The apostle Paul once said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Paul’s reflection clearly reveals how the process of a person’s thinking can evolve.
As your responsibilities evolve from following to leading, from technician to manager, your thoughts should evolve as well. It is a good practice when advancing to a new level of responsibility to ask yourself, “What type of thinking should I be employing on this new level?” A good leader is constantly striving to put off outdated and inappropriate ideas replacing them with fresh and progressive ones.
Exactly how does a leader think? Here are just five principles that guide the thoughts of many leaders:
- Leaders think with laser focus but global perspective.
- Leaders think in the “now” for long-term results.
- Leaders think without the constraint of boundaries.
- Leaders think primarily for the benefit and welfare of others.
- Leaders think retrospectively about the results and effects of past thoughts in order to formulate more effective thoughts.
In the words of the old proverb, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Michael McFadden is a leadership & performance expert, speaker and author.
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