2 Personal Leadership Skills

PERSONAL
PART 2 LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Developing the Personal Skills You Need to Lead
The Skills You Need Guide to
Leadership
The Skills You Need
Guide to Leadership
LEADERSHIP SKILLS:
DEVELOPING
THE SKILLS YOU
NEED TO LEAD
Skills You Need
This is one of a series of eBooks

by Skills You Need available for sale at:
www.skillsyouneed.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed,

or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording,
or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission
of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN: 978-1-911084-17-4
Published by Skills You Need Ltd
© 2019 Skills You Need Ltd
This version was published in January 2019
Skills You Need Ltd
“SOME ARE BORN GREAT, SOME ACHIEVE GREATNESS
AND SOME HAVE GREATNESS THRUST UPON THEM.”
William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Developing leadership skills is an ongoing process. While many of the skills that
you need to lead are essential in life more generally, such as good communications
skills, others are more specific to leadership positions.
This eBook focuses on the personal skills which are likely to be new or unfamiliar
to you when you first take up a leadership position. These skills are about you
rather than how you relate to other people, which is covered in the third eBook in
this series, Leading and Managing Others: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead
People and Teams. The eBook explains each skill and gives you some ideas about
how you can develop and practise it.
Like the first eBook in this series, Learning to Lead: Understanding Leadership
and Developing Your Leadership Style, it is designed for those considering, or just
starting, their first leadership post. Established leaders, however, should also be
able to find some interesting ideas.
Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 3

CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 - An Introduction to Skills for Leadership.........................................................6
CHAPTER 2 - Recognising and Managing your Emotions..................................................8

What are emotions?................................................................................................................................9
Learning to manage emotions.............................................................................................................13
Positive actions to help you manage emotions...............................................................................15
Applying reason to emotion.................................................................................................................17
Making decisions with emotions..........................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 3 - Self-Confidence...........................................................................................................20
Understanding self-confidence............................................................................................................21
Improving self-confidence.....................................................................................................................22
Self-confidence and self-esteem ........................................................................................................27
Project confidence, but ask for help when necessary....................................................................29
CHAPTER 4 - Positive Thinking and Mindset............................................................................30

Understanding positive thinking..........................................................................................................31
The importance of mindset...................................................................................................................36
Mindset in practice..................................................................................................................................37
Changing your mindset..........................................................................................................................39
Mindsets in life..........................................................................................................................................41
CHAPTER 5 - Understanding What Motivates You................................................................42

Instrinsic and extrinsic motivation......................................................................................................43
Setting personal goals............................................................................................................................45
Keep motivated........................................................................................................................................46
CHAPTER 6 - Getting Organised.....................................................................................................47

The key to good time management and organisation...................................................................48
Principles of good time management and organisation...............................................................50
CHAPTER 7 - Strategic Thinking......................................................................................................55

What is strategy?.....................................................................................................................................56
The ‘miracle box’......................................................................................................................................58
The final element to strategic thinking..............................................................................................59
CHAPTER 8 - Generating New Ideas: Creative Thinking Techniques..........................60
Brainstorming...........................................................................................................................................61
Role-play situations.................................................................................................................................65
CHAPTER 9 - Applying New Ideas: Innovation........................................................................67

Types of innovation.................................................................................................................................68
Environmental influences on innovation............................................................................................70
Approaches to managing innovation and change..........................................................................71
Personal innovation skills.......................................................................................................................72
CONCLUSION: Skills for Leadership..............................................................................................72

Chapter
An Introduction to
1 Skills for Leadership
It is a cliché, perhaps, but nonetheless true that you cannot

manage and lead others well unless and until you can manage
yourself, both rationally and emotionally.
The first step to leadership is therefore to recognise

and manage your emotions.
To do so, you need to develop your emotional intelligence:

the ability to understand your own and others’ emotions,
and use those ethically to deliver the required results.
You can then learn to use a combination of emotion and

reason to make decisions and to decide on the ‘right’ course
of action. This will help you to stand firm as a leader when
there are many different options, and you are not sure which
to pursue. At the same time, it is helpful to understand what
motivates you, so that you can keep yourself focused when
times are hard.
All these are very much internal issues: they are about what
is going on in your head. Others will see the results, but not
necessarily the process.

Leaders also need to develop good organisational skills.
Leaders need to be able to manage what is going on in their own work and lives,
and also those around them. This is essential to good delegation and management.
Some of us find organisation much easier than others. If you are one of those who
finds it harder, you have two choices as a leader.
You can either learn to do it yourself, using some of the ideas in this eBook,
or you can surround yourself with people who can do it for you, and learn to
delegate effectively. Delegation is covered in the next of our series of eBooks on
leadership, Leading and Managing Others: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead
People and Teams.
Leaders also need very good thinking skills.
Strategic thinking, in particular, has in recent years become an area associated

with leadership. Every aspiring leader needs to have ‘strategic thinking skills’ on
their CV, and it is probably the area that most concerns new leaders. But there is
no magic to being able to think strategically and so we provide some ideas to help
you get started.
Other useful thinking skills for leaders include creative thinking and innovating.
Again, there is no ‘magic bullet’, but we hope that this book will help you to start
using some techniques and ideas with confidence.

Chapter
Recognising and
2 managing your emotions
It is important to be able to understand your emotions and

those of others since this is the first step towards managing
them. The key to emotional intelligence is using and harnessing
your emotions, but not being governed entirely by them, and
instead being able to apply reason to them. This can be very
difficult because emotions are fundamental to being human,
and can sometimes be very strong.

WHAT ARE EMOTIONS?
Emotions are feelings. Emotional awareness is an ability to recognise your own
emotions or feelings, and their effects. People who have this ability will:
• Know what emotions they are feeling at any given time, and why;
• Understand the links between their emotions and their thoughts

and actions, including what they say;
• Understand how their feelings will therefore affect their

performance; and
• Be guided in how they feel by their personal values.
Being aware of your own emotions, and how they affect your behaviour, is crucial
to effective interaction with others. But it can also be crucial to your personal
health and well-being.
Living Without Emotional Awareness

Some people find ways to mask their emotions rather than listening to them.
Addiction to certain behaviours is often linked to emotional masking. These

include excessive drinking and/or eating, over-working, computer games,
gambling, exercise and any other activities that effectively distract the mind.
People can find self-analysis of their emotions difficult, especially if they have
suppressed them for a long time. It may be hard for people to accurately
recognise their emotions and even more difficult to understand why they are
feeling them.To start to understand your emotions, you need to ask yourself
two questions:
• How do I feel?
• How do I know?

But others also have emotions. At the same time as being aware of your own
feelings, you need to be aware of those of others. You therefore also need to ask:
• How do others feel, and how do I know?
There are several ways that we can tell how others are feeling, but particularly by
observing what they say and how they behave, including their body language.
Research suggests that more than 80% of communication is non-verbal, meaning
that it comes from body language and facial expression. Many of us don’t like to
talk about our emotions, especially not if they really matter to us, so they tend to
be expressed even more in our body language.
Self-analysis is a vital skill to learn and develop for good emotional intelligence.
A good starting point is to be aware of your values, which can also be thought
of as your personal ‘moral compass’. These values have an emotional value to us,
which therefore means that many emotional responses come from some action or
event that touches on those values.
If you are aware of your values, you can quickly see why you may have had a
particularly emotional reaction to an event or person.
Most importantly, you can then take action to address the issue with a better
understanding of the problem.
Emotions and the Brain
Emotions are not consciously controlled. The part of the brain that deals with
emotions is the limbic system. It’s thought that this part of the brain evolved
fairly early on in human history, making it quite primitive. This explains why an
emotional response is often quite straightforward, but very powerful: you want
to cry, or run away, or shout.
These responses are based around the need to survive.
Emotions are strongly linked to memory and experience. If something bad has
previously happened to you, your emotional response to the same stimulus is
likely to be strong.

Babies feel emotion, but can’t necessarily reason. Emotions are also closely linked
to values: an emotional response could tell you that one of your key values has
been challenged.
Understanding this link to memory and values gives you the key to managing your
emotional response. Your emotional responses don’t necessarily have much to do
with the current situation, or to reason.
Crucially, however, you can overcome them with reason and by being aware of
your reactions.
TRY THIS
Take some time to notice your emotional responses and consider what might be
behind them, whether values, memories or experiences.
Also consider what results in positive emotions and what in a more negative
response. Remember, you can change how you feel by consciously associating
events with a different feeling. This is the basis of neuro-linguistic programming.
Understanding your own and others’ emotions also requires a good understanding
of your personal strengths, weaknesses, inner resources, and perhaps most
importantly, your limits.
It can be particularly hard to admit to weaknesses and limits, especially if you

are in a competitive and fast-moving work environment, but it is crucial for both
emotional intelligence and your own well-being.
People who are good at self-assessment generally not only have a good
understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, they show a good sense of
humour about themselves and their limitations. They are usually very reflective,
learning from experience, and also open to feedback.

