Mind-Changing

Leaders
How Changing Mindsets
Changes Everything
 Only in times of crisis are we forced to change
our mindsets. Otherwise, we don’t really have to.
But, as leaders, we need to be continually aware of
the mindset we are in to determine if it will drive
the organizational performance we want. It’s not
always obvious, but we can gain a competitive edge
by changing mindsets and shifting performance
before we have to.

The main issue? If the mindsets that block change

don’t change, the change won’t happen.

What are mindsets?

“ The significant
How we think about our business—our mindset—
is a powerful force that impacts everything we do.

problems we
But we don’t pay much attention to what we think
or believe about what is real or possible. Mindsets
that make or break performance and sustainable
face cannot be growth are always present, but rarely noticed or
talked about.

solved by the Mostly, we don’t see mindsets as mindsets—we

see the way it is, the current reality, the facts, the

same level of data. Mindsets are elusive and difficult to identify.

But our thinking is always operating to help or

thinking that hinder the actions we take to grow the business

and accomplish our goals. How we think affects

created them.”
our capacity to change and shapes our company’s
performance. Organizational mindsets—collective
views about the business—can be analyzed,
ALBERT EINSTEIN
understood and impacted.

Why do leaders need to be ready

to continually change mindsets?
Mindsets can block or drive individual and
organizational results. When a mindset unwittingly
turns into a block at an organizational scale, the
results can be disheartening as the possibility of
stronger performance fades under the pull toward
status quo. When we ignore mindsets, change
initiatives don’t take hold and companies fall far
behind where they need to be.

Organizational mindsets must shift if we’re not

getting the performance we want.

New thinking can open new possibilities for what

we believe we can accomplish and dramatically

© 2016 Gap International. All Rights Reserved. 1

affect the outcomes we produce. To create agility find out what would make a difference to achieve
and new possibilities, leaders must acquire the desired outcomes. We might even need to commit
ability to open their own and others’ thinking. to a bold new outcome that requires us to change
Mastering the ability to identify mindsets, challenge significantly.
status quo, change thinking, and break new ground
creates and sustains competitive advantage as the
marketplace continues to shift.

Why aren’t we all Past successes often do not

mind-changing leaders? guide us to succeed today,
and current strategic plans
The ability to change thinking quickly and
repeatedly serves as the foundation for the
can quickly become obsolete.
entire business to transform into a game-changing
organization. But changing with pace goes against
the human condition—we are not organized
to change quickly. In fact, we generally resist it,
We know what’s true and real;
consciously or unconsciously.
it can’t be changed.
A key first step to being a mind-changing leader
We tend to have hardened beliefs about what’s
is to see what barriers might be getting in the way.
possible and what’s not. It’s natural to resist new
Below are common mindsets for mind-changing
ideas when we think others don’t understand
leaders to grapple with:
our current reality. We also make assessments or
judgements about what people (including ourselves)
It’s not my problem; it’s yours. can and can’t do. We often believe we and others
have fixed ways of being and acting. But what we
We might want our teams to change, but be “know” isn’t necessarily “the truth”—it’s a mindset.
unwilling or hesitant to look first at ourselves. We We rarely identify and view mindsets as something
often believe others need to think or be different, that can be changed. It doesn’t even occur to us to
but not us. We must be willing to be fully aware, try to change what we and others think is true.
candid and transparent about our thinking. We
might also think we know everything there is to
know about ourselves, accepting it as the fixed
truth of who we are and how we lead—it’s just
how it is. And, as leaders, we can be blind to the
impact we have on our people and relationships,
especially when we focus on delivering results at
any cost.

Everything is fine; what’s the problem?

Past and current successes can make it seem like

we have no reason to change ourselves or our
business. If we’re good with the way things are,
there is no reason to change. But past successes
often do not guide us to succeed today, and current
strategic plans can quickly become obsolete. We
could be at a loss about what to change or how to

© 2016 Gap International. All Rights Reserved. 2

Four Areas for Mindset Change
When our current trajectory won’t produce the outcomes we want, something has to change. But exactly what
needs to change is rarely obvious. This chart includes four areas in which change might be needed. Each area has
an example of business-as-usual thinking that can block the changes we want, and game-changing thinking that
can drive the outcomes we need.

