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
14 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.
Hi Adam, Thanks for reading and the question. One of the characteristics of dopamine is that it drives desires. As Clear mentioned in his book in the experiment with the rats, they like the sugar water but did not desire it when they had less dopamine in their systems. I think that dopamine can be used in a positive way to help someone desire to be their best through intermittent encouragement. Clear says that habits being connected to dopamine is just as important as other expectations are in building habits. The rise in dopamine our motivation to action also rises. pp105-106.
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. 🙂
Hi Debbie, at this point I am moving slowly with them. Several people are new on the team and they are just getting to know what it is like to work together. Just today we started talking about what is important to them. They are all quite accomplished humans and knowing their motivations may help with furture meetings.
Hi Diane,
Just knowing for the past 1.5 years, I admire your dedication towards the people you serve and lead.
How do you balance the Here and Now (H&N) while passionately serving a demanding community?
Hi Shela, you hit on something important. I do think that attention to the Here and Now is important to for us to pay attention to . These here and now ideas are based on our everyday activities, primarily and important. Sometimes it just means finding the balance within a meeting, an hour, a day or a season. Thanks for asking.
Hi Diane, I appreciate how you brought these three books together to think about leadership development. I have appreciated reading your blogs and the perspective you bring to the cohort because of the work that you do.
Of the suggested strategies for leadership growth, which do you find easiest and which do you find most challenging? Why?
Hi Graham, Thanks for reading the blog and your comments. I think the one that I am focusing on currently is the intermittent positive feedback when I see something in the program. Honestly, it is the most fun. I get to see the faces of the staff person who starts to beam if they think I like what they are doing. Maybe seeing their smiles is the feedback that gives me a rush to keep doing it. However, no risk with my calendar that I would drop everything else to continue doing thisall day… But it is nice to see the direct care staff smile because they were noticed.
As far as challenging, I think corrective feedback is most challenging. People are so accustomed to getting all As or 100s that the concept of having one thing to work on becomes a stumbling block. Kind of llike the fixed mindset. Once the armor is cracked even just a little, it is hard to go back to operations as normal ever again,
Diane, I loved your fourth strategy, “Keeping it interesting and capitalizing dopamine.” How will you implement this strategy with your leadership team? What will help keep the dopamine excitement?
Hi Kari, Thanks for reading and the question. I think I will actually introduce this at one of our meetings and let them talk it through some before making it a formal plan. In the meantime, I want to do more of it myself for their work.
Diane, this is an excellent synthesis of the three books and the helpful strategies. As you reflect on your leadership journey, how have you personally balanced the drive for future goals (dopamine-driven) with the need to appreciate and remain grounded in the present (serotonin-driven), and what impact has this balance had on your leadership style?
Hi Chad, good question. I think I lean into to every thing there is a time and purpose under heaven. There are seasons when it is important to dream, strategize, and plan and then there are times to put the nose to the grindstone and work the plan. Having successes in the past will hopefully be reminders for me and others that the hard work pays off in the long run.
Hey Diane! I loved how you weaved the writings together. You are quite syntopical! My question is how can leaders practically implement strategies to cultivate a balance between dopamine-driven ambition and contentment, while fostering both a growth and grit mindset?
Hi Daren, Thanks for reading and your question. I am thinking your question is similar to Chad’s so I will defer a direct response that piece. However, I think the growth mindset is being served and lived out through grit so it is never far from put to the side.