What used to be thought of as ‘flaky’, neuroscience has proved how important our mindsets are – that power of thoughts controls the direction and decisions of our life. Elite athletes and military teams understand that if you build your mental resilience in the pursuit of goals, the better you can be, and the better decisions you can make under pressure: the more goals you will achieve.
The more goals you achieve the more confidence you will gain in life and business.
American organizational practices have only focused on the left-brain: controlled, technical, administrative and analytical. But, what we need is more intuitive ,conceptual and artistic ways of thinking.
Mindsets can fuel imagination and creativity or become limiting factors due to personal experiences or even influenced by the thinking past management.
I want to highlight 2 different mindsets in this post : Long-term vs short-term and dynamic vs static
Long-Term Thinking vs. Short-Term Thinking
Long-Term Thinking is the rarest form of thinking in the workplace.
This is dangerous because it is the only kind of thinking that invites creativity and innovation. We set strategy for 3, 5 or 10 years, but that is not the same as thinking longterm.
Long-term, transformative thinking requires practice and a certain approach because it is so different than short-term thinking.
Sample questions of long-term thinking:
“How will this idea effect the next generation of customers? “
“By changing this policy, what will be different 15, 20 years from now?”
“What will be the end result if we take this step? “
Short-term thinking limits possibilities –
It also makes us hyper-reactionary – we become ‘entitled’ for immediate results. When we focus only on numbers and immediate results, we ignore the bigger picture .
Short-term thinking says we want this now — impatience and agitation are the results of this mindset.
Dynamic Thinking vs. Static Thinking
Dynamic Thinking examines ‘how did we get here?’ (and why do we stay here?)
Energy is focused on understanding of how the past guides future initiatives.
Understanding pathways is essential to be able to decide to take a different course.
Static Thinking is focused on current problems and/or crisis. For instance: we have a high rate of employee turnover and the energy is focused on solving that crisis: Here’s how to reduce turnover. This mindset does not allow for perspective at all.
The way that individuals on a team think can be the difference between success and frustration for the team. In your next team meeting, note where your team’s mindset is – then show them this post and start everyone thinking for a change.
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