respects determine the type of future we can expect. If you are stuck in your thinking and see change as a threat to your current existence, you will eventually be left behind. Click To Tweet

So what is a leader to do? Here are a few tips on how to make course corrections that will be necessary in your leadership.

Course corrections are just that – corrections

It’s important to know that course corrections in your leadership are just that – corrections. It’s not that the way you are doing now is necessarily wrong, but it can be improved upon. Obviously, the railroad turned out to be a significantly better means of transportation than canals.

When you are open to corrections and ways of improving your operations, it’s good to see it as a way to make you more efficient and productive and not as a threat to the outdated way of doing things.

Course corrections move you out of your comfort zones

If the mindset of Van Buren had prevailed, it would have set back a more efficient way of operating on the canals. And while the change over to the railroads was inevitable, many still embraced a canal boat mindset.

Think about your own leadership for just a moment. In what areas do you find yourself resisting changes that could actually make you a better leader? Perhaps you’ve held on to the canal boat mentality for a bit too long and it’s trapped you in a comfort zone that is no longer serving you well.

Course corrections position you for greater possibilities

Proper course corrections can position you for greater possibilities when you see them not as a threat but as a benefit. Canal boats did the job, just slower than the railroad. And while Van Buren mistakenly believed at the time that the breakneck speed of 15 miles per hour was way too fast, consider the cost of slower and inefficient work it would create.

When you embrace course corrections, it’s not about disrespecting what brought you to where you are, it is about embracing a new future that builds upon it.

Final Thoughts

In leadership, you will often be faced with the necessity of course corrections. When you are, embrace the possibilities before you. Victor Hugo said, “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” And this is your challenge as a leader.

What course corrections are you making?

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No Small Roles

Posted May 2, 2022May 2, 2022
by admin

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. -St. Augustine

“There are no small roles, only small actors.” This famous line was spoken by Konstantin Stanislavski, “the father of modern acting”, who required actors who performed in his theatre productions to engage their roles with equal commitment, whether they were lead actors with large roles or supporting actors with few lines or no lines at all.

While seen as a sign of accomplishment to land a leading role in acting, one can’t overlook the smaller or supporting roles that can make a movie a success.

A list compiled at StudoBinder.com lists the Academy Award winners for best-supporting actors. Included on the notable list are Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), Christian Bale (The Fighter), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), George Clooney (Syriana), Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting), Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive), Jack Nicholson ( Terms of Endearment), and Jack Lemmon (Mister Roberts), just to name a few.

When you look at the list of award winners for supporting actors, no one would look upon their respective acting careers in a lesser light due to winning best supporting actor. They are all distinguished in their own right for their contributions not only to those respective films but to the lead roles they’ve starred in since.

Embracing the mindset of no small roles is critical to the success of any business or organization that looks to make a difference. Nowhere is this more needed than in its approach to leadership. Inside many organizations is an unspoken competition to see who can get the leading roles, be the star of the show, and do whatever it takes to have the spotlight shine on them.

What’s needed is a casting call – a casting call for supporting leaders whose only motivation is what’s best for the team.

But how do you find such leaders with this mindset? Is it even possible? How do you build a culture where everyone embraces their respective roles for the good of the team? Here are a few ways to begin.

Cast the vision often and the importance of every role

A no small role mindset begins when everyone understands the significance of their role and why their contribution matters. When you make this a priority it builds a sense of pride that everyone is contributing to a cause and purpose that matters and without them, it wouldn’t happen.

Cast the expectations

Just as Stanislavsk demanded the best of every actor, regardless of the role, so too must you make expectations clear within your organization. A clear vision followed by clear expectations puts everyone on the same page and the possibility of success more attainable. Click To TweetThis can only work when egos are set aside and only what’s best for the team is embraced.

Play your best role

Not everyone will have the lead role, but everyone has a role to play. Attitudes matter, communication matters, trust matters, and commitment matters. These are the roles that when played with conviction will set your team apart from the rest.

Final Thoughts

Understanding that there are no small roles is essential in leadership. Every role is important and every role matters. As does every person. It’s when everyone knows it and gives it their all that teams can reach their full potential.

