We talked the other day about a growth mindset among your employees. Though we like to think employees inherently have a growth, rather than fixed, mindset, that is not necessarily the case. Things change, and you need to remember that your team can always be learning and developing, even if they happen to forget that.

While you are at it, examine your own mindset. Are you one of those who thinks leaders are born, not made? If so, then why would you bother developing your own leadership skills…wouldn’t you instead just use the talents you’re born with, and forgo the cost and time of leadership development?

I have had a few (actually, many) people suggest to me that either you have leadership talent, or you don’t; you do not get it from a classroom or experience, they say, but instead you get it from inside. “Hitler never took a ‘7 Habits’ course,” is one of the most extreme examples I have heard. They see little point in trying to develop talents that are set by birth, or at least by your early upbringing.

Sounds like a fixed mindset to me.

I certainly agree that some people have personality traits that facilitate leadership. Whether you are born with an outgoing personality or develop it in a supportive environment as a child, it can certainly help you communicate with others and get your ideas across. If you are a nurturing person you’ve got a leg up on leadership over someone who prefers isolation.

But personality is not the “be all, end all” of leadership. Just because you are comfortable talking in a group does not mean you have anything worthwhile to say. Being empathetic toward others might mean you can understand their feelings, but can make you hesitant to make hard decisions that hurt those feelings. A detail-oriented person can probably organize the daily tasks pretty well but does not necessarily have the vision to look beyond tomorrow. Leadership is about more than just charisma or good intentions, and frankly, anyone who thinks otherwise is setting themselves up for disappointment, either by ignoring their own opportunities for leadership because they don’t think they are good enough, or failing to to develop themselves because they think they are just naturally ready to lead.

Ask yourself some questions:

 

Do I actively seek out others’ opinions?

When I look at future jobs, do I consider what I need to do to get ready for them?

When someone questions what I do, do I immediately get defensive? Or do I wonder what made them ask?

What’s the last book I read about leadership?

What past leaders of mine stand out?

 

If you answer “no” to the first two questions, if you have trouble answering the rest, it’s a sign you might have a fixed mindset. Why might that be?

 

Is it because you feel there’s nothing you can do to improve? That what you are born with is all you are going to get? If so, you are really limiting yourself. You CAN improve your leadership talents, but you first need to be open to the idea of improvement in order to seek out worthwhile opportunities.

Could it be that you are so convinced of your own perfection that you cannot imagine anyone else might have anything to offer you? That is a recipe for disaster, because you are blinding yourself to potential pitfalls, and those pitfalls exist no matter how perfect you think you are. Plus, the folks around you are not likely to share in your opinion of yourself, and you are more likely to alienate them than to lead them.

Are you perhaps insecure about your abilities, and afraid that opening yourself up to development will allow others to see the same faults you see in yourself? Trust me, those faults are not as well-hidden as you think; people already see them, but they know everyone has things they can do better. What they are more interested in is whether or not you are willing to do something about them.

 

A fixed mindset is no good for leaders. Even if you have some natural talent, you need to build upon it to make it worthwhile. Just as your employees have worked hard to make use of their skills, so too should you continue to develop whatever you think can help you be a good leader.