“Our beliefs are the map we follow to interpret the world around us and change our reality. We depend on the mentalities we choose and shelter in our minds to invent and create the future, because in them we have installed the way we see the world.”
José Cabrera – CEO Cabrera MC
Mindset is the lens through which we see the world around us. That’s right, how our brain encodes our view of the world, what we believe and why we believe it, determines our decisions, relationships and level of trust in ourselves and others. Our attitude to challenges and our behaviors are also largely conditioned by our mindsets, so these really determine what we become in life, and are a predictor of our professional success or failure.
Mental models reside in the subconscious and manifest as deeply held beliefs, attitudes, assumptions, and influences. Consequently, in our day-to-day lives, we are not aware of how our mindset influences the way we carry out our responsibilities and interact with others. For example, our experience of the time of the last few years is linear, and possibly the changes you think may become a reality in the next 5-10 years, it is very likely that they will affect you in the next 3-5 years and you will not be prepared to address the challenges they pose in your life on a personal and professional level. Hence, the importance of remaining open to the possibility that the mentalities we have developed for a linear and predictable world must evolve in order to meet the new challenges of an uncertain, complex and rapidly changing world.
We are all born with an intense drive to learn. From childhood we developed lifelong skills, such as learning to walk and talk, without wondering if it was too difficult or not worth the effort. Without worrying about making mistakes or having any missteps, we just fell, got up and moved forward.
So how can our mental models be changed and we can prepare for an uncertain future? The starting point must be an awareness of how and in what context our current mentalities developed, accept that our mentality can be an obstacle to our future development and recognize the need to change. The good news is that we can make small changes in our mindset with significant impact and I hope today’s reflection will help you cultivate the seven mindsets you need to live in uncertainty and grow in adversity.
The seven mindsets are based on years of experience in our Acelera Programs where we’ve helped hundreds of leaders from large and small businesses address disruption from a growth perspective. In all our workshops we address the two key questions to face the challenges of an uncertain world and accelerated change: How to live in uncertainty? And what do leaders have in common who are able to anticipate change and grow in adversity? To find the answer, we follow the most relevant and expert leaders today and share the learning we have validated in our workshops.
Where to start?
It is my personal conviction, that we all have the potential to grow and move in the direction of further development of our mentality. My proposal is that you start by adopting the personal attitude that you can define your own future, if you take a more active role in it. That is, being aware that the future is not a mere projection of the past, but something new that we build every day and that emerges as a result of our actions and omissions. Therefore, you must start by believing in your own ability to impact your future, and go undertaking, step by step, the path to a desired future.
On a personal level , in order to act in the present and to be able to observe and recognize our mentalities, we have to reflect inwardly and pay attention as many times as possible during the day to see through our usual automatisms and attitudes. This start will result, by force, in an increase in the level of awareness about what we can do, about what is possible and about what can help us become true protagonists of our future, living aware that we are a “permanent beta” of an unfinished project, in permanent construction, which will need subsequent revisions to develop its maximum potential. Since we cannot predict our future, we should devote all the energy to building it, these are three simple steps to follow.
At the organizational level , a powerful way to approach disruption from a growth perspective is to develop antifragility as a strategic capacity and take advantage of emerging crises to adapt, innovate and prepare for the future.
If you want to accelerate the growth of your future leaders, equipping them with the seven mindsets, competencies and skills they need to transform themselves, their teams and the organization, that is our mission and what we do as a company. Shall we talk?.
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