Welcome to the Whatif? Wednesday Thought Letter

Time to Read: 3 min.

My intent is to provide a pithy perspective, i.e., 500 words or less, on topics relevant to your leadership agenda. My hope is it will serve as provocative food for thought to unlock the better leader that is in all of us. My mission is to help leaders become value creators.

The harsh reality for many leaders to accept is that they are not a victim of circumstance — poor market conditions, irrational competitors, weak teams, an unsupportive CEO etc. — but a victim of self-limiting beliefs, or their mindset.

Your mindset shapes your destiny so better to have a growth mindset than a fixed or limited one. Carol Dweck makes the case eloquently in her groundbreaking book, Mindset. I highly recommend reading it.  

How does mindset show up? In conversations with CXOs (CEOs and direct reports) they indicate that most people — managers, employees, and external providers — show up with a service provider mindset. Someone who trades their skills, capabilities, or product offering for money. They highlight their skills in resumes or brochures attempting to articulate, “why buy me?”. They can be  good service providers earning a reputation for being a reliable employee or vendor. The problem being their only true point of differentiation is price.

CXOs also speak of a rare individual. Those that are value creators. Value creators focus less on the attributes of their skills or offering and more on the problem they can solve. They go even further and focus on the impact they can have on customers, employees, the business, and its stakeholders. They target the friction, chokepoints, and constraints that prevent creating a compelling customer or employee experience. This population is roughly 10% of the people CXOs encounter. They are almost unicorn-like.

So how does you mindset shape your view of your self? Do you show up as that reliable service provider doing what’s expected? Or do you show as a value creator who thinks about impact? What if you saw your purpose as one of helping foster a growth mindset in your people? What if you saw your role as helping your organization be better and run better? What could you accomplish? How might you differentiate from the service provider pack?

Whether you are an Advisor, in Finance, Sales, IT, HR, or part of the supply chain, showing up as a value creator puts you in high demand. Those in high demand get a disproportionate share of investor capital, promotions, compensation, and contracts.

What have you got to lose other than a limiting mindset?