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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 4) Tenacity or Tension

Posted April 26, 2021April 26, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

Tenacious people don’t rely on luck, fate, or destiny for their success. And when conditions become difficult, they keep working. – John Maxwell

Pablo Casals was considered the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old he was asked why he continued to practice 6 hours a day. He replied, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

Be it an accomplished cellist like Casals or any other person who mastered his or her craft, it requires a higher standard of grit to go there.

Baseball great Ted Williams was known as a “natural hitter”. Once when he was asked about this natural ability, he responded, “There is no such thing as a natural-born hitter. I became a good hitter because I paid the price of constant practice, constant practice.” And herein lies the difference between those excel in their craft and those who remain stagnant and get left behind. It’s tenacity. It’s grit.

One way this grit can be explained comes from the ten thousand hour rule from Malcolm Gladwell. He spelled it out in his book Outliers. The jest of the rule is this: it takes ten thousand hours of intense practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials.

While some have attempted to debunk Gladwell’s ten thousand hour rule, the underlying application is that the secret to success in any endeavor is an unparalleled degree of tenacity to achieve it. Grit is the common denominator.

In this fourth and final installment of developing leadership grit, allow me to recap the leadership grit principles presented thus far:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or Grow – Your leadership will have moments of testing. And ultimately it will be your indomitable spirit and grit that will get you through the tests of leadership that you will face.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat – Through grit, we develop and grow as leaders. When we join forces with others, we share the load. Your journey is not meant to be traveled alone.

Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance – Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. We must play the long game and be open to change and new ways of doing things.

And now, the final principle in this series.

Leadership Grit Principe # 4 – Tenacity or Tension

In the end, you will either set your course as a leader with tenacity or you will live in the tension of unrealized potential.

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” And this is often the source of tension and frustration with many leaders. They start strong but they don’t finish. The task is left undone. The dream never materializes. And this happened not because they lacked intelligence, talent, or necessary skills. It happened because they lacked grit.

Developing grit goes hand in hand with finding your passion. People who are passionate about their work and life’s calling tend to be grittier. They know the cost and are more willing to pay the price for their success. Let’s face it – it’s hard to be tenacious about things we don’t care about.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, grit is the difference-maker between those who thrive and those who get by. Grit will take you further than intelligence alone. Grit is a game-changing secret weapon that will take your leadership to a new level.

It’s time to get gritty.

Resource:

To learn more about the power of grit, I would encourage you to order and read this book by Angela Duckworth.

Click here to order your copy on Amazon

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Embracing Courageous Leadership (Part 3) – Developing a Courageous Leadership Mindset

Posted March 14, 2021March 14, 2021
by admin

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. – E.E. Cummings

I read a story about Leonidas, the King of Sparta. He was preparing to take a stand with his Greek troops against the Persian army in 480 B.C. when a Persian envoy arrived. The man urged on Leonidas of the futility of resisting the advance of the huge Persian army. “Our archers are so numerous”, said the envoy, “that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun.”

“So much the better,” replied Leonidas, “for we shall fight them in the shade.” Leonidas made his stand and died with 300 of his men. Needless to say, his courage was misplaced.

In this series, I’ve made the case for embracing courageous leadership. We’ve looked at what it is not, what it is, and now, developing a courageous leadership mindset. With it the possibilities of your leadership are unlimited. Without a proper understanding of it, you could go down like Leonidas. In short, we need to get it right.

In her acclaimed book, Mindset, Carol S. Dweck writes, “When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world (the world of fixed traits) success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other (the world of changing qualities) it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.” And this is where the first steps of developing a courageous leadership mindset begin.

Developing a courageous leadership mindset is a growth process that begins in your comfort zone and stretches you into something new. The process and journey must be embraced to go there. Here are a few ways how.

Acknowledge where you are in this moment

As you begin to develop a courageous leadership mindset, you must first acknowledge where you are on the journey. Everyone has a starting point and for each of one, the view is different.

As a young leader, I remember making the transition from what I studied and prepared for and putting it into practice in the marketplace. It was intimidating at times. But I was out to prove that I was smart and talented. But I also lacked a certain amount of courage to find my own voice because I was part of a culture of fixed traits. It was stifling.

Embrace a different mindset

If you are ever going to get out of your comfort zone and develop a courageous leadership mindset, you will have to begin to make some shifts. In our world of fixed traits and familiar ways of doing things as leaders, there must come a time in which you take responsibility for your growth, not look back, and burn the ships.

