The phrase “you create your own reality’ may seem trite and overused, but it has a real practical side when it comes to leadership. Your mindset and how you frame problems dictates your approach to solving them.
Consider the following scenario:
The Newbie
Your team has been cruising for a while, and producing at a very high level, but some of your senior members have been a little overloaded and could use some help. After some interviewing, you hire a young, inexperienced person right out of college, and welcome them to the team.
Immediately the new person starts interrupting your day, breaking up your productivity with questions about everything from the team’s processes, to the simplest things about their job function, and even where to park and suggestions for where to go for lunch.
You find your productivity collapsing, and become more and more frustrated as they ask more and more questions. Can’t they see that you have work to do? Can’t they just figure it out on their own? Just as your frustration reaches a crescendo, they seem to become more self-sufficient, and leave you alone, and you are able to contribute more independently.
Who wouldn’t be frustrated by that scenario? It sounds awful. Let’s try, however, looking at the exact same situation from another angle.
Flipping the Mindset
Your team has been cruising for a while, and producing at a very high level, but some of your senior members have been a little overloaded and could use some help. After some interviewing, you hire a young, enthusiastic person right out of college, and welcome them to the team.
Immediately the new person starts digging into the problems, trying to learn whatever they can by asking questions about everything from the team’s processes, to the most important things about their job function, and even where to park and suggestions for where to go for lunch.
You find their productivity increasing, and become more and more excited as they learn more and more. Can they see how much they are contributing to the team? Can they just figure it out on their own? Just as their excitement reaches a crescendo, they seem to become more self-sufficient, and they are able to contribute more independently.
Now, doesn’t that seem like a far more pleasant and exciting situation to be involved in? All I did was change a few words here and there, mostly by switching the focus from you to the person you’re supposed to be leading, but it makes all the difference in the world.
Everything Is An Opportunity
In the first scenario, everyone has a miserable experience, the newbie probably receives perfunctory answers to their questions, and eventually stops coming with questions not because they didn’t have any more, but because those questions were so clearly unwelcome. This person is now having second thoughts about accepting the job, and will be more likely to act independently rather than ask for guidance in the future.
By focusing on the positives in the second scenario, you’ve made it fun and enriching for both you and the newbie. You have taken the mindset that they aren’t keeping you from doing your job, making the a contributing member of the team IS YOUR JOB! Every question isn’t a distraction, it’s more knowledge that they have, it’s another problem they will be able to solve in the future on their own, it’s an opportunity to positively influence a fledgling career, and a more enjoyable experience for both of you.
A conscious effort to keep a positive mindset not only leads to better productivity, better personnel growth, and a better team dynamic, but also better job satisfaction for you. If you ever find yourself doing something at work that you don’t want to do, see if you can reframe it in a way that accentuates its value, its challenges, or any other aspect that makes it less of an annoyance, and more of an opportunity.
Mindset dictates behaviors. If you want to display the right behaviors, make sure you start with the right mindset.
