Outward Mindset Grows
Last week we talked about the most pervasive and distructive mindset here. When we are in an inward mindset we think others don’t matter like I matter. You may view people as objects and not actually as human beings. In order to be in an inward mindset, we have to dehumanize people to view them as objects.
Consequences
What are the consequences for this mindset? Relationships are ruined over petty things, employees relationships are hurt, your ability to truly help people is compromised. Sounds pretty bad, but in this article our focus is to explain the mindset that will get you the results you want for your business.
Outward Thinking
The outward mindset is the missing link to your business success. In fact, the McKinsey Group (global consulting firm) stated
“Organizations that identify and address pervasive mindsets at the outset are four times more likely to succeed in organizational-change efforts than are companies that overlook this stage.”
In addition, there are preliminary studies being conducted currently, showing that when organizations focus on shifting to an outward mindset, employee and supervisor job satisfaction increase and staff cohesiveness grow.
Now that you can see the possibilities with this, I want to share what it is. Imagine a shift, so that you are aware of what is going on around you. According to the Arbinger
“An outward mindset means that I am aware of, and interested in, other people’s needs, objectives, and challenges, not just my own.”
Applying this to a bigger organization, employees know they are part of a bigger objective and they know their role is important, but they perform their roles in a way that helps other to be successful in their mission.
One important factor of this mindset that is often confused is the concept of being “nice”. When I teach an Arbinger course, almost every class someone says
“so this mindset thing is just being nice to people.”
This is the farthest thing from the truth. In an outward mindset you care about others and their success. Sometimes letting people succeed means you have to let them fail or figure it out on their own. A good example of this is employees that are slacking off or turn in sub-standard work. Supervisors that let the employee get away with sub par work, do you think they care about that employee? Probably not, and as a result will probably put them in an inward mindset.
I hope this gives you a good foundation for an outward mindset. For further information please read Arbinger Institute list of works. If this is the first article you are reading, start the series at the beginning…
