The Power Of A "Choice"​ Mindset In Leadership

Leadership is made of a multitude of decisions every day. In essence, that is what leaders get paid to do; make decisions. But how many of those decisions feel like a choice? I would argue that many "choices" are things leaders (and all of us) feel they either "have to do" or "need to do". Therein lies an important distinction; are free in our decision-making, or are we being feeling forced to make decisions?

Having an "I choose to" mindset is about having true freedom of choice. Anything less than that, and we are not at full choice. Think of full choice as the highest level of consciousness in our decision-making spectrum. Leaders making decisions from an "I choose to" mindset are doing so with the highest level of energetic engagement, and thus have a greater amount of conscious awareness over what decision-making process. More on that in a minute.

Making decisions from an "I have to" or "I need to" mindset tends to be due to fear & doubt. Leaders who say to themselves or to others "I have to do 'X'" are likely feeling they do not have a true choice in the matter. This is because they are under the impression that the decision to be made only has two outcomes; comply or get punished. The punishment might be quite literally from their boss ("do 'X' or you're fired", or figuratively from consequences of life ("I have to do 'X' or I will be a failure"). Another way to look at it is that a leader's fears, worries, and doubts are in the driver's seat for decision-making, not the leader's.

The distinction between "I have to" and "I want to" versus "I choose to" is important because the former drains a leader's clarity and focus. Decisions from "I have to" and "I want to" tend to come from our reactions to stress, which is why our fears and doubts end up being the driving force in our decision-making process. The less stress a leader has, the more room they have for clarity and focus; the more clarity and focus they have, the more likely they are to be making decisions from true choice.

Imagine how much of a difference a leader can make in their role by truly choosing to do something over feeling they have to do something. A leader can mitigate stress and anxiety in their decision-making process, and increase their confidence in their ability to make decisions. A leader can build trust in themselves from that confidence, and therefore inspire others around them and on their team to do the same. With a more inspired and confident team, a leader can then feed off of that energy and increase their focus & clarity even more! The process is truly cyclical.

To the leaders who are reading this: next time you feel you are making a decision, be conscious of what language you are using in your thoughts as well as what you express out loud. If you are making decisions from "I have to" or "I need to", it might be time for some reevaluation of your thoughts and beliefs surrounding those decisions. Working with a certified coach on this may help you walk through the process of getting to "I choose to".