BRX Pro Tip: Benefits of a Beginner’s Mind
Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, let’s talk a little bit about the distinct benefits of having a beginner’s mind.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:12] Yeah. I think it’s funny that as you lead an organization or you lead any group of people, you want to come across as somebody who knows everything and you’re the place where all the information is stored. But as a leader, it’s really important to approach decisions, any new information, opportunities with a beginner’s mind. And that, to me, is a combination of a lot of curiosity, a lot of humility, and a true understanding that facts might have changed since the last time you saw something like what you’re dealing with right now.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:49] And when you can look at things through that lens of the beginner’s mind, it helps you make decisions and look at things with kind of a dispassionate pursuit of the truth rather than, “Oh, I’ve seen this before, do this.” Because every situation is different and things do change. And you have to kind of have an understanding that in life, things are a lot different today than they were yesterday. And just because you did something this way yesterday doesn’t mean that’s how you’re going to do it tomorrow.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:21] And then, when you go down the wrong path, it’s important to kind of acknowledge, “Hey, I made a mistake. This worked before, but it’s definitely not working now,” and accept it, move forward, apologize, make amends. This keeps you accountable. This keeps you from blaming too much to your team. And it’s just a more effective way of leadership, in my opinion.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] So, that beginner’s mind way to look at things through that lens of this is new because it truly is new, even though it might look like it’s something you’ve seen before. So, if you can keep that humility, I think you’re going to be a lot less stressed and a lot more effective.