Your courageous leadership mindset is first and foremost an inside job. From there, it impacts every decision you make as a leader. Click To Tweet With a courageous leadership mindset, you are taking responsibility for your growth and development and the outcomes you desire.

Become a courageous leader

The point I want to emphasize here is that your growth and path to developing a courageous leadership mindset is a process. It takes time. As you move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset things for you as a leader will begin to look different.

Becoming a courageous leader will be subtle at first but before too long your attitude will be different and how you look at things will change. The people who intimidated you before will no longer have that power over you. Courage will begin to take root.

Final Thoughts

Growth is liberating and having a courageous leadership mindset is powerful. Combine these two and your potential is unlimited. Believe in yourself. Embrace the mindset. Trust the process.

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Getting Comfortable With Failure

Posted June 8, 2017
by dougdickerson

I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work. – Thomas Edison

As a leader, chances are, you’ve had a run-in or two with failure. If not, be patient. I say that not to be pessimistic or to discourage you. I say that to challenge and prepare you for great adventures that lie before you.

Failure. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that word? Unfortunately, some people make the mistake of applying false labels to people who fail. They see them as failures rather than a success in progress.

In his book, Chase The Lion, author Mark Batterson gives an inspiring description of what it means to fail. He writes:

The cure for the fear of failure isn’t success. The cure for the fear of failure

is failure in small enough doses that we build up an

immunity to it.

God is in the business of helping us overcome our fears, but

He often does it by bringing us face to face with our worst fears.

He graciously brings us back to the place of failure, and then, He

not only helps us pick up the broken pieces but He also puts them

back together again.

That description, especially as it applies to the fear of failure, is an important lesson every leader must learn. As a leader, you will have to face down your failures, and confront them if you want to grow to the next level.

Regardless of where you are in your leadership journey, and wherever that path leads you- be it in business, sales, technology, management, customer service, etc. you must find your cure for failure and build up your immunity to defeat it. Here are a few ways to do it.

Develop a resilient attitude

Developing a resilient attitude is hard work. But most of that battle is won when we change our attitudes.

It reminds me the story of the two shoe salesmen years ago who left for the Caribbean islands from Chicago. Upon arrival, they discovered that no one wore shoes. One salesman phoned back to the home office and notified them that he was returning to Chicago, “no one here wears shoes,” he said. The other man phoned back to the home office with excitement, “Send more shoes, no one here wears them!” Both men saw the same thing. One through the lens of a negative attitude, the other through a positive one.

The difference between your success and failure will often be determined by your attitude. Develop resilience in this area and you will develop an immunity to failure.

Develop the right perspective

While attitude has to do with how you see yourself in your present circumstances, your perspective is how you see yourself through it. It’s all about thinking long.

Look back on your own history for a moment. Think back to a time when you were going through a challenging or difficult time. Chances are your attitude at the time may not reflect your perspective on it now. The difference is time and distance. It’s much easier to look back at a difficult time you’ve come through than it is to see light at the end of the tunnel when going through it.

Never allow your present fears or failures to cloud your perspective. You will come through your difficult times and with the right perspective you can see them for what they were–stepping stones to your success.

Develop resilient courage

The formula for courage looks like this: A (Attitude) + P (Perspective) = C (Courage). Your ability to face down your fears and recover from failure takes courage. What will set you apart from your colleagues and give you the advantage over your competitors is courage.

“We don’t develop courage by being happy everyday,” writes Barbara De Angelis, “ We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity”. And this is the place on your leadership journey you must arrive at. It’s when you survive difficult times that you grow strong as a leader.

Resilient courage is developed over time. It’s a process. None of us like failure and we all wrestle with our fears. But failure doesn’t have to fatal or forever. It’s simply a marker on our road to success. Don’t give up!

Favorite quotes on failure:

Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.- Og Mandino

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. – Henry Ford

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. – Michael Jordan

Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails toward success. – C.S. Lewis

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What’s Wrong With (Always) Being Right?

Posted May 26, 2017
by dougdickerson

Doing the right thing isn’t always easy-in fact, sometimes, it’s real hard- but just remember that doing the right thing is always right. – David Cottrell

In my many years in leadership, some of the most annoying people I come across are those whom, no matter the circumstance, are always right. They always have a ready excuse, an ‘out’ when things go wrong, it’s never their fault. They are always right. Chances are you’ve met one or two of these people along the way yourself.