WARNING!
BLIND SPOTS
It can be very hard to admit to weaknesses, and many people may well be in a state
of denial that they have any. Especially for those in senior positions, it can also be
hard to get genuine, constructive feedback. This results in ‘blind spots’, problem areas
which are completely invisible to the person concerned.
Common ‘blind spots’ identified in a study of senior executives include:
• Setting unrealistic goals for oneself or the organisation, and having unrealistic
ideas of how easily tasks could be accomplished;
• ‘Blind ambition’, where the person has to be ‘right’ at all times; and
• Relentless hard work, working long hours, and being at risk of burnout as a result.
These blind spots can make people very resistant to feedback, which makes it even
harder to overcome the problem.
The solution? Get into a habit of seeking regular and honest feedback from those
around you – and then act on it.

LEARNING TO
MANAGE EMOTIONS
Much has been said and written about how to manage and control emotions.
“YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW YOU FEEL.”

Anon
“YOU CAN’T CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE,

BUT YOU CAN CONTROL HOW YOU REACT TO THEM.”
Anon.
“ANYBODY CAN BECOME ANGRY - THAT IS EASY, BUT TO

BE ANGRY WITH THE RIGHT PERSON AND TO THE RIGHT
DEGREE AND AT THE RIGHT TIME AND FOR THE RIGHT
PURPOSE, AND IN THE RIGHT WAY - THAT IS NOT WITHIN
EVERYBODY’S POWER AND IS NOT EASY.”
Aristotle

The grid below shows the balance between high and low, and negative and
positive energy:
Emotional Energy Matrix
HIGH ENERGY
Survival Performance
Zone Zone
LOW ENERGY
Burnout Recovery
Zone Zone
NEGATIVE ENERGY POSITIVE ENERGY
© 2015 SkillsYouNeed.com
High positive energy enables you to perform well, but you can’t stay in that state
for ever. Sooner or later, you need to reduce the energy. Stay positive, and you will
recover quickly. Dip into more negative feelings and you will feel burnt out.
High negative energy is quite an uncomfortable place to be: it feels like you’re
fighting for survival all the time. Again, you will have to reduce the energy at some
point since it could lead to burnout.

POSITIVE ACTIONS TO HELP
YOU MANAGE EMOTIONS
There are a number of actions that you can take that will help you to manage your
emotions. Many of them are very general, but try them because you may just find
that they work.
• Exercise. This releases reward and pleasure chemicals in the brain such
as dopamine, which makes you feel better. Being fit also makes you
healthier, which helps in managing emotions.
• Be kind to others, because this helps stop you worrying about yourself.
• Be open and accept what is going on around you. Learn to appreciate

what is happening and avoid excessive criticism of others or of
situations. This is linked to mindfulness, which is about being aware of
what is going on in the moment.
• It’s good to talk. Spend time with other people and enjoy their company.
• Distract yourself. Yes, you really are that shallow. Watching a bit of TV,
reading, or surfing the internet will probably help you forget that you
were feeling a bit down.
• Don’t give in to negative thinking. If you find yourself having negative

thoughts, then challenge them by looking for evidence against them.
• Spend time outside. Being in the fresh air, especially around nature,
is very helpful for calming the emotions. There is evidence that we need
to see horizons, so if you can go up a hill and look at the view then do.
• Be grateful. Thank people in person for doing nice things for you,
and remember them.
• Play to your strengths. That often means doing things that you enjoy,
but it also involves doing things that are good for you.
• Notice the good things in your life. In old-fashioned terms, count

your blessings.

This list may sound quite old-fashioned, but then perhaps our grandparents
knew a thing or two about managing emotions that we may have forgotten.
Finding the right balance for you can help reduce your stress levels and may
help fight feelings of depression.
WARNING!
This list will help if you are feeling a bit down. It will not, however, cure you of
genuine, clinical depression. This is a mental illness, and requires medical help. If
you think you may be suffering from depression, you should go and see your doctor.

APPLYING REASON TO EMOTION
As we said above, you can change how you feel. The key is to be aware of your
emotional response, and understand what might be behind it. That way, you can
apply some reason to the situation.
For example, you might ask yourself some questions about possible courses of
action, like:
• How do I feel about this situation?
• What do I think I should do about it?
• What effect would that have for me and for other people?
• Does this action fit with my values?
• If not, what else could I do that might fit better?
• Is there anyone else that I could ask about this who might help me?
This helps you to apply reason to an emotional response before reacting.
EXAMPLE
Suppose you are afraid of travelling on aeroplanes. Maybe you knew someone who
was in an accident, or you heard about an accident as a child, and found it very
frightening. As an adult, that could be seriously affecting your life, especially if you
are required to travel for work.
You may always have an emotional response to the idea of flying. But you can
remind yourself that you are now grown up and that, rationally, you are very unlikely
to be involved in an aeroplane crash. Statistically, very few happen, and flying is
safer than driving a car.
By practising this, you can help your brain to understand that there is no need to be
frightened and gradually retrain your limbic system.

MAKING DECISIONS
WITH EMOTIONS
When you make decisions, you can draw on reason, emotion, or a mixture of the two.
Emotional decisions are sometimes seen as made in the ‘heat of the moment’,
but emotions play a greater part in most decisions than we may be aware. If
you’re married, for example, you’ll know that considerable thought may go into
the decision about whether or not to get married. Very few, however, would
argue that the decision is made solely on the basis of logic.
The best decisions are made using both logic and emotion.
If you only use one or the other, your decisions may either not be very balanced,
or not support your emotional needs. Instead, you need to combine your
emotional response with more rational considerations.
You can do this by:
• Stopping before you decide, so that you give yourself a chance to think.
• Think about how you will feel as a result of each possible action.
• Consider what might happen as a result, and how your decision might
affect others. Would you be happy with those effects?
• Take some time out before making a decision.
• Consider the decision against your values. Does it fit with them?
If not, why not?
• Think about what someone whom you respect would think about your
decision. Are you happy with that?
• Finally, consider what would happen if everyone were to take the same
action. If this would be a disaster, then it’s probably best not to do it.

Emotions are Important
It pays to be aware of our own and others’ feelings. Highly emotionally intelligent
people do this all the time. Like any other, it is a skill that can be developed and
which is well worth acquiring.
“I’VE LEARNED THAT PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHAT YOU

SAID, PEOPLE WILL FORGET WHAT YOU DID, BUT PEOPLE
WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.”
Maya Angelou

Chapter
3 Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is a key part of emotional intelligence.
It is defined as having a strong sense of your own self-worth,

and not relying on others for your valuation of yourself.
People with good self-confidence are:
• Generally able to present themselves well, and are often

described as charismatic;
• Prepared to voice unpopular opinions, and not always

‘go with the flow’; and
• Generally decisive, being able to make good decisions

grounded in their own values.
Self-confidence is absolutely vital for job performance

and particularly for leadership.
Without the ability to ‘tell it like it is’ when necessary, and to

stand up for unpopular positions, it is very hard to achieve
anything, especially during tough times.

UNDERSTANDING
SELF-CONFIDENCE
Confidence is not something that can be learned like a set of rules; it is a state of
mind. Positive thinking, practice, training, knowledge and talking to other people
are all useful ways to help improve or boost your confidence levels.
Confidence comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of your body

and mind (self-esteem) and belief in your own ability, skills and experience.
Low self-confidence can be a result of many factors including: fear of the

unknown, criticism, being unhappy with personal appearance (self-esteem), feeling
unprepared, poor time-management, lack of knowledge and previous failures.
Confidence is not a static measure, our confidence to perform roles and tasks can
increase and decrease; some days we may feel more confident than others.
Performing a role or completing a task confidently is not about not making

mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable, especially when doing something new.
Confidence includes knowing what to do when mistakes come to light and
therefore is also about problem-solving and decision-making.

IMPROVING
SELF-CONFIDENCE
There are a number of ways that you can improve your confidence in your own
ability. These include:
Planning and Preparation
People often feel less confident about new or potentially difficult situations.
Perhaps the most important factor in developing confidence is planning and
preparing for the unknown.
This is also true if you are starting a new job, such as your first leadership role.
The key in any unknown situation is to take as much control as you can.
For example, break down tasks into smaller sub-tasks and plan ahead as
far as possible.
Learning, Knowledge and Training
Learning and research can help us to feel more confident about our ability
to handle situations, roles and tasks.
Knowing what to expect and how and why things are done will add to your
awareness and usually make you feel more prepared and ultimately more
confident. Paradoxically, learning and gaining knowledge can sometimes make
us feel less confident about our abilities to perform roles and tasks, because we
understand more about what is involved. When this happens, it is important to
combine knowledge with experience. By doing something you have learned a lot
about, you can put theory into practice. This develops confidence and adds to the
learning and comprehension.

Positive Thought
Positive thought can be a very powerful way of improving confidence.
“OPTIMISM IS THE FAITH THAT LEADS TO ACHIEVEMENT.

