As a strategic advisor and coach to CEOs and executives, I’ve encountered my fair share of leadership myths. I’ve seen how closely held beliefs about the way business works actually hinder leaders’ abilities to accomplish their goals and reach their fullest potential—often without them even realizing it.
This is why it’s useful to debunk common leadership myths; discuss the reality behind these pervasive misconceptions; and talk about ways to override them for clearer thinking, more purposeful action, and better results in business and beyond.
We’ll start with a basic myth that has plagued almost every executive I’ve ever met:
I need more “what” and “how” knowledge to grow my business.
So many business leaders have determined that any issues they’re facing in their business—from personnel to profit—simply stems from a lack of knowledge. They conclude that if they just had a bit more information, they could easily accomplish their goals and resolve the problems that keep them up at night.
This is rarely the case.
Execution usually isn’t hampered by a lack of knowledge or skills; CEOs and their teams generally know what to do and how to get it done. And if they don’t, there is plenty of information, insight, and advice out there in all kinds of forms—from books to podcasts and mastermind groups.
So, if you actually know what to do and how to do it, why isn’t it happening?
Though it took me years of experience and loads of research on neuroscience, behavioral studies, and social science to uncover the answer, it’s actually relatively simple: there is a huge disconnect between how we think leadership works and how it actually works.
Most of us think the process of leadership looks like this (see figure below):
1. We learn new things from a variety of sources, including our personal experience, formal education, books, seminars, conferences, mentors, staff, and peers.
2. We think about what we’ve learned, combine it with available data, and engage additional brainpower and research from industry experts to process all of that information and determine what to do next.
3. We use these conclusions to commit to what we want to do and figure out how to do it.
4. We act on our commitments, all while embodying our core values, maintaining accountability, and honoring our priorities. In this leadership utopia, the results of our actions provide additional perspective and learning that loops us back to the first step in the cycle.
How We Think Leadership Works
Unfortunately, for most of us, the process isn’t as tidy as we think. While our experience, knowledge, and thinking do form a framework within which to commit and act, the next steps are not nearly as straightforward as they seem.
What we don’t realize is that before any commitments happen, all that raw material—lessons we’ve learned, advice we’ve received, and more—is filtered through three unconscious forces operating in our brains: motivators, habits, and beliefs.
How do these forces intervene?
· All of our choices are motivated by one of two forces: fear or inspiration. Often, fear wins out, leading us to pick safe bets that can undermine our aspirations. For example, studies show that fear often leads individuals to make choices based solely on the potential of a catastrophic event, no matter how unlikely.[1]
· Habits can significantly limit our intentions too. While habits serve an important purpose in our lives—allowing us to complete mindless functions while focusing on more pressing issues—they are also hard to break, keeping us in a comfort zone that blocks progress.
· In addition, beliefs about who we are inform how we behave. If you don’t see yourself as the leader you aspire to be, it’s much more challenging to make the choices and commitments that will get you there.
Motivations, habits, and beliefs inhibit you from acting on what you know, and thus act as hidden growth killers, limiting your ability to make rational, optimal commitments and preventing you from achieving what you set out to do.
These unconscious factors don’t only influence you to make suboptimal commitments in the first place, they also take their toll once you’re ready to implement your plan. In fact, they are with you every moment of every day and at every step in your leadership journey. This is why business feels really hard, even when you know exactly what to do and how to do it!
In reality, the process of leadership actually looks like this:
How Leadership Actually Works
The good news is you can escape the limits of your mind.
These obstacles can be overcome with a set of strategies and tools. You can use specific techniques—or Activators—to change the trajectory of your thinking, and therefore, your behavior. When you know where your invisible limitations lie and you have concrete tools to overcome them, you can control your motivators, habits, and beliefs, enabling more productive commitments and actions.
I invite you to visit my website to learn more about my first book, Activators - A CEO’s Guide to Clearer Thinking and Getting Things Done, and to access free assessments, tools, and more information on how to get better at getting things done.
[1] Chanel, Oivier and Chichilnisky, Graciela. “The Influence of Fear in Decisions: Experimental Evidence.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty Vol. 39. No. 3. (2009): 2. Web. 27 June 2018.
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