I often hear people say that mindsets are the “secret to success.”
I am not sure if I buy this. Not because I don’t think mindsets are important, but because I don’t think it is a “secret” that mindsets are foundational to our success. I think most people know and understand the importance of mindsets, at least at a surface level.
But, I do think there is something “secretive” about mindsets.
The “Secrets” of Mindsets
This was made apparent to me recently when I had a conversation with an organizational developer of a large organization that has continually won “best workplace to work” awards over the last decade.
She told me that their organization has focused on mindsets for several years now. While that has had some benefits, she said that the emphasis is losing steam because leaders and employees are just giving it lip service. This is for two primary reasons:
- They have little clarity about what mindsets are needed for greater success
- Everyone thinks that they have optimal mindsets (there is no objective way to assess the quality of one’s mindsets)
To me, this first bullet point is what is “secretive” about mindsets. Most people know that mindsets are important for success, but they don’t know what mindsets actually drive success.
Revealing the “Secrets”
Fortunately, there have been decades of research on mindsets that has led to the identification of four different mindsets critical to success. They are the following (click on the hyperlinks to learn more about each):
Common Barriers to Unlocking Greater Success through Mindsets
While identifying what mindsets we need to have is the first step to unlocking greater success through our mindsets, there are two challenges that commonly prevents people from capitalizing on this newfound knowledge: They are inclined to think that:
- They possess the positive mindsets (self-serving bias), or
- They think that whatever mindsets they currently possess are the best mindsets to possess.
When it comes to our mindsets, we tend to think that how we see the world is the best way to see the world. And, we feel very justified with the mindsets we possess, success-oriented or not.
But, according to my database of almost 10,000 people, only 5% consistently possess the four mindsets listed above. This suggests that 95% of us have a decent amount of mindset work to do within ourselves to unlock greater success.
If you haven’t taken my mindset assessment yet, you can take it here for FREE:
FREE PERSONAL MINDSET ASSESSMENT
How Organizations Can Unlock Greater Success through a Focus on Mindsets
When I work with organizations, I will have their leaders and/or employees take my personal mindset assessment. This helps do the following within organizations:
- Helps employees gain clarity on the mindsets they need to have
- Provides objective data on the quality of their current mindsets
- Gives organizational leaders a snapshot of the collective mindsets in the organization
This allows the organization to give more than lip service to mindsets. It reveals the “secrets” of mindsets that are necessary to transform leaders, employees, and the organization itself.
If you want to explore the mindsets within your organization, you can learn more here:
ORGANIZATIONAL MINDSET ASSESSMENT
Coming Next
In the coming weeks I am going to provide some rather interesting perspectives on why mindsets are so foundational to success. So, if you are not “sold” on the importance of mindsets, or if you want to better “sell” others on the importance of mindsets, buckle up.