NOTHING CAN BE DONE WITHOUT HOPE AND CONFIDENCE.”
Helen Keller - Author, political activist, and lecturer.
The first deaf and blind person to earn a BA degree in the US.
The basic rules of positive thinking are to highlight your strengths and successes
and learn from your weaknesses and mistakes. This is a lot harder than it sounds,
because we often dwell on things that we are not happy with from our past,
making them into bigger issues than they need to be. These negative thoughts
can be very damaging to confidence and your ability to achieve goals.

TOP TIP!
TRY TO RECONDITION THE WAY YOU THINK
ABOUT YOUR LIFE:
• Know your strengths and weaknesses. Write a list of things that you are
good at and things that you know need improvement. Discuss your list with
friends and family, and add to it. Celebrate and develop your strengths and
find ways to improve or manage your weaknesses.
• We all make mistakes. Don’t think of your mistakes as negatives but rather
as learning opportunities.
• Accept compliments and compliment yourself. When you receive a

compliment from somebody else, thank them and ask for more details;
what exactly did they like? Recognise your own achievements and celebrate
them by rewarding yourself and telling friends and family about them.
• Use criticism as a learning experience. Everybody sees the world

differently, and what works for one person may not work for another.
Criticism is just other people’s opinions. Be assertive when receiving
criticism, don’t reply in a defensive way or let it lower your self-esteem.
Listen to the criticism and make sure that you understand what is being
said, then use it as a way to learn and improve.
• Try to stay generally cheerful and have a positive outlook on life.

Only complain or criticise when necessary and, when you do, do so in a
constructive way. Offer others compliments and congratulate them on
their successes.
There is more about positive thinking in the next chapter.

Talking to Others and Following Their Lead
“CONFIDENCE IS CONTAGIOUS. SO IS LACK OF CONFIDENCE.”

Vince Lombardi - Successful American Football coach.
Generally people are attracted to confident people.
Confidence is one of the main characteristics of charisma, which also explains why
so many leaders—largely confident people—are often described as charismatic.
Speaking to and being around people who are confident will usually help you
to feel more confident. Learn from others who are successful in fulfilling the
tasks and goals that you wish to achieve and let their confidence rub off on
you. For example, when you first take on a leadership role, you may find it
helpful to have a mentor to act as a sounding board, and to provide advice.
As you become more confident, you may be able to offer help and advice, or
become a role model or mentor for somebody who is less confident.
Gaining Experience
As you successfully complete tasks and goals, your confidence that you will be
able to complete the same and similar tasks again will increase.
Gaining experience and taking the first step can, however, be very difficult.
Often the thought of starting something new is worse than actually doing it.
This is where preparation, learning and thinking positively can help. Break
roles and tasks down into small achievable goals, making your goals Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timed (SMART).
Being Assertive
Being assertive means standing up for what you believe in and sticking to your
principles.
It also means that you can change your mind if you believe it is the right thing
to do, not because you are under pressure from somebody else. Assertiveness,
confidence and self-esteem are all very closely linked, and people usually become
more assertive as they develop their confidence.

Avoid Arrogance
Arrogance is detrimental to interpersonal relationships.
As your confidence grows and you become successful, avoid feeling or acting
superior to others. Remember that nobody is perfect, and there is always more
that you can learn. Celebrate your strengths and successes and recognise your
weaknesses and failures. Give others credit for their work by using compliments
and praise sincerely. Be courteous and polite and show an interest in what others
are doing, ask questions and get involved.
Finally, always admit to your mistakes and be prepared to laugh at yourself!

SELF-CONFIDENCE
AND SELF-ESTEEM
Self-confidence and self-esteem are not the same thing, although they are
often linked.
• Confidence is the term we use to describe how we feel about our ability
to perform roles, functions and tasks.
• Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves, the way we look, the way
we think - whether or not we feel worthy or valued. People with low self-
esteem often also suffer from generally low confidence, but people with
good self-esteem can also have low confidence. It is also perfectly possible
for people with low self-esteem to be very confident in some areas.
Self-esteem can be thought of as your ‘inner voice’, the voice that tells you
whether you are good enough to do or achieve something. Self-esteem is about
how we value ourselves, our perceptions and beliefs in who we are and what we
are capable of. Our self-esteem can be misaligned with other people’s perception
of who we are.
Interestingly enough, self-esteem has little to do with actual talent or ability. It is

quite possible for someone who is good at something to have poor self-esteem,
while someone who struggles at a particular topic might have good self-esteem.
In the first case, the person might think “I have to give a speech tomorrow and
I’m dreading it. I know I’m no good,” even though they are experienced and
successful. The other person may be determined to give a good speech and
focuses on feeling more confident about the result, even though they display
less talent than the first person.
It is easy to see how a lack of self-esteem can influence how a person behaves,
not to mention what they achieve in their lives.

It will also be clear that people who struggle with their self-esteem will find it
hard to lead others confidently and effectively. It is possible that those stepping
into a leadership position for the first time may find that both their self-esteem
and their self-confidence drop a little as they start to understand the role, and see
what skills they may need to develop. However, as you develop those skills, your
confidence and self-esteem will both improve.
You can also improve your self-esteem by taking firm control of your
internal dialogue.
Positive thinking and positive internal dialogue
Positive internal dialogue is a big part of improving your self-esteem.
Instead of saying things like ‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘I’m a failure’, you can start
to turn things around by saying ‘I can beat this’ and ‘I can become more confident
by viewing myself in a more positive way’.
To begin with, you will catch yourself falling back into old negative habits, but with
regular effort you can start to feel more positive and build your self-esteem as well.
WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE

MY SELF-CONFIDENCE?
Change Your Inner Voice
Become your own life coach, give yourself praise and encouragement
Increase Your Gratitude

Don’t focus on what you do not have, focus on what you do have
Get Positive Friends

Accept compliments from positive people gracefully, feed off their positive energy
Exercise Every Day

Jog, go on a brisk walk, work out at the gym, sharpen your state of mind!
Based on an infographic by Klearminds at www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/self-

confidence-infographic.html.

PROJECT CONFIDENCE, BUT ASK
FOR HELP WHEN NECESSARY
When you start a new job or take on a leadership role, your confidence may suffer.
You may feel that you cannot admit that you are not confident, or that you are
worried, because of what people will think. This, however, is the way to create
problems for the future.
• Projecting confidence is half the battle: if you sound confident,

it is quite likely that your confidence will increase, because of the
power of positive thinking.
• However, if you need help, always be prepared to ask for it.

Knowing when to ask for help is an important part of emotional
intelligence, and it is likely to enhance, not damage, your position
within the organisation.

Chapter
Positive Thinking
4 and Mindset
The previous chapter explained that positive thinking was

a helpful way to improve your self-confidence, and that
managing your internal dialogue was critical for self-esteem.
The power of positive thinking and a growth mindset, however,

go far beyond simple self-confidence and self-esteem.
Leaders, and particularly more senior leaders, need to be able

to be optimistic, and see opportunities instead of problems.
Positive thinking and a growth mindset are essential attributes
when taking on a leadership role.

UNDERSTANDING
POSITIVE THINKING
Positive thinking is the idea that you can change your life by thinking positively
about things.
This idea can sound a bit soft and fluffy, which is something of a problem for many
people who recognise that just thinking good thoughts won’t change the world,
and therefore discard the whole idea.
However, research shows that positive thinking really does have a scientific
basis. You can’t change the world, but you can change how you perceive it
and how you react to it. That, in turn, can change the way that you feel about
yourself and others, which can then have a huge effect on your well-being.
The Effect of Negative Thinking
To understand the effect of positive thinking, it is helpful to think about negative

thinking first.
Most negative emotions, such as fear or anger, are designed to help with survival.
They cause us to take swift and effective action to save ourselves from whatever
is threatening us. This means that they also prevent us from being distracted by
other things around us.
So far, so good, in survival terms. If there is a bear standing in front of you,

you don’t want to stop to pick flowers.
But negative thinking is not so great in more modern settings. If you’ve got a lot
to do, and you’re worried that you won’t get it all done, the last thing you need is
for your brain to shut down and focus only on how long your ‘To Do’ list has got.
Negative thinking is a habit, something you can train your brain to avoid. Constant
negative thinking can make you much more likely to be stressed and can lead to
more serious problems, like depression.

The Power of Positive Thinking
Barbara Fredrickson, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, carried out

a classic experiment with five groups of people where she showed each group
images designed to provoke a different emotional response.
Group 1 saw images designed to trigger feelings of joy;
Group 2’s images were selected to make them feel contented;
Group 3’s images were neutral;
Group 4 saw images to make them afraid; and
Group 5 saw a series of images designed to make them angry.
Each group was then asked to write down what actions they would take in a
situation that created similar feelings.
Groups 4 and 5 wrote down significantly fewer actions than the other groups.
Groups 1 and 2 wrote down the most actions.
In other words, feeling positive emotions helps you to identify more possibilities
and options in your life.
But what is perhaps even more interesting is that these extra possibilities
and options seem to translate into action.
People who think more positively are more likely to do things to deliver on those
options. They build new skills and develop existing ones, so that they genuinely
have more options in life.

