Growing Leadership
Three books we explored discussed concepts that can impact our interactions with ourselves, others, work, and everyday life. The perspectives of the authors were different, yet each of them was valuable in their own right. These books are connected by the implications they have for leadership strategies. This blog will address how do Mindset, Grit, and The Molecule of More connect to leadership.
In The Molecule of More authors Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long discuss the functions of various molecules in the brain. Specifically, their work focused on two aspects of brain activity.
- The hear and now, (H&N) are the things we can touch, see, and experience immediately and personally[1]. H&N activities trigger the molecule serotonin which boosts someone’s inclination to harm aversion[2].
- Things we desire but are just out of reach area, trigger the molecule dopamine. Dopamine drives impulsive behaviors that can range in actions from things such as creativity, high energy for work projects, but also drug addictions, job hopping, excessive shopping or gambling[3].
Because the following authors I reference have been part of other blogs, in this section I will simply highlight their primary premise without going into great detail for each.
Mindset, Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential by Dr. Carol Dweck focused her attention on the impact either a growth mindset where a person is open to continual learning to fulfill their potential, or a fixed mindset where the individual fears being judge for their performance. This person tends to cling to the present state rather than risk showing they don’t know everything already even though it is a new endeavor[4].
Angela Duckworth took a different approach in Grit. She posited that success does not come simply from genius but from harnessing passion with the hard work of perseverance for a greater end result. Her concept that talent can grow through grit can bring inspiration and hope to everyday people who might not have been considered a child prodigy[5].
Possible Strategies for Leadership Growth
- Reframing Mindset: A growth mindset is needed to effect change. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear suggested that someone might have more energy to work forming habits through hard work if they were to consider a different mindset. Instead of thinking, ‘ugh I need to go to the gym’, the person could consider, ‘I am so lucky that I get to go to the gym’. It takes a negative perception and turns it into a positive one[6]. While Clear does not explicitly call this outlook a growth mindset, his approach does empower someone with a new perspective that could lead to a growth mindset.
- Mindset Awareness: In interpersonal and leadership work the first step in problem solving is problem awareness. I wonder if someone learned about the two concepts of mindset if a crack in the fixed mindset armor could be made.
- Passion and Perseverance: As I think about growing highly successful leaders through grit, I am reminded that the leader does not need all the answers. My best approach is to talk about the topic in-depth with my senior staff team. Letting them answer the question what they are passionate about will give them the basic direction they want to head. From there, the next questions would be about how they get there. What steps do they need to take and how would they measure progress. It is basic strategic planning but on a personal level to build their leadership arsenal.
- Keeping it interesting and capitalizing dopamine: An idea I would like to explore with my senior staff team is the concept of intermittent reinforcement as a leadership tool[7]. The concept came to me as I watched one of our behaviorists working with someone in the program[8]. If a reinforcement is unexpected it has a great impact on the individual receiving the acknowledgement giving way to a rush of dopamine, inspiring them to work even harder to get that acknowledgement again. I see glimpses of this when I comment to our direct care staff in the programs that I notice something they are doing well with our clients. While I am not sure if the reaction has more to do with my position or surprise that I notice what they are doing, I would like our senior staff to begin being more intentional to randomly comment on positive interactions they see.
These books were not written as leadership primers. However, they contain leadership gems. Leadership requires a person to keep up with emerging trends and be able to respond to different scenarios within an organization. To do that effectively, a growth mindset is a strong asset for self and corporate development. Even the strongest leaders have times of failure or simply must go through a rough time. To continue, the leader must have a vision of where she is going and be willing to work through problems, shift paths when getting off course and persevering toward success. Without a growth mindset, grit, and the right balance of dopamine and serotonin, the leader risks being mediocre at best.
[1] Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity – and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race (Dallas, TX, BenBella Books, Inc., 2019), xvi. Daniel Lieberman is a psychiatrist and professor at George Washington University. Michael Long is a speechwriter, playwright, and screenwriter. 238.
[2] Lieberman and Long, 169.
[3] Lieberman and Long, 48-49. Dopamine is activated in the brain when it perceives something such as exciting. It has been called the pleasure molecule. Yet when the novelty wears off, interest is lost. While a dopamine rush can be detrimental, dopamine serves other important functions in the body. Specifically, Parkinson’s disease has been linked to a lack of dopamine.
[4] Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential (New York, Random House Publishing, 2006), 17.
[5] Angela Duckworth, Grit: THE POWER of PASSION and PERSEVERANCE (New York, Scribner, 2016), x.
[6] James Clear, Atomic Habits (New York, Penguin Random House, 2018), 131.
[7] David Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining focus, and working smarter all day long (New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers, 2020), 146-147. Because dopamine in about novelty, when something becomes common, even something perceived as a reward, it loses its edge in the creation of the dopamine molecule.
[8] Behavioral Analysts use intermittent reinforcement with clients. Once someone understands that there is a reward after a task is done and relative success has been met, the clinician begins to extinguish the frequency of the reward in relation to the required task. Rather than having an external reward every time a task is done, the person is able to maintain the desired behavior longer when the timing of the reward is not regularly scheduled but random.
About the Author
Diane Tuttle
2 responses to “Growing Leadership”
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Diane,
I appreciate your blog addressing the three different books and their ties to leadership. You also brought in Atomic Habits. I am wondering if you might see how understanding our dopamine impulses might connect to building better habits as addressed in Clear’s book.
Great connections Diane. In reflection #4 you talk about keeping it interesting and capitalizing on dopamine. Is there some forward-looking way to connect your team with their individual passions? It seems that might be the key to implementing aspects of both grit and dopamine. But it could also be chaotic and counter-productive. I’m just wondering what you think. 🙂