Examples of Examples of
Business-As-Usual Thinking Game-Changing Thinking

Our annual plan is not the end goal, it’s just

We set annual stretch goals to
Growth the beginning. We set and achieve targets
improve on last year’s performance.
so audacious they seem unattainable.

Our innovation goes beyond products and

We strengthen our R&D function to services. We innovate by challenging the
Innovation
innovate new products or services. status quo in every aspect of our
organization—top to bottom.

Our purpose is our competitive advantage.

We created a vision and mission It’s the essence of who we are and the fuel
Purpose
and published it widely. that drives us to give our hearts and minds
to achieve our goals.

In pursuit of extraordinary performance,

We take employee engagement seriously
Culture we actively uncover and transform the non-
as a leading indicator of business results.
productive dynamics in our environment.

© 2016 Gap International. All Rights Reserved. 3

Tips for being a
mind-changing leader
Leaders can cultivate mindsets for fast and
frequent change. We can develop the capability
to uncover and shift mindsets that block change
and performance, starting with our own. And
we can identify and expand our most productive
mindsets that drive extraordinary performance.
Then, we can build the enterprise-wide expertise
to do this again and again as conditions change.
Current realities worth questioning
include things we can’t change or
control, gaps we can’t close, results
we can’t deliver, and assessments
about what people can and can’t do.
Being vigilant and aware of mindsets while making
critical decisions gives leaders a strong path
forward. Below are keys for mind-changing
leaders to unlock and change mindsets.
Understand what mindsets are and
the impact they have.
A good place to start is to consider that we
determine who we are and how the world
works. When we see that we are the author of our
current mindset, we realize we can change it. So, if
a current mindset isn’t getting us what we want,
it’s not wrong; it’s just not getting us what we
want. Once we know this, we can choose to stay
in our current thinking and not achieve what we
want, or we can think and do something different.
Be willing to change our own mindsets
before we ask others to change theirs.
Once we truly understand that “reality” is created
in mindsets, changing these mindsets starts with
us. But we’re not changing our mindsets for the
sake of change. We’re changing them to drive
© 2016 Gap International. All Rights Reserved.
the performance and big outcomes we want to
achieve. New mindsets must begin at the top and
be intentionally cultivated throughout a workforce.
Leaders can do this by being genuinely curious
about the thinking that’s leading to current
decisions and results. But, in these conversations,
we must come from a place of not knowing and
not having answers to the questions we ask. We
need to crack open “certainty” by letting go of what
we know as true and fixed. A lot can be gained by
questioning the obvious and things we would have
never asked about before.
Don’t be fooled by the current reality;
it’s not as fixed as you think.
We often forget that we are always making a
choice, and we can always make a different one.
We can choose to believe our current reality; or,
we can be flexible about what is and isn’t possible,
then begin to create a different reality. Current
realities worth questioning include things we can’t
change or control, gaps we can’t close, results we
can’t deliver, and assessments about what people
can and can’t do.
Deliver the outcome, not the plan.
If we’re not achieving the outcomes we want, we
must determine if our current plan will get us there.
If not, our usual recourse is to change the outcome
to match what we think the plan will deliver. If
we focus on outcomes versus getting locked in
to specific plans, we can be agile to take new
actions that will deliver the results we want. When
our mindset is continually anchored to the end
result, where and how to change our course
of action will be obvious.
4
Will current mindsets get you
where you want to go?
As executives, once we know where we want to
take our organization, we must determine whether
current mindsets are helping or hindering the
performance we want.

Mindsets drive how we experience and shape our

past, present and future. Changing how we think
can sometimes feel difficult or risky, and must be
nurtured with care. Departing from the comfort of
current knowledge to enter territory that is more
uncertain requires a deep appreciation for how
mindsets work. And this begins with our own.

Exceptional individual, team and organizational

performance can take hold when everyone learns
to uncover and shift business-as-usual mindsets
as they activate game-changing mindsets.

Gap International is a global performance consulting

company that works with executives to produce
game-changing business results. What differentiates
us is that we change mindsets to change performance,
and grow companies while growing their leaders. We
bring an intense focus on delivering outcomes with an
approach that is applicable to any market, industry or
internal conditions. Relentless in our dedication to our
clients’ success, we have worked side-by-side with senior
executives and visionary entrepreneurs for over 35 years to
outperform repeatedly in the ever-changing marketplace.

© 2016 Gap International. All Rights Reserved. 5