Positive Thinking in Practice: The Placebo Effect
High quality trials for new medicines and therapies compare a treatment group,
which receives the new treatment, with a ‘control group’ that does not.
But as a general rule, these control groups do not just have ‘no treatment’. Instead,
they receive a ‘placebo’, that is, a treatment substitute which looks like the real
thing, but has no physical effect. Examples of placebos include sugar pills or
flavoured water instead of genuine tablets or medicines.
Why do they receive a placebo? Because of the power of positive thinking...
The ‘Placebo Effect’ is a well-documented phenomenon in medicine, in which

those who think that they are being given a new and effective treatment are more
likely to recover than those who know that their treatment is nothing new.
The placebo effect may sound extraordinary, but it has been seen time and time
again in clinical trials.
The lessons are twofold:
• New treatments have to ‘beat’ placebos to be sure that they have a

real effect; and
• The mind is an extremely powerful tool and, if at all possible,

healthcare practitioners should help their patients to draw on it.
A positive attitude will probably not cure cancer in itself. But positive thinking
will make it easier to manage your life, reduce stress, and also help you to take
better care of yourself. And those things are important to help you recover from
serious diseases.

WARNING! DON’T FORCE IT
Positive thinking is good. But you should not try to use it to block out
everything negative that happens in your life. Sometimes bad stuff happens,
and you will feel down about it. It’s no good pretending that you don’t
because forced positive thinking can be counterproductive.
What you need to avoid is the ‘developing disaster’ scenario (the ‘my life is a
total disaster’ tape that plays in your head). The best way to do that is NOT to
tell yourself that your life is perfect. Instead, you need to recognise what has
gone wrong but set it in context.
For example:
“Yes, I’m having a bad day, but tomorrow will be better. I will go home now
and I will be able to think of a solution to the problem in the morning when I
am less tired.”
Tamar Chamsky, a clinical psychologist, calls this ‘Possible Thinking’, and

research suggests that it is the best way to recover from difficult events.
Developing Habits of Positive Thinking
If you think about positive thinking as ‘being happy’, it is much easier to work out
what you should do to develop habits based on it.
• For example, what do you like doing?

And with whom do you like spending time?
Research shows that there are three very good ways to build positive thinking skills:
1. Meditation
People who meditate every day show more positive thinking than those who
do not.
Is that the meditation causing the positive thinking, or just having time to think?
It’s hard to tell, but it’s also hard to argue with the science. People who meditate
tend to show more mindfulness, or ability to live in the present, which is also
associated with positive thinking.

2. Writing
A group of undergraduates were asked to write about an intensely positive

experience every day for three days.
Amazingly, they had better moods and better physical health afterwards, and the
effect lasted for quite a long time. This is a pretty easy thing to do: you could, for
example, write a blog focusing on positive experiences, or keep a diary.
3. Play
It’s important to make time for yourself to have fun.
Sometimes you might need to actually put it into your diary to force yourself to
make that time, whether it’s to meet a friend for coffee, or go out for a walk or a
bike ride.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MINDSET
Why is it that some people seem to shine in any sphere in which they choose
to exert themselves, and others cannot manage even a glimmer despite
obvious talent?
Research shows that it’s the way that they think about their ability that
really counts.
Most of those who have achieved greatness, to use Shakespeare’s phrase, have
worked extremely hard to get there. Many were told that they would never amount
to anything. But they believed that they could achieve, and worked hard to do so.
Fixed or Growth Mindset?
There are two ways to view intelligence or ability:
• Ability is fixed or ingrained – in other words, we are born with a certain

level of ability and we cannot change that. This is called a fixed mindset.
• We can develop our ability through hard work and effort. This is called
a growth mindset.
These two different beliefs lead to different behaviour, and also to different
results. For example, students with a growth mindset were shown to increase their
grades over time. Those who believed that their intelligence was ingrained did not;
in fact, their grades got worse.
Having a growth mindset (the belief that you are in control of your own ability,
and can learn and improve) is the key to success.
Yes, hard work, effort and persistence are all important, but not as important as
having that underlying belief that you are in control of your own destiny.

This is why you should never praise children by talking about their ability, but
instead describe the effort that they put in, and how much they have learned
and developed their ability through the activity.
Don’t say: “Well done. You’re really good at maths.”

Do say: “That’s great. You tried really hard and look how well you’ve done.”
It is important to praise the process, not the talent or ability.
MINDSET IN PRACTICE
People with these two mindsets actually think differently and also react to
information differently.
In particular, they respond differently to information about performance.
• In people with a fixed mindset, the brain is most active when they are
being given information about how well they have done, for example,
test results or grades.
• In people with a growth mindset, the brain is most active when they
are being told what they could do to improve.
It’s a very different approach: from ‘How did I do?’ to ‘What can I do better
next time?’
One is about how they are perceived, and one is about how they can learn.
You can see which one is likely to lead to better results in future.

MINDSETS IN ACTION: THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE
Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?
The hare was so certain that he would win that he sat down and went to sleep during
the race.
The tortoise just plodded on and kept going, always thinking that he had a chance of
winning. When the hare woke, he started running as fast as he could, but he was just
too late: the tortoise had won.
The hare had a fixed mindset. He believed that his innate ability would always mean
that he would win whatever he did.
The tortoise had a growth mindset. He believed that he needed to work hard and
keep going if he was to win. He was also not afraid of failure or he would never have
agreed to race the hare.
These two mindsets also cause people to deal with setbacks differently.
• People with a fixed mindset are very discouraged by setbacks,

because a setback dents their belief in their ability. They tend to
become uninterested and give up.
• People with a growth mindset view a setback as an opportunity to

learn. They tend to try harder in an effort to overcome the problem.
“THE MOMENT THAT WE BELIEVE THAT SUCCESS IS

DETERMINED BY AN INGRAINED LEVEL OF ABILITY,
WE WILL BE BRITTLE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY”
Josh Waitzkin - Chess Grandmaster and Martial Artist

CHANGING YOUR MINDSET
Neuroplasticity: Did you know your brain can change?
The good news is that you can change your mindset.
Neuroscience shows that our brains continue to develop and change even
as adults. Old dogs really can learn new tricks.
The brain is actually quite like plastic, and can be reshaped over time, forming new
neural pathways. This has led neuroscientists to call this tendency neuroplasticity.
These neural pathways are developed by doing or thinking particular things.

The things that we do or say more often become hard-wired into our brains
as habits. These habits form defined ‘routes’ in our brain, which become
easier to use.
But you can still change them.
The first step is to realise that you need to, then to train your brain in the new
skill. It may help to think about this learning as a cycle, for example, using the
competence cycle (see box).

THE COMPETENCE CYCLE MODEL OF LEARNING
One useful model for learning is the Competence Cycle, a four-stage model
that can help you identify your competences:
1. UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE
You don’t know that you don’t know about something.
A good example would be a child who has never seen a bicycle, or has no
idea that any language exists other than their own.
2. CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE
You have become aware that you lack a particular skill.
An example might be the child who has seen other children riding bicycles,
or heard someone speaking another language, and therefore wishes to learn.
3. CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE
You have learned how to do something, but you still need to think about it in
order to do it.
An example would be the child who can ride a bicycle but falls off if they
stop watching where they are going.
4. UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE
You have learned how to something so well that it has become hard-wired into
your brain.
You no longer have to think about how you do it, but just do it. In fact,
if you think about it too hard, you may not be able to do it.

There are three key things that you can do to develop a growth mindset:
• You need to recognise that a growth mindset is not just good,

but is also supported by science. In other words, you need to be
committed to developing a growth mindset.
• You can learn and teach others about how to develop and improve
their abilities through adopting a growth mindset. This will help
you to take control of your life, which is hugely empowering.
Research shows that people who feel in control tend to perform
better. It’s a virtuous cycle.
• Listen out for your fixed mindset voice. When you hear that little
critical voice in your head telling you that you can’t do something,
reply with a growth mindset approach and tell it that you can learn.
MINDSETS IN LIFE
Mindsets are not just important for learning new skills. They can affect the way
that we think about everything.
For example, a growth mindset can help you recover from illness because you
believe that you can do something about the illness. They can help you achieve in
sport, at work and can also help you grow and develop in relationships.
Cultivating a growth mindset could be the single most important thing you ever
do to help you achieve success, especially if you are moving into a leadership role,
where learning is likely to be essential to your future success

Chapter
5
Self-motivation is, in its simplest form, the force that drives
you to do things. It is far from being a simple topic; there are
many books, webpages and articles that attempt to explain
self-motivation and some top academics have dedicated
their life’s work to trying to understand, model and develop
motivation theory.
Motivation pushes us to achieve our goals, feel more fulfilled

and improve overall quality of life. People who are self-
motivated tend to be more organised, with good time
management skills, and have more self-esteem and confidence.
Understanding and developing your self-motivation can help

you to take control of many other aspects of your life. It is also
crucial in being able to motivate others, a key skill for leaders.
Fundamental to self-motivation is understanding

what motivates you to do things.
This may sound straightforward but sometimes your

motivation is hidden from your consciousness: your own
personal hidden agenda. Your motivation may well change
from hour-to-hour, day-to-day and through life. As this
happens, your needs, wants and goals change and evolve.

