“Leadership is a choice, not a position.”

—Stephen Covey

At its core, leadership mindset is defined by how we see ourselves in our professional roles and the stories we tell others about who we are.

What differentiates a leader from any other person is the mindset that he harbors. Mindsets are like a mental lens through which a leader analyzes a situation and takes charge. What would you do if you face a challenge at your workplace regarding a group project? Do you try to  shake off the blame or do you dive in to find a solution? A leader does not approach challenges as roadblocks, rather as speedbrakers where you just need to slow down a little and maybe maneuver your car in a different way.

Failures

What an ordinary person perceives as a stumbling block in life, a leader revels in the opportunity to learn through the failure and charge ahead with renewed knowledge. He experiences failure with a mindset of a student who is forever ready to absorb new wisdom that the failure brings along with it.

Accountability

We have been conditioned to not own up our mistakes for fear of punishment from early childhood. While, passing off blame to someone else for breaking the window saved us reprimand, it shaped us to fear accountability. A leader always considers his responsibility to be accountable to everything that happens around him. If a project fails or a deadline is not met, he wouldn’t excuse himself by giving reasons, rather he would accept the delay and ask for a chance to rectify the delays.

Growth

Great leaders are obsessed with growing not only their companies but also their own life. They aim at consistently expanding their boundaries and challenging their comfort zones. Great leaders believe in quitting early if they feel that the present situation or a job is no more making them grow. Before they sink into mundane and familiarity, they look for new challenges, new and higher mountains to climb. The bigger the better – for they understand that in the overcoming and the climb, lies their growth. 

Mindsets define the way we are raised, the environment we thrive in and the future we are headed to. Dhirubhai Ambani, Ratan Tata and the likes didn’t become global leaders in a day by following a straight path. The same kind of environment would have been available to several others but the difference lies in the mindset. The mindset of growth and learning from failures; the mindset of bringing about a change in the world in any way possible. It was their mindset that transformed them from rags to riches.

Leadership is a mindset in which one is unapologetically driven towards their goals and in behaving accordingly, inspires those around them to join in.

-Steve Maraboli