What's Your Leadership Mindset?

Do you have a "growth mindset?" Or a "fixed mindset?" Here are three questions to ask ourselves to help us grasp the difference.

During my term as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, I enjoyed dropping in on classes from time to time to learn from our world-class faculty and to chat with students. Whenever I asked, "How many of you want to be leaders?" everyone in the room instantly raised their hands.

A few years later, as an administrator at a large state university, I frequently asked students the same question. But usually fewer than half of those in the room put up their hands.

What explains the difference? Talent wasn't the issue. Both institutions are blessed with bright, hard-working young men and women. Nor was instruction a problem. Both institutions employ top-notch faculty. The difference, I'm convinced, was rooted in mindset.

At the Naval Academy—and I speak from experience as an alumnus—you learn from the very first day that leadership is a journey, and it's to be undertaken by everyone. Leadership is not the province of the select few; you can work at it, and you can get better. While you're not expected to take charge when you first set foot on campus, the expectation is you will become an effective leader—and your entire four years at the Academy are designed to develop you, step by step, into one.

Cultural Assumptions
The state university I served, like most universities and colleges in the U.S., invests heavily in equipping students with the knowledge and practical skills they need to succeed in the workplace. And indeed, it does a very good job of that. Less emphasis, however, is placed on developing leadership skills across the entire student body.

Looked at from that perspective, the divergent ways in which students reacted to my question becomes more understandable. If you live in a culture where your colleagues believe you can be a leader and help you develop the skills you need, you will enthusiastically embrace the mantle of leadership. It might not be your goal to become a CEO or a top politician. But, regardless of your occupation, you will view yourself as a leader at home, at work, and in your community. But if you live in a culture that assumes leadership is not for everyone, is dependent on whether you have innate leadership skills, and that leadership is defined by your job title rather than your actions, you will have an entirely different view.

Unfortunately, that's the culture that most of us live in, not just in the U.S. but around the world.

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