INSTRINSIC AND
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION
Murder mystery novels, TV shows and movies are a popular genre, but the stories
are often less about ‘Who Did It’ and more about ‘Why’ they did it – what was
their motive? Sleuths spend their time looking for physical clues and listening
to alibis, but often the most gripping part of the story is in working out the
murderer’s motives. It may take some detective work to understand your motives
too – what makes you do the things you do, and maybe more importantly what
stops you from doing other things?
THERE ARE TWO MAIN TYPES OF MOTIVATION:

‘INTRINSIC’ AND ‘EXTRINSIC’ MOTIVATION
In their simplest form you can think about these two types of motivation as:
Intrinsic: Love, because we want to.
Extrinsic: money, because we have to.
A more detailed definition is:
Intrinsic: To perform an action or task based on the expected or perceived

satisfaction of performing the action or task. Intrinsic motivators include having fun,
being interested and personal challenge.
Extrinsic: To perform an action or task to attain some sort of reward, including

money, power and good marks or grades.
Different people are motivated by different things and at different times in their lives.
The same task may have more intrinsic motivators at certain times and more extrinsic
motivators at others, most tasks have a combination of the two types of motivation.

Example
John works because he has to pay his mortgage and feed himself and his family.
He gets no satisfaction from his job and there is no chance of promotion. John’s
motivators are purely extrinsic.
Sally works because she loves what she does, and gets enormous satisfaction and
self-fulfilment from her work. Sally has enough money put away that she does not
need to work: she owns her house outright and can afford to buy what she wants
when she wants it. Sally’s motivators are purely intrinsic.
Clearly Sally and John are at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to self-
motivation. Most people, however, fall somewhere in the middle.
Most people do have to work to earn money, but at the same time they also find
their day-to-day work rewarding or satisfying in other intrinsic ways, such as job
satisfaction or the chance to socialise with colleagues.
When thinking about what motivates you to perform a certain task, think about
both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. If you have trouble getting motivated
to perform specific tasks, it may be useful to write them down and list the
motivators for each.
This may lead us to believe that if a task has neither intrinsic nor extrinsic
motivators then we probably won’t do it as it would be pointless.
This is the case until we take into account feelings of obligation. Obligation
motivators are not necessarily strictly intrinsic or extrinsic but can still be very
powerful. Obligation comes from our personal ethics and sense of duty: what is
right and what is wrong.
You may feel obliged to go to a party because you were invited by somebody
you know – there will be no obvious extrinsic or intrinsic benefit to you attending
but you may worry if you don’t go. You are more likely to enjoy a party you feel
obliged to attend if you go with a positive and open attitude. This way you have
also added an intrinsic motivator - fun and enjoyment.

SETTING PERSONAL GOALS
There is a strong correlation between self-motivation, personal goals and
achievement. To get properly motivated, it helps to spend some time thinking
about your personal goals and what you want to achieve in your life.
We all have an inbuilt desire to achieve. But what we want to achieve is personal
to us and this may change through life. At school you may want to achieve good
grades, later you may want to pass your driving test or get a job. People want
to know that they have achieved, or have the ability to achieve something of
value, meaning or importance. Generally, the more people achieve, the more self-
confident they become. As self-confidence rises so does the ability to achieve
more. Conversely, when people fail to achieve and meet their goals, self-esteem
and confidence can suffer, affecting their motivation to achieve more.
Understanding the relationship between motivation, personal goal setting and

achievement will help you set realistic personal goals, which in turn will allow you
to achieve more in the longer term.
Personal goals can provide long-term direction and short-term motivation.

Goals help us to focus on what we want to be or where we want to go with our
lives. They can be a way of using knowledge, and managing time and resources
so that you can focus on making the most of your potential.
By setting clearly defined personal goals, you can measure your achievements
and keep sight of your progress. If you fail to achieve at one step, you can
reassess your situation and try new approaches.
Keeping your life goals clearly defined and updated as your circumstances change
and evolve is one of the most powerful ways to keep yourself motivated.

KEEP MOTIVATED
Finally it is important to keep track of what you want to achieve and stay
motivated to do so. To keep your motivation levels up try to:
Learn and acquire knowledge. Read, study and talk to people – knowledge and
information are vital in feeding your mind and keeping you curious and motivated.
Keep the company of enthusiastic people. Try to avoid negative people and seek
out positive, well- motivated ones. It is a lot easier to be motivated if the people
around you are too.
Keep positive. Keep a positive attitude; see problems and set-backs as learning
opportunities.
Know your strengths and weaknesses. Work on ironing out your weaknesses
and building on your strengths.
Do it. Try not to procrastinate. Assess the risks but keep working towards your goals.
Get help and help others. Don’t be afraid to ask others for help and don’t hold
back if you can help them. Seeing other people succeed will help to motivate you
to do the same.

Chapter
6 Getting Organised
Have you ever wondered how it is that some people seem

to have enough time to do everything that they want to,
whereas others are always rushing from task to task and never
seem to finish anything? Is it just that the former have less to
do? No, it’s much more likely that they are using their time
more effectively and practising good time management and
organisation skills.
This skill is particularly important for leaders who need to

be able to manage their own, as well as other people’s,
time and energy.
Time management and organisation are not very difficult as

concepts, but surprisingly hard to do in practice. They require
the investment of a little time upfront to prioritise and organise
yourself. But once done, you will find that with minor tweaks,
your day, and indeed your week and month, fall into place in an
orderly fashion with time for everything you need to do.

THE KEY TO GOOD TIME
MANAGEMENT AND
ORGANISATION
Understanding the Difference Between Urgent and Important
‘Urgent’ tasks demand your immediate attention, but whether you actually give
them that attention may or may not matter.
‘Important’ tasks matter, and not doing them may have serious consequences for
you or others. For example:
• Answering the phone is urgent. If you don’t do it, the caller will ring off,
and you won’t know why they called. It may, however, be an automated
voice telling you that you may be eligible for compensation for having
been mis-sold insurance. That’s not important.
• Going to the dentist regularly is important (or so we’re told). If you don’t,
you may get gum disease, or other problems. But it’s not urgent. If you leave
it too long, however, it may become urgent because you may get toothache.
• Doing staff appraisals can be both urgent and important. They need to
be done by the deadline, to ensure that staff get linked pay increases or
bonuses, and they are important to provide feedback and ensure that
developmental needs are met.
• Reading funny emails or checking Facebook is neither urgent nor important.

So why is it the first thing that you do each day?
This distinction between urgent and important is the key to prioritising your time
and your workload, whether at work or at home.

Try using a grid, like the priority matrix, to organise your tasks into their
appropriate categories:
The Priority Matrix

HIGH IMPORTANCE
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE TASK?
ACTION ACTION
Do First Do Next
LOW IMPORTANCE
ACTION NO ACTION
Do Later Don’t Do
(if still necessary)
HIGH URGENCY LOW URGENCY
HOW URGENT IS THE TASK?
© 2015 SkillsYouNeed.comLow
Remember, too, that you and your health are important. Just because you have
lots to do doesn’t mean that doing some exercise, going for a 10-minute walk or
making time to eat properly is not important. You should not ignore your physical
or mental health in favour of more ‘urgent’ activities.
WARNING!
Urgency and/or importance is not a fixed status. You should review your task list
regularly to make sure that nothing should be moved up because it has become more
urgent and/or important.

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD
TIME MANAGEMENT
AND ORGANISATION
1. Be clear about what you need to do
If you’re one of those people, like most of us, who struggles to remember just
what you’ve agreed to do, or what you would like to do if you had enough time,
then keep a list.
If one list is not enough, then keep several. Some people find that they work best
with one single list, but others have a long-term ‘To Do’ list, supplemented by a
daily ‘Tasks’ list. Others also have a list of jobs for the week as well. It’s a matter of
preference whether you use paper or electronic lists.
It’s also important to keep tidy.
For some of us, clutter can be both a real distraction and genuinely depressing.
Tidying up can improve both self-esteem and motivation. You will also find it
easier to stay on top of things if your workspace is tidy.
If you have a system of post-it notes on a board pending action, then take off
anything that doesn’t need action and/or has been dealt with. That way, you’ll be
able to see at a glance what needs doing, and you’ll be less likely to miss anything.
TOP TIP FOR TIDYING

Create three piles: Keep, Give Away, and Throw Away.
Keep, if you need to keep it for your records, or do something with it.
If it needs action, add it to your task list.
Give away, if you don’t want it, but someone else might be able to use it,
and/or it is work that can and should be delegated.
Throw away (or recycle) for things that have no value to you or anyone else.

