We Are What We Think and Feel: A Manager's Guide to Influencing Mindset
At this point in my life, I write from inspiration. Divine inspiration. My ideas tend to come clearly after a good session of contemplation.
What came to me this evening is this: One could argue that a manager's most important job is understanding and influencing the professional mindset of the people they manage. But what does this mean exactly?
The Power of Mind and Feelings
Fundamentally, a person's behavior is a consequence of their mind and feelings. As within, so without. Believe, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find.
So it should come as no surprise that a person who thinks and feels they're going to fail will fail—most of the time, at least. Someone thinking and feeling fear will appear afraid during their public speaking moments. And one of my favorites: the people you manage will do what they think is expected of them.
We are what we think and feel.
Real-Life Moments That Resonate
Let me apply this to some of my experiences today as I write this. See if any of these resonate with your own experiences (I bet they do):
The Parking Predicament (Bad Experience): I was thinking and feeling that I wasn't going to get a good parking spot at the Beach Boardwalk. I rushed and forgot some things at home, drove too fast, hit traffic, and when I arrived—all the spots were taken. Contrast this to the same trip last week, where I took my time getting there, and there were plenty of spots.
Ocean Adventures (Good Experience): I encouraged my kids to swim a little deeper into the water and waves, and they did it with little hesitation and fear. Contrast this to my expression of fear about the ocean last year, and how they avoided going far into the water.
I have plenty more. This is one of the main reasons I spend time each day contemplating what I'm thinking and feeling. By now, it should be obvious why this is so important, especially to a manager or leader of people: We are what we think and feel.
Do You Know What Your Team Is Thinking and Feeling?
Let me ask you, the many great managers and leaders out there: Do you know what your team is thinking and feeling? Take some time and ponder this. Write it down:
List Your Team Members: Think of the different people on your team and write their names.
Assess Their Mindset: Do you know what they tend to think or feel? If you don't know, write that down. If you do know—or think you know—write it down.
Define Desired Mindset: What do you want them to be thinking and feeling? Write it down.
Plan to Understand Them Better: Jot down ideas on how you can actively understand their thinking and feeling more (for example, one-on-one meetings).
Plan to Influence Their Mindset: Write down ways you can influence their thinking and feeling to make them more productive.
Examples from My Leadership Journey
Here are some examples from my own managerial and leadership experience:
Evolving the Executive Mindset: I built an audit leadership team that was technically capable and delivery-oriented but still clung to thinking and feeling that they needed to continue performing hands-on work. I wanted them to think and feel differently. I told them I expected my audit leaders to design, implement, and oversee work in a way that was mostly delegated to more junior team members. I emphasized that they are executives in the context of their teams, so this was a requirement. Delegate as much as possible and oversee all. This forced them to evolve from the mindset of "doer" to a more executive mindset.
Empowering Newbies and Juniors: Newbies and junior team members often suffer from thoughts and feelings of low expectations from their managers. I've heard phrases like, "I'm not sure how to get more engaged," "I thought only managers do that," or "I didn't want to bother you for help." This led me to have one-on-one meetings with all my staff, especially junior members. These meetings allowed me to change their thinking and feeling towards new experiences and professional challenges, paving the way for a more advanced growth path—doing work they never thought they were expected or capable of doing. It meshed well with the top-down executive mindset noted earlier.
Time to Take Action!
Now go! Get out there and apply this more consciously. Dive into your team and unearth what they are thinking and feeling. Find out what's inhibiting them, what's limiting them from being better professionals. Influence them with the right thinking and feeling. Set high expectations. Celebrate wins. Instill confidence. Raise the bar. Rinse and repeat.
Remember: We are what we think and feel. As within, so without. Believe, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find.
So, let's make sure we're not just managing tasks but also nurturing minds and hearts. Because in the end, the success of our teams—and ourselves—hinges on the thoughts and feelings that drive us every day.
We are what we think and feel.