LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH YOUR MIND
Do you think of yourself as a leader? Do you enjoy leading? As you were growing up, did people tell you that you had natural leadership qualities?
If you don’t see yourself as a leader, know that you are leading and probably not even knowing it. Why? Because we are all leaders simply because of our influence. Whatever you believe, think, value, feel, or say influences your behavior. These are all the result of your mindset and your mindset affects the impact you have on others.
This attitude determines much of our behavior, and our behavior produces specific results. If we are the leaders of our lives, in our work, and in our relationships, the results we get matter very much. Are we getting the results or having the impact we want, or are we experiencing unwanted results and outcomes? By looking at the relationship between our Mindset, our Behavior, and our Impact we can integrate all three components in an effective and satisfying way. We can incorporate leadership qualities and engage in leadership behaviors that generate the results we really want.
Your impact may be subtle or it may be profound; it may be small or it may be big; it may be obvious or not so obvious; it may be positive, neutral, or negative. Observe your impact on others as it’s reflected back to you by their responses to you. Consciously and intentionally observe your actions as you carry them out, and observe your mindset as it fills your thoughts and shapes your attitudes. For instance, let look at this situation. A co-worker presents an issue to you. You are interested, but you have a lot your plate; yet, you can tell he needs to talk. This is what a M-B-I Audit might look like:
What is your mindset? If the truth be known, you are feeling a bit resentful and harried because you had planned to complete this report.
What is your behavior? You are looking at this co-worker, but you really are not seeing him because your mind is on what you need to get done and you’re antsy.
What is your impact? He can tell you are not “with” him because you check your watch, your eyes drift and you ask them to repeat what they are saying. He could assume your behavior is because of something he did or think you just are not at all interested. How could this exchange affect the impact of your relationship and leadership?
By consciously reflecting on the relationship between your Mind-set, your Behavior and your Impact, you can make the changes necessary to improve the influence and effectiveness of your personal leadership. The MBI Audit is an ever-ready tool to use any time that you are not getting results you desire. That’s a tool worth keeping in your toolbox, wouldn’t you say?
© Copyright, Lauren Burnett, 2016. All rights reserved. This article may be shared in its entirety, including this notation.