2. Decide when you’re going to do it
Research shows that our brains are hard-wired to worry about things that we
haven’t done.
This is why you wake up in the night panicking about that piece of work you
forgot. Interestingly, however, putting a job on a ‘To Do’ list and, crucially, deciding
when you’re going to do it seems to be enough to switch off the bit of your brain
that worries, at least until you’ve missed the slot you had identified.
TOP TIP: PICK YOUR MOMENT

All of us have times of day that we work better. It’s best to schedule the
difficult tasks for those times.
However, you also need to schedule in things that need doing at particular
times, like meetings, or a trip to the post office.
Another useful option is to have a list of important but non-urgent small tasks
that can be done in that odd ten minutes between meetings: might it be the
ideal time to send that email confirming your holiday dates?
3. Give yourself time and space
Getting organised doesn’t happen by chance. You need to give yourself time to do it.
Take a bit of time each day to think about what you’ve got to do that day, and
plan when you’re going to do it. It’s best to do this either at the beginning of the
day, or at the end of the day for the next one. If you commute by train, you might
find your journey is the ideal time to do this, but if not, just take 10 minutes when
you first get into work, preferably away from your desk to avoid distractions.
If you struggle to find that time, schedule it into your diary. If your electronic
calendar is public, make sure you describe it in a way that your colleagues won’t
immediately identify as it ‘time that can be used to come and talk to you’. For
example, use initials, so that it looks like you’ve got a meeting, such as ‘DSW’, or
‘Do some work’, and ‘PMD’ or ‘Plan my day’. You know what it means, but nobody
else will. And LEAVE YOUR DESK. Go and sit in the canteen, or a quiet corner of
a meeting room, to avoid anyone talking to you, or the temptation to ‘just check
your emails’.

4. Break down and delegate tasks
Break tasks down into their component parts and consider whether you can
delegate any of them.
Do you really need to do the whole task straight away? And do you really need to
do parts of them? It can sometimes take as much time to delegate as to do the
task, especially if it’s relatively quick to do, but could take a while to explain. But if
it’s relatively straightforward to explain, and simple but long- winded to do, it’s an
ideal task for delegation.
CASE STUDY:
A WIN-WIN SITUATION FROM DELEGATING
Jenny was the leader of a busy, highly reactive team, with constant and
urgent demands on her time. She knew that she needed to spend some time
thinking through the implementation of a particular policy, but it was very
hard to set aside the time.
In a development discussion, James, one of her team, expressed his desire to

do some more strategic work to build up his skills. Jenny saw an opportunity
for both of them, and offered James the opportunity to prepare the initial
paper on implementing the policy.
He jumped at the chance, and produced an excellent, well-thought-through

paper which was a great foundation for further work.
5. Don’t procrastinate, but do ask why you’re tempted
If a task is genuinely urgent and important, get on with it.
If, however, you find yourself making excuses about not doing something, ask
yourself why.
You may be doubtful about whether you should be doing the task at all. Perhaps
you’re concerned about the ethics, or you don’t think it’s the best option. If so, you
may find that others agree. Talk it over with colleagues or your manager, if at work,
and family or friends at home, and see if there is an alternative that might be better.

CASE STUDY:
THE LEAVING PARTY
“I really must organise a leaving do. I’ve been putting it off for ages, and I
won’t have time if I don’t do it soon,” Kate said to her colleague Dan, as her
leaving date loomed.
“It’s not like you, putting things off,” Dan replied. “Mind you, it’s not like you
having a big party, either. I don’t think I’ve seen you go to a leaving do since
we’ve worked together.”
Kate laughed. “That sounds about right,” she said. “I don’t really care for big
social events.”
“So why are you doing it, then?” he wanted to know.
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “I suppose I think everyone expects it.”
“What would you really like to do?” Dan asked. “Just slip away quietly?”
“No. No, not really. I’d like to do something, just not a big formal do, where I
have to book a venue. I’d think what I’d really like is if our team went to the
park together. It’s such lovely weather at the moment.”
“Well, let’s do it,” he said. “It sounds perfect. I’ll email round, then you don’t
even have to do that.”
Kate smiled. She had to admit that she was happier than she had been for ages.
6. Don’t get frustrated by extra tasks
We all know how it feels...
You’ve just spent 10 minutes organising yourself, and you get back to your desk to
find an email from your boss telling you to drop everything and just finish a report
that has suddenly become the most important and urgent issue in the world.
Don’t get cross or frustrated. At least you now know whether you have anything
else on your list which can’t wait, and can negotiate extended deadlines for other
work from an informed point of view!
And don’t try to multi-task, either. Generally, people aren’t very good at multi-
tasking because it takes our brains time to refocus. It’s much better to finish off
one job before moving onto another. If you do have to do lots of different tasks,
try to group them together, and do similar tasks consecutively.

7. Stay on top of things
Especially when you’re very busy, it’s easy to let your daily organising session slip.
You just want to go home, or you really need to get on with something else. But
it’s important to keep on top of your scheduling and organising, as otherwise
everything gets in a real mess and then it takes hours to untangle.
YOU KNOW IT MAKES SENSE!

When you think about general tidying, the principle of ‘staying on top of things’ really
makes sense. For example, if you clear your desk and do all your filing at the end of
each week, then it really doesn’t take long.
However, if you leave it for a month, it takes a lot longer, and you have to set aside
some dedicated time. You may also find that you’ve lost some important papers.
The same rules apply to general organisation: keep on top of it, and it is a simple
matter to adjust. Let it get on top of you, and it will take a long time to sort out.
Perhaps the most crucial aspect of being organised is to stay calm and keep
things in perspective.
Feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks can be very stressful. Remember,

however, that the world will probably not end if you fail to achieve your last task
of the day, or leave it until tomorrow, especially if you have prioritised sensibly.
Going home or getting an early night, so that you are fit for tomorrow, may be a
much better option than meeting a self-imposed or external deadline that may not
even matter that much.
Take a moment to pause and get your life and priorities into perspective, and you
may find that the view changes quite substantially!

Chapter
7 Strategic Thinking
Strategic thinking is often looked upon as something that

only certain people can do. Somehow, the idea of ‘strategy’
and ‘strategic thinking’ has developed a mystic aura. The
other side of the coin is that everyone who has leadership
aspirations includes ‘strategic thinking skills’ on their CV and
LinkedIn profile.
But what does ‘strategic thinking’ really mean, and how can
you develop strategic thinking skills?

WHAT IS STRATEGY?
In a military sense, ‘strategy’ is defined by Chambers Dictionary as ‘generalship, or
the art of conducting a campaign and manoeuvring an army’.
Tactics is defined as ‘the art of manoeuvring in the presence of the enemy’.
In a business sense, strategy has therefore come to mean the long-term vision for the
future, and how you plan to get there, with tactics being what you do on a day-to-day
basis that supports your strategy, and particularly how you deal with problems.
Strategy, in its simplest sense, is deciding where you want to be and how you’re
going to get there, and then taking the action necessary to do so. So what do you
need to do to develop a strategy?
• It sounds obvious but, as a first step, you need to know where you
are now. Everything that you do starts from your current position.
Even the Grand Old Duke of York, whose skill in manoeuvring has
gone down in history, or at least nursery rhyme, couldn’t move
downhill until he had first moved up. So gather as much information
as you can about where you really are, and don’t accept anecdote as
truth. Demand evidence.
• Next, identify the ideal future position at a particular point in time.

This could be in five years, ten years or one year’s time, depending
on the situation. There are lots of tools out there for doing this
in workshops, including visualisation, drawing pictures, ‘blue sky’
thinking and so on, but you can also just spend time thinking about it.
It’s important to aim high at this stage, but also to be as detailed as
possible. The more detail you can include, the more you know what
you want, which is true as much at home as at work. Don’t forget
to include things that you really don’t want, as well as what you do
want! Do write or draw, as it’s much more concrete on paper.

• Now, from your ideal future position, think about what is really
important to you or the company. Where do you or it really need to
be? This is about prioritisation. Pare your essential position down to
the bones, so that you are really clear what is crucial. Highlight the
top three issues or elements, then the top five. Identify any details
which really don’t matter. This is why you needed lots of detail at the
last step: you can now pick out which details are really important.
• Now it’s time to work out the intermediate milestones from ‘now’
to ‘then’. Now you know where you need to be in five years’ time,
where would you need to be in one, two, or three years in order to
get there? Concentrate on ‘milestones’ rather than ‘actions’, that is,
things you will have achieved, rather than what you’re going to do in
practical terms.
• Finally, it’s time to work out actions: what you need to do to get from
‘now’ to your first intermediate milestone, then from there to the next
and so on.
Congratulations, you have just completed a strategic plan!