Then you have the ‘know it all’ – that one person who’s the in-house ‘expert’ about everything. They would choose an ‘I told you so’ moment over ever admitting they were wrong about anything- even if it adversely affected the organization. (If this type person exists in your organization they are toxic, and you must deal with them).

Here’s the rub- people hate being wrong. I get it. We like to be at our best, do our best, but at the end of the day, we are mere mortals. We screw up. And we don’t know everything. So how do you guard yourself against ever developing this kind of an attitude? Here’s some food for thought.

Acknowledge your limitations

You bring a certain depth of skill and knowledge to your workplace. It’s great that you are highly trained in your area of expertise and contribute to the good of the team. You do your best to add value to your organization.

But a dose of reality is necessary if you desire to be an effective leader. While your expertise can be strong in one area, chances are you are not an ‘expert’ in every area. That’s why you have to listen, collaborate, and tap into the skills of your colleagues and defer to them. A lack of self-awareness on your part doesn’t change what others know and what you fail to admit. You don’t know everything so quit acting like it.

Focus on doing right, not always being right

When you make the shift from always ‘being’ right to ‘doing’ right, it will significantly change your leadership. It will change the way you look at things – and it will actually be a liberating force in your life. The self-imposed pressure of always being right frees you up to do right. It’s a game changer in many regards.

Let’s be real – it’s when you focus on doing right that you will experience growth in your leadership. It’s a mark of maturity. With nothing to prove and no compulsion to always be right, you can now focus on more important things like being a servant leader instead of protecting your ego.

Be humble and teachable

Personal growth and development will rarely happen within the ‘know it all’ or ‘always right’ bubble or mindset. There’s no room for it. Not because there’s nothing more to learn, but because this person believes that he or she is already there. It’s a dangerous mindset to have as a leader.

In Proverbs 19:20, the writer says, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future”. For the sake of your own personal development, and those whom you lead, be teachable and walk humbly. None of us have arrived and there’s a lot of people depending on us to realize it.

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Growing Big, Staying Small

Posted March 9, 2017
by dougdickerson

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it. – Henry Ford

In his book, It’s Not About the Coffee, Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks International, recounts a fascinating story about attaining the kind of culture every company wants. Behar says one concept that he learned and developed from Howard Schultz was, “The fundamental task is to achieve smallness while growing big”.

It almost sounds like a contradiction upon first glance. How does one actually go about achieving smallness? What does it look and how can it improve the culture of any company? How could it improve yours?

Behar relates one custom that became part of Starbucks culture. The writing of cards. Each month he would write birthday and anniversary cards to everyone in the organization. It started with about sixty cards a month. Behar says that by the time he retired he was sending out more than five hundred a month.

In a time when company culture and employee engagement are the buzzwords and people are trying to figure out what it means, is it possible that we are simply over thinking it?

Maybe it has nothing to do with how big we are thinking and the grand schemes and plans of making improvements. Is it possible that employee engagement and company culture is not working as it should because we are not thinking small enough?

At the end of the day here is what we must remember: it’s all about people. Call it company culture, employee engagement, call it whatever you wish- but it all boils down to people and how you make them feel. Do they feel appreciated? Do they feel valued? How are you showing it?

An article in Talent Culture revealed that employees who “feel valued by their employer are significantly more likely to be motivated to do their very best (93 percent vs. 33 percent).” In addition, it said that “those who do not feel valued are significantly more likely to seek new employment within 12 months (50 percent vs. 21 percent)”. Look within your organization. How many people are motivated to perform at their very best? How many people do you suppose are looking for new jobs?

Growing big and thinking small is not a mutually exclusive goal. But it will require intentional thinking and action on your part as a leader. Here are a few ways you will have to do it.

Think small relationally

It makes no difference if your vision or goals are big or small, it only comes into existence through the dedication and hard work of your people. Every leader should take the advice of John Maxwell who said, “Always touch a person’s heart before you ask for a hand.” You must connect relationally before you can ask people to help you reach your goals.They must first buy-in to you before you can expect them to buy-in to your vision.

Think small serving

It was a brilliant quote I still remember from the late Sam Walton who said, “The bigger we get the smaller we have to think, customers still walk in one at a time”. Whether it’s your employees whom you are serving or the customer base your organization caters to, the way you treat each individual makes a world of difference. Too often we worry about pleasing the masses and forget we still serve our employees and customers one at a time. If you do right by one, you will do right with many.

