What are the benefits of mindful decision-making? What are some tips for making good choices in life?
Clay Scroggins says that being dutiful and mindful in the small, daily decisions you make is called leading your actions. This consistency shows that you’re ready for the responsibility of leading others in the same way.
Check out how to change your life by making decisions that show you’d be a great leader.
How to Make Mindful Decisions
We’ve consolidated Scroggins’s ideas into four tips for mindful decision-making:
1. Support people in positions of authority. This shows you have a strong moral character, which makes you more trustworthy. You can show this support by executing your given tasks to the best of your ability and addressing challenging situations, like dealing with a demanding boss or extensive workload, with grace and maturity.
(Shortform note: The importance of genuinely supporting people in positions of authority may depend on your culture. Some research shows that passive aggression—being outwardly supportive but quietly resistant to objectives or tasks you don’t agree with—doesn’t seem to be an impediment for leaders in Indonesia or Malaysia. However, the researchers caution that passive aggression can still create conflict and impede execution of the organization’s goals. This suggests that, in these cultures, passive-aggressively undermining authority figures might not stop you from advancing in an organization’s hierarchy, but it may still damage people’s view of your moral character and trustworthiness.)
2. Actively monitor your emotions. Your emotions drive your behavior, which in turn dictates whether people see you as a good leader, as discussed above. So, continually evaluate whether you’re being driven by the right motives. Don’t let envy, resentment, or other negative feelings influence your actions. Instead, you should be motivated by a biblical love of your colleagues, which involves putting the needs and well-being of others above your own.
(Shortform note: Some psychologists say continually evaluating your emotions—especially if you’re trying to identify negative feelings—can actually worsen your mental health and the way you treat others. Thinking about negative feelings reinforces them. So, even if you weren’t motivated by envy or resentment, constantly pondering your feelings could increase those negative feelings until you are being motivated by them. Instead, these psychologists recommend maintaining a balance between acknowledging your feelings and distracting yourself from them. Specifically, divert your attention toward doing three good deeds a day—advice that mirrors Scroggins’s ideas on biblical love. This practice can make your life more joyful.)
3. Commit to a concrete plan for personal development. You can’t become a good leader accidentally: The way you behave now will likely stay the same after you gain a position of authority, so you must be intentional about cultivating good habits. (Shortform note: When you repeatedly behave in a certain way, you strengthen a neural pathway associated with that behavior. The stronger a pathway, the more likely you are to repeat that behavior. So, if you behave like a bad leader now, you’ll automatically fall into that same negative behavior in the future. Fortunately, you can create new pathways—and cultivate good habits—by repeatedly behaving in a new, positive way.)
Scroggins suggests developing a clear vision of the person you want to be by asking yourself three foundational questions: How do you want to lead? Why do you want to lead? How do you want to be perceived by others? Once you’ve established this goal, honestly assess the ways you currently fall short of it. Then, be intentional about making choices that help you become the person you imagined—someone who embraces those leadership methods, upholds that mission, and has that reputation. Look for practical ways to hold yourself accountable for your progress, like setting deadlines or joining accountability groups.
4. Take the opportunity to learn from other leaders and those in authority. Observe how they operate and discern what they do right or wrong. Then, adjust your own leadership style to mimic their successes and avoid their mistakes. Be mindful that people may be observing you in the same way, so always strive to exhibit good leadership traits that are worthy of emulation.
(Shortform note: In The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership, John C. Maxwell adds that the better a leader you are, the better you’ll be at assessing other people’s leadership abilities. So, learning from other leaders could become a virtuous cycle: The more you learn and adapt your own leadership style, the better you’ll become at identifying other leaders’ mistakes and successes, and the more you’ll be able to improve your own abilities. Maxwell also offers a few leadership traits you should exhibit to gain respect and encourage others to see you as a leader: Be respectful toward others, especially your subordinates; be brave enough to do what’s necessary, even if you might fail; openly show your successes; and be loyal to your project and team.)
Committing to Personal Development
Having a clear vision of the person you want to be may be important because it helps you direct your behavior. When you have a clear idea of your values and priorities, you can better decide how to spend your time, what to focus on, and what choices to make, as James Kouzes and Barry Posner explain in The Leadership Challenge. To develop this clear understanding, they offer some additional questions you should ask yourself:
- What are your greatest achievements, and what drove you to accomplish them?
- What can you draw upon for courage in the face of challenges?
- What values do you want to guide your actions? (This aligns with Scroggins’s question about how you want to lead: Once you’ve established a value system, it may be easier to decide on the specific leadership methods you want to employ.)
Some psychologists add that it’s important to ask why you want to lead because it gives you the motivation to develop your leadership skills. Many people don’t improve their leadership skills because they think they’re good enough as they are. This may be why assessing your weaknesses honestly is important—if you don’t acknowledge the gap between your desired state and current state, you may think you don’t need to change and thus have no motivation.
Scroggins recommends finding a practical, concrete way to hold yourself accountable for your personal development. Some business experts suggest executive coaching as one of these methods. Like accountability groups and deadlines, executive coaches can monitor your progress, help you decide what to focus on, and push you to meet your goals.
While Scroggins includes how you want to be perceived as a guiding principle of personal development, these experts imply that you should only pay attention to others’ perception of you when it helps you reach your development goals. For instance, let’s say part of your development is setting better boundaries around accepting extra tasks at work. This lets you focus all your energy on being a great leader when completing your existing tasks. However, if your coworkers or subordinates are used to you helping everyone with their tasks on top of your own, they may be annoyed when you stop doing so, and they may temporarily perceive you as unhelpful. You must ignore this perception to stay focused on your development goals.