THE ‘MIRACLE BOX’
By way of a warning, the world is littered with strategies and project plans that have
a large gap in the middle, which is sometimes called the ‘miracle box’, as in, ‘in this
space/time, a miracle will happen that will move us from where we are to where we
need to be’. The key issue when developing a strategy is not to fall into this trap.
How? One way is to draw yourself a project map, also known as causal diagrams
or causal maps.
DRAWING A CAUSAL DIAGRAM

• Identify all your desired outcomes and put them in boxes down the right hand
side of your page or whiteboard.
• Identify all your planned inputs and put them in boxes down the left hand side of
your page.
• Now identify who is going to do what with your planned inputs (in other words,
your planned processes), and draw those in boxes in the middle. Connect these
processes to the inputs that drive them, using arrows.
• Do your processes lead logically to your outcomes? If so, draw an arrow connecting
your process to your outcome. If not, you need to add more processes between the
current processes and the outcomes until they flow logically.
• Do all your inputs lead logically through actions to outcomes? And do all your
outcomes emerge from processes and inputs in a sensible way? If so, well done,
you have avoided the ‘miracle box’. If not, have another look…
A causal diagram is useful because it gives you a very clear and visual record
of whether your inputs lead to your desired outcomes, and makes it easy to see
whether what you’re doing will have the desired effect. It’s a useful exercise to do
with a group in planning, because the result is clear and unambiguous to all, and
means that suitable actions can then be agreed with everyone concerned.

THE FINAL ELEMENT
TO STRATEGIC THINKING
Keeping your Strategy on Track
Having a strategy is all very well. Achieving it is quite another issue.
This is what really marks good strategic thinkers out from others: everything that
they do contributes to their strategy, or at least does not actively work against it.
Before they make a decision, they consider how the possible outcomes fit into their
overall strategy. If it doesn’t fit, they don’t do it! And if they really want to do it, and it
doesn’t fit with their strategy, they review their strategy to see if it’s still appropriate.
It’s worth taking a bit of time every so often, perhaps once every six months to a
year, to review your strategy and make sure it’s still right for you or the company,
and also that what you are doing is contributing to your strategy.
A company awayday is a good opportunity to do this, although many companies

use board meetings as a regular chance to review strategy.
At home it can be harder to find the time, but it’s still worthwhile. Sit down with a
cup of tea or coffee, and just look at where you wanted to be, and how you thought
you’d get there. Is it all still valid, or do you need to tweak it a bit in view of changes
to your life? And what difference does that make to what you’re doing every day?
Regular updating keeps it fresh in your mind, and shows that you’re still
committed to the overall picture, which makes it easier to make any changes in
your day-to-day life needed to achieve your goals.
Hopefully, you will now understand

that strategic thinking is not a ‘mystic art’
Instead, it is a logical process that stems from knowing where you are and where
you want to be, and thinking about how to move from one to the other. It’s an
essential part of keeping yourself on track, whether in life or in business, and well
worth spending a bit of time on every now and then.

Chapter
Generating New Ideas:
8 Creative Thinking Techniques
How is it that some people always seem to be able to

generate new ideas and think creatively, and others seem
to struggle to do so?
Regardless of whether you view yourself as a creative type or

not, you can learn some useful skills and techniques which will
enable you to tap into that creative ‘right brain’ thinking and
bring a new perspective to innovation, problem-solving and
managing change.
Although at first glance, creative thinking techniques may

sometimes look a bit ridiculous, there are good principles
behind most of them. However sceptical you may be about
their potential, it’s a good idea to approach them with an
open mind. You may be surprised by the results.

BRAINSTORMING
“THE BEST WAY TO HAVE A GOOD IDEA
IS TO HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS.”
Linus Pauling - Double Nobel Laureate, chemist, biochemist and peace campaigner.
Brainstorming is the often-maligned practice of getting a group of people

together and generating ideas. It’s generally agreed that the rules of
brainstorming, at least in the initial stages, include:
• Everyone having a say
• All ideas being equally valued
• No criticism of other people’s ideas is allowed
There are at least a couple of different ways that brainstorming sessions can be run:
1. Everyone follows up an initial idea, feeding off it to generate new ones,

until an end point is reached on that idea, at which point the group turns
to a new idea and does the same.
2. Participants are encouraged to come up with more free-flow generation

of unconnected ideas that can then be grouped and themed later.
It is also generally agreed that following an initial period of open brainstorming,

there needs to be a period of idea evaluation where questions are asked and
criticisms are made. This allows for initial ideas to be explored in more detail and
accepted for further investigation or discarded.
Many people also use this opportunity to group ideas by theme to make
exploration easier since, often, a lot of the ideas will be linked.
The principle behind brainstorming is Linus Pauling’s point that most ideas are not
very good. So the best way to have a good idea is to generate lots of ideas, then
discard the impractical and inappropriate ideas.

The trouble is that there is no scientific formula for the number of ideas you
need to generate to find a good one, or even a guarantee that you’ll be able to
find a good one at all.
It is important to set aside plenty of time for brainstorming and to keep exploring
even when you think you’ve found a good idea: the first idea is very seldom the best.
Engaging your Right Brain
Much research has been done over the years on the way in which the two sides
of the brain work differently.
• The left side of the brain is supposedly focused on logic and order.
• The right side of the brain is focused on the more ‘messy’, creative
and innovative aspects.
Although this is a rather extreme view, there does seem to be evidence that
doing physical activities that engage the creative areas of your brain can help
you think differently.
One fairly simple way to do this is by drawing or creating something in three

dimensions, perhaps using junk-modelling or balloons and post-it notes. This
can be an individual or group activity, to aid either your own or everyone’s
thinking processes.
Being able to draw is not a prerequisite to this approach. It’s the activity,
not the precise form at the end, that’s important.

EXAMPLES THAT USE DRAWING TECHNIQUES
TO AID CREATIVE THINKING
Mind mapping is a technique originally created by Tony Buzan, and adapted by many
others since.
Mind mapping uses words connected with arrows or lines. It’s a good way of
representing a large amount of interconnecting information in a fairly compact way,
and many people also use it for planning presentations or taking notes in meetings.
Mind maps usually start with a single word in the centre, and connected ideas and
concepts radiating out via branches.
Rich pictures are a rather more visual version of mind mapping. Again, you create a
picture of a situation, but this time using words as sparingly as possible. They’re not
banned altogether, but your thinking will be more creative if you focus on the pictures.
Rich pictures encourage use of colour and symbols: anything, really, that will help your
picture to come alive for you, and show you the situation in a different way.
Envisaging the future is an interesting exercise to do with a group especially during

times of change.
• Cover as much of a wall as possible with large pieces of paper,

such as flip- chart pages.
• Ask the group to start at one edge, and draw the situation, as it currently is.
No words are allowed, it all has to be pictures, although they can talk about
what they’re drawing.
• Then ask them to move to the opposite edge, and draw the ideal future
situation. Again, no words are to be written.
• Next, draw a large semi-circular ‘bridge’ between the current and future sides,
and ask the group to draw what needs to happen to move from one side to
the other. This part is clearly the crux, which should help the group see what
needs to be done.
The idea behind this is that seeing the pictures makes it easier to ‘bridge’ the gap
between the current situation and the desired future situation.

Another way of harnessing the creative side of the brain is to make something,
perhaps out of balloons, or old cardboard boxes large and small, or even Lego®.
Many people also find doing jigsaw puzzles is a good way to get some creative
thinking time.
The act of making something with your hands, and occupying your conscious
mind with spatial problems, can often allow your subconscious to get to work on
the big intractable problem.
Just as sleeping on a problem can give you a new perspective, so too can doing
something completely different.

ROLE-PLAY SITUATIONS
Role-play situations are probably the ‘Marmite’ of management and leadership
development courses: you either love them or you hate them. But love them or
hate them, they can have some dramatic results.
‘Role-play’ does not just include the basic ‘pretend I’m your customer’-type
exercises, or even ‘walk around the room trying to channel an animal’-type
exercises, which rightly or wrongly are often regarded as something of a waste
of time. Role-play situations also cover other, more radical and powerful ideas
such as Richard Olivier’s Mythodrama, which explores leadership through the
medium of Shakespeare’s plays. Olivier found using Henry V as a management
textbook opened up some interesting ideas and, as a theatre director, his
inclination was always going to be towards role-play. There is more about his
ideas in the first of this series of eBooks.
The term ‘role-play’ also encompasses Business Constellations
Business Constellations is a technique emerging from family therapy, which allows

a group to explore the interrelationships within it by the use of actors or group
members to represent particular individuals, not necessarily themselves.
• One person starts by choosing who will play each person or element
of the situation, then placing them all in the room to show the way
that they see the problem.
• In turn, each person in the group then moves to where they see
themselves fitting best. And of course, as each person moves, it
affects the others in the group, who then want to move again.
• The end point is reached when everyone is comfortable with their

location within the group, and this represents the ‘shape’ of the group
and the dynamics within it.
This is a very powerful technique, which can cause emotions to run high, so should
only be undertaken with a trained practitioner to facilitate.