Think small growing

Intentional smallness is what Behar modeled by writing hundreds of cards a month. It happens with random acts of kindness in recognizing your people. It’s being intentional about building relationships. It’s about ensuring that your people feel valued, respected, empowered, and trusted. It’s about writing that card.

Growth begins to happens when you take care of building a powerful culture of smallness that gives you the momentum to become a big organization that held true to its most sacred values along the way.

Are you thinking small enough?

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It’s Your Time to Soar

Posted February 23, 2017
by dougdickerson

Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time. – Ross Perot

“While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of its nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens.

One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in a barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

“Still it has the heart of an eagle,” replied the naturalist, “and can surely be taught to fly.” He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their feed, he jumped down to be with them again.

The naturalists took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” but the eagle was afraid of his unknown world and jumped down once more for the chicken feed.

Finally, the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, “You are an eagle, you belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens. ” (Source)

In leadership, as in life, you will have competing voices that will cause you to walk with the chickens or soar with the eagles. Here are a few truths worth remembering.

Not everyone who picks you up will lift you up

The man who found the young eagle might have meant well in bringing the young eagle to his barn. But over time, his good deed turned the majestic bird, full of so much potential, into a common barnyard chicken.

If you want to soar as a leader you must break free from the good intentions of people who do not bring out the best in you.

Your worth is not defined by those holding you back

As the young eagle grew its identity was shaped by the company that it kept. Instead of realizing its full potential to soar the heavens, it was grounded with the chickens. The eagle was being labeled as something it wasn’t. His future was being cast. And the man could not be more wrong.

If you want to soar as a leader you must never let the people who are holding you back to define your worth. When you have the heart of an eagle, don’t allow the mindset of a chicken hold you back.

You can only soar like an eagle when you start acting like one

Over time, the young eagle was persuaded by the naturalist that he was more than a chicken as led to believe. It was when the eagle embraced everything that was great about him that he took his rightful place soaring to the heavens.

If you want to soar as a leader you will have to shake off the labels of your critics and stop hanging out with the chickens. Surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you.

Those who believe in you the most will insist that you fly

The naturalist saw the eagle for the grand and majestic bird that it was. He knew that as long as it was confined to the barnyard it would never live up to its potential. He saw the eagles’ potential and he didn’t give up until it flew.

If you want to soar as a leader you will need people in your life who believe in you, people who will call out the best in you, and people who will never rest until you fly.

This is your time to soar!

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Developing a Leadership Mindset

Posted January 5, 2017
by dougdickerson

“You can change your mindset” – Carol S. Dweck – Mindset, The New Psychology of Success

In her highly acclaimed and recommended book Mindset , Carol S. Dweck lays out four foundational statements to gauge whether you have a fixed-mindset or a growth mindset.

Here are the statements ( Answer T or F to each one):

Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much.
You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are,
No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.
You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.

Statements 1 and 2 are fixed-mindset statements. Statements 3 and 4 reflect the growth mindset. “Which did you agree with more? You can be a mixture, but most people lean toward one or the other,” states Dweck.

Over the years I have come to know that leaders have a mindset that sets them up for success or failure even before that leadership journey begins.

The mindset you embrace sets the tone for your leadership style, success, and the influence you will have. What mindsets or characteristics will hold you back? Which ones will cause you to succeed? Here are a few.

The mindset of your attitude

In leadership, your attitude is your best friend or worst enemy. It’s one of the most contagious characteristics of your leadership style. It will cause people to rally around you and your vision or it will turn them away. The attitude mindset of the leader will be the benchmark for the rest of the organization. You can’t expect the attitude of your people to be good if the one you showcase is bad. Eventually, you will have to change your attitude or your people will change their address. (I wrote about attitude in the workplace here).

What kind of attitude are you projecting? Do you only focus on the negative? Do you only see what your people are doing wrong as opposed to what they do well? How does your attitude inspire, encourage, and motivate your colleagues? Is your attitude worthy of emulating?

