Why environment matters to success
If you are a leader, you are likely involved in big change right now - change that's a mixture of leveraging technology (Dare I say AI!?), diversity, as well as dealing with economic stress and so on.
As a leader it is our responsible, part of our job description to be role models. It might not be there written in black and white, but it's a fact. I often say 'Culture Shifts by looking up' and that's as true today as it was when I first starting shouting it from the rooftops.
With words and phrases like anxiety, stress, overwhelm, burnout, transformation, change fatigue, employee wellbeing, trust issues being batted around our conversations and priorities currently, one word becomes a pretty important consideration for any leader striving for success and a thriving healthy human system...and what kind of leader doesn't want that right!?
That word is ENVIRONMENT.
A foundational part of Modern Mindset Theory is understanding and ensuring you are able to control and manage both your external and internal environment.
External Environment
Your external environment is the most obvious to others. It's how you manage and control things around you. That can be as simple as your desk space, or even your home screen on your computer. If you are a working from home, what's in the background? It is also about how you control and manage your time and your priorities. How you control and manage your personal and professional time and energy.
All these things signal to people around you what you deem valuable about your environment. It signals behaviour to people and gives them indications of what is acceptable and what is not.
An important question to ask is how aligned and coherence is your behaviour with your words and intentions?
Do you talk about the importance of wellbeing and self care, yet work until 9pm most days and email staff at any time of the day or night? Do you speak about missing the gym to complete an important piece of work for the Board to your team?
When you signal dissonance and a misalignment between words and actions you are de-stabalizing trust.
Summary to start thinking about your External Environment
Internal Environment
This one is a bit more tricky, but equally as important if you want to role model a good, ethical, safe and healthy environment to others.
Your internal environment is the measure of two things;
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Living from the inside out is by far the better option. It of course relates to a core belief you have that either states: You believe the world responds according to how you show up (inside out), or you believe the world is in control and you react to it accordingly (outside in). It can be difficult to both believe and practice living life from the inside out, but many a therapist, coach, mentor can help you get there. This concept is also explored in the Accountability Ladder made popular by Bruce Gordon in 2007 that demonstrates how someone with an outside in belief will likely evidence victim behaviour, where someone with an inside out belief will more likely take accountability and action into their own hands.
Having a lean mentality is crucial in this modern world. Any leader wanting to succeed should spend time thinking about this. If you feel overwhelm, worry, fear you are cluttering your brain and reducing your thinking space. If you are constantly focussing on what happened yesterday and what needs to happen tomorrow, again, you are cluttering your brain. Doubt is another big cause of mental clutter - when you have negative self talk you are only reducing your capacity to think clearly, focus and even be creative. When you mind is cluttered with some of these things, they eventually start to seep into your words and narrative, until they become who you are. And, as a modern minded leader this isn't what you want to be role modelling out to others.
Summary to start thinking about your Internal Environment
Observe the dominant feelings you have as you work through a typical week. Start to observe your thought talk - do you overthink, over-worry, get overwhelmed?
Notice your words, and how they might be signals to you that you need to do some mental decluttering.
If you feel and/or believe you have little or no time to think, that's likely to do with your internal environment as much as your external environment.
The good news is all these things are fixable with a little bit of effort and a commitment to consistent practice. I know, I've been there as well as worked with countless leaders at all levels of business address this.
The point is this - regardless of whether you have plans or grandiose strategies to address those elements I mentioned at the start, wellbeing, self care, positivity etc. the average employee will look up to their leaders to see what they are doing, how they are behaving, how they are showing up to take action themselves.
It's time for us all as leaders to stop hiding behind strategies and plans - they are not a replacement for the fancy desks and top floor offices of old. It's 2024, we need to recognise we are a participant in the system and show up as we expect that system to show up to be healthy, successful, courageous and wise.
Until next time...
All my posts are centred around my core area of expertise: Modern Mindset Theory, that helps leaders and entrepreneurs all over the world become effective role models for the future. Leadership is not a role, it's a practice.
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