Even those qualified to lead this kind of role-play exercise, and who have done
so many times, can often be surprised by their outcomes. There is something
about pretending to be someone else and channelling someone else’s emotions
which is astonishingly freeing and can lead to hugely creative thinking.
A Take-Home Message
There are two key things to remember when you are engaged in creative thinking
skills and techniques. The first is don’t stop there. Even when you think you’ve
reached a good point, carry on a bit further.
Don’t be satisfied with the first solution you reach. Instead, as long as you have
time, try exploring other ideas, or even push the one that you have a bit further.
Take it right to the point of idiocy and see where that gets you. As Oscar Levant
said, there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Try crossing it, giving
yourself the option of crossing back to the point of genius again.
The second point is closely related and it is ‘go with the flow’. Sometimes the
most useful outcomes of any creative thinking exercise are the unexpected ones,
so don’t squash ideas just because they don’t seem to fit straight away. Just let
them run for a while and see what happens. An open mind is the most important
prerequisite for creative thinking.

Chapter
Applying New Ideas:
9 Innovation
Generating ideas is all very well. But for an organisation, and

therefore for its leader, it is what you do with the ideas that
counts. This is the practice of innovation. As a leader, creating
an environment in which innovation can thrive is likely to be
vital to the ongoing success of your organisation.
DEFINING INNOVATION
Innovate, v.t. To introduce as something new.
Innovation n. the act of innovating.

Chambers English Dictionary, 1989 edition.
“The process of bringing any new, problem-solving idea

into use… Innovation is the generation, acceptance and
implementation of new ideas, processes, products or services.”
Kanter, R.M. (1984), The Change Masters: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
in the American Corporation, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY.
Innovation is therefore, and crucially, not just the generation of

new ideas but being able to put them into useful practice on a
daily basis.

TYPES OF INNOVATION
At an organisational level, there are four main categories of innovation, which can
be distinguished by whether the problem is well-defined, and whether it is clear
who is best placed to solve it.
These categories of innovation are:
Basic research, where there is no clearly defined outcome. The idea is to explore
how something works. Many commentators consider that basic research is
not innovation because it does not involve the application of the new findings.
However, it is an essential precursor to much innovation because it is often only
by understanding how things work that new ideas emerge or can be applied.
Sustaining innovation, where the problem is clearly defined, and it is also clear
who is best placed to solve it. An example of this type of innovation is the iPod,
where Steve Jobs had a clear idea that there was a market for a device that
allowed you to ‘put 1000 songs in your pocket’. The nature of the problems was
clear, as were the skills needed to address them.
Disruptive innovation, which introduces new approaches to old products or

services. A good example of this would be the development of budget airlines,
which cut out the expensive parts of the service that people tended not to value
and radically cut the cost.
Breakthrough innovation involves a paradigm shift and often, but not always,
requires someone from outside to bring a new perspective. An example would
be the discovery of the structure of DNA, where Watson and Crick quite literally
turned the previous thinking inside-out.

These categories can be mapped onto a matrix:
How well-defined is the problem? The Innovation Matrix
Breakthough Sustaining
Well-defined
Innovation Innovation
Not well-defined
Basic Disruptive
Research Innovation
Not very clear Clear
Is it clear who can solve the problem?

© 2014 SkillsYouNeed.com

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES
ON INNOVATION
Different environments will favour different categories of innovation
Basic research is best done in an environment where there is very little pressure to
solve particular problems but where the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is
valued, such as a university. Many companies do invest in basic research, however,
often by sponsoring placements and students at universities.
Sustaining innovation is the most likely to emerge from an established R&D

programme in a large company. Big companies can invest in developing new ways
of using existing technology, or improving existing technology to make it cheaper
or better quality, and would expect to see a reasonable return on such investment.
Disruptive innovation tends to happen where new competitors emerge in an

established industry, partly because a new company can think differently. It’s
very hard to innovate disruptively deliberately, because it’s often not clear
what the problem is that you’re trying to solve. Those companies that have
done so successfully tend to have looked at the existing offering, and then very
deliberately targeted the areas that it does not meet.
EXAMPLE
Formule 1 Hotels, in France, looked at the existing hotels beside motorways and
noticed that they tended to have large lounge areas which nobody used and big
bedrooms which wasted a lot of space, so that they had relatively high costs.
The company reduced this space, fitting in more rooms, and enabling them to
offer much cheaper accommodation, which was favoured by customers looking for
inexpensive roadside lodgings.
Breakthrough innovation tends to need outsiders because those already working in

the area have ‘hit a brick wall’. Established companies will often sponsor innovation
prizes to solve particular problems as a way of bringing in this fresh thinking.

APPROACHES TO MANAGING
INNOVATION AND CHANGE
After studying a large number of organisations, Rosabeth Kanter suggested that
there were two organisational approaches to innovation and change: integrative
and segmentalist.
• Integrative organisations treat innovation as an opportunity and not

a threat. They tend to deal with problems as a whole organisation,
rather than in separate sections, and are enthusiastic about new ideas.
Generally, these organisations are more flexible and willing to change.
• Segmentalist organisations tend to work in silos, with each bit of the

organisation dealing separately with problems relating to change, and
management not taking an overall view. Such organisations are generally
unwilling to change their structure, or alter the relationships between
different bits of the organisation, which makes them very inflexible.
Kanter concluded that integrative organisations handled change and innovation

much better. She further suggested that there were three key skills that were vital
to managing innovation.
THREE KEY SKILLS FOR INNOVATING

Power Skills: Being able to persuade others to invest time and money in new
and potentially risky initiatives.
People Management Skills: The ability to be able to effectively cope with

difficulties arising from team-working and, in particular, individual team
members’ participation or non-participation.
Change Management Skills: To understand how change can be positively

designed and ultimately constructed within an organisation.

PERSONAL INNOVATION SKILLS
Although we often talk about innovation and change as something that is most
important for organisations, and for those working within them, which is very
much the focus of this book, the skills necessary for working innovatively are
crucial in everyday life.
The approach used by integrative organisations towards innovation, of being

flexible and adaptable, and treating change as an opportunity, is a useful approach
for any individual, whether leader or follower.
The three key skills for innovating: power skills, people management and change
management, if developed and strengthened, will help you take a more confident,
and therefore more relaxed, approach to new situations. This, in turn, will help you
to cope more easily with change.
The next eBook in this series, Leading and Managing Others: Developing the Skills
You Need to Lead People and Teams, discusses the skills you need to manage teams
and individuals effectively. The fourth book, Making It Happen: Project and Change
Management Skills for Leaders, discusses managing change and managing projects
in more detail.
CONCLUSION:
SKILLS FOR LEADERSHIP
Whether you are an established leader, or new to a leadership position, there is
always room to develop your skills.
This eBook is designed to help you to develop some of the skills which are most
specific to leadership positions, and which you are therefore unlikely to develop
before you start to lead. We hope that you have found it useful and will continue
to use it as a resource as you develop as a leader.
One word of warning: this eBook can by definition cover only a limited range of
the skills required for really good leadership. There are many other crucial skills
for us all, whether leaders or not, in particular emotional intelligence and strong
communication skills. While this book does not cover these skills, there is more
about them on our website www.skillsyouneed.com.

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PERSONAL

PART 2 LEADERSHIP SKILLS

The Skills You Need Guide to

Skills You Need

This is one of a series of eBooks

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed,

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 3

CHAPTER 2 - Recognising and Managing your Emotions..................................................8

CHAPTER 4 - Positive Thinking and Mindset............................................................................30

CHAPTER 5 - Understanding What Motivates You................................................................42

CHAPTER 6 - Getting Organised.....................................................................................................47

CHAPTER 7 - Strategic Thinking......................................................................................................55

CHAPTER 9 - Applying New Ideas: Innovation........................................................................67

CONCLUSION: Skills for Leadership..............................................................................................72

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 5

It is a cliché, perhaps, but nonetheless true that you cannot

The first step to leadership is therefore to recognise

To do so, you need to develop your emotional intelligence:

You can then learn to use a combination of emotion and

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 6

Leaders also need very good thinking skills.

Strategic thinking, in particular, has in recent years become an area associated

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 7

It is important to be able to understand your emotions and

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 8

• Understand the links between their emotions and their thoughts

• Understand how their feelings will therefore affect their

• Be guided in how they feel by their personal values.

Living Without Emotional Awareness

Addiction to certain behaviours is often linked to emotional masking. These

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 9

• How do others feel, and how do I know?

Emotions and the Brain

These responses are based around the need to survive.

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 10

It can be particularly hard to admit to weaknesses and limits, especially if you

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 11

Common ‘blind spots’ identified in a study of senior executives include:

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 12

“YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW YOU FEEL.”

“YOU CAN’T CONTROL OTHER PEOPLE,

“ANYBODY CAN BECOME ANGRY - THAT IS EASY, BUT TO

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 13

Emotional Energy Matrix

NEGATIVE ENERGY POSITIVE ENERGY

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 14

• Be open and accept what is going on around you. Learn to appreciate

• Don’t give in to negative thinking. If you find yourself having negative

• Notice the good things in your life. In old-fashioned terms, count

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 15

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 16

• How do I feel about this situation?

• What do I think I should do about it?

• Does this action fit with my values?

• If not, what else could I do that might fit better?

This helps you to apply reason to an emotional response before reacting.

Leadership Skills: Developing the Skills You Need to Lead 17

You can do this by:

• Take some time out before making a decision.