The mindset of your perceptions

One of the basic foundational leadership lessons I learned many years ago from John Maxwell was in how he sees other people. Maxwell said he always looked at people and saw a “10”. It was his way of helping others get in touch with their potential and set them up for growth and success. Were all of the people he labeled as a “10” truly a 10? Of course not. But the perception he put into play was one that emphasized unlimited growth and possibility in the people he believed in–even when they may have only been a 4, 5, or a 6 in reality.

What are the perceptions of the people you lead? Do you instill confidence in your people that reflects a 10 even though they may only be a 5? If known by your people would your perceptions give them a reason to be optimistic or discouraged? What changes do you need to make in your perceptions of other people or personal changes that would cause you to be a better leader in general?

The mindset of your personal growth and development

Every successful leader I know has one thing in common- they never stop growing.The older I get the more I realize how much I don’t know which is humbling. (I wrote about the things I wish I had known years ago about leadership here). You can have a fixed-growth mindset that Dweck writes about or you can have a growth mindset that will make all the difference in the world to your leadership. The mindset you choose, feed, and nurture is the one that will win out at the end of the day.

What are you doing on a daily basis that contributes to a growth mindset? As a whole, does your organization have a fixed-mindset or a growth mindset? What fixed-growth mindsets do you struggle with the most? What changes do you need to make to develop a growth mindset?

Developing a growth centered leadership mindset is the beginning of a leadership journey that begins by believing it is possible.

I am booking leadership training events for 2017. See the tab at the top of the page for more information.

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Choose One Chair – Becoming a Leader of Destiny

Posted October 20, 2016
by dougdickerson

“Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday.”- “Yesterday”, by Paul McCartney and John Lennon

In Guidepost magazine a number of years back Luciano Pavarotti relates a story from when he was a boy and his father introduced him to the wonders of song. He recounts, “He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, ‘Shall I be a teacher or a singer?’ “‘Luciano,’ my father replied, ‘if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.’ “I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book–whatever we choose–we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”

At some point every leader has that moment of awakening when one chair wins over another. The process of getting there will vary person to person, but that day will ultimately come.

Your growth and development as a leader is a fluid process. Foundational character principles that guide you on your journey will not change, but for the sake of future growth and development as a leader you must be open to change and new ideas.

As leaders we also know that the only constant is change. What worked for you in years past may not be sufficient today. If you are content to just “phone it in” and coast as a leader on how it was done in years gone by then you may like have lost your edge. So what is a leader to do? Here are three basic questions you need to answer. Reaching your destiny as a leader may very well depend on it.

Is yesterday’s passion enough?

Passion is the fuel of your leadership. With it the sky is the limit in terms of your potential and destiny. It’s what keeps you up late at night and gets you up early in the morning. It’s the “why” that gives your life meaning and purpose.

Yet perhaps the wear and tear of the daily grind has taken its toll on you. Perhaps your dreams haven’t been realized and you feel there is no use in going forward. Let me encourage you today to buy-in to the words of Joel Osteen when he said, “If you’re alive and breathing, you can still become everything God has created you to be.” Becoming a leader of destiny requires a new passion going forward. While the passion you started out with may have been sufficient at the time; today’s goals, dreams, and destiny will require more.

Is yesterday’s attitude adequate?

If passion is the fuel of your leadership then your attitude determines your mileage. How far you go is about possessing the right attitude. Your attitude in years gone by may have served you well up to a point, but to get to the next level you may have to step it up a notch.

Zig Ziglar said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine you altitude.” And that is the secret to achieving your leadership destiny. Leaders who have stood the test of time understand the importance of a positive attitude. Every leader has also dealt with the challenges-both internally and externally, of right thinking. Your attitude will cause you to reach your destiny as a leader or it will prevent it. Be sure it’s a good one.

Is yesterday’s mindset working?

One of the greatest threats to your leadership today is holding on to a “this is the way we’ve always done it” approach of years gone by. Evolving as a leader is not about disrespecting the past but has everything to do with letting it go for the sake of your future.

While values are timeless your methods must be current and relevant to today’s world. Are you still open to new ideas? Do you still have the attitude of a student who is humble enough to learn? Don’t forfeit the destiny that could be yours because of limited thinking. Stay current, be relevant, and keep growing.

When Pavarotti chose his one chair it changed the course of his life. It was that singular decision that put his destiny in motion. In like fashion you must choose your one chair and make sure that you have the right levels of passion, attitude, and mindset to take you to the top.

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