Want to Build Better Leaders? Focus on Mindset, Skills, Knowledge
Middle management used to be the place where careers stalled, but the COVID-19 pandemic has turned that notion on its head. The tight job market is opening up new opportunities for capable middle managers who show initiative. In fact, mid-level leaders possess more agency now than at any other time in recent history
What is leadership capacity?
Companies tend to gauge capacity based on leaders’ technical execution of tasks, but that perspective overlooks foundational elements that help these professionals reach a higher level-the T-shaped leader.
- The pyramid shaped MSK Framework takes these principles a step further, offering organizations a way to apply these three principles: M: Mindset
- S: Skills
- K: Knowledge
- The top tier of the Framework considers a leader’s knowledge.
Implementation of the Framework
To begin exploring and cultivating a leader’s mindset, organizations should shift from “telling” to “inquiring”
- Directive dialogue teaches your direct reports about how you think
- Facilitate the exploration of skills
- Harness knowledge
- Ask questions that allow them to make connections between all three tiers
Next Steps in MSK
Organizations should establish the conditions for reaching a leader’s full potential
- The MSK Leader Development Framework is not meant to remain in the conceptual domain; it is designed to be put into practice
- Implementation facilitates the necessary shift from “telling” leaders what to do to “inquiring” about the thinking that informs their decision making