I recently heard from an executive who was struggling in a tight situation. Her staff is overworked. She’s tapped out her revenue opportunities. She feels trapped in a catch-22 of, “I need resources so that I can grow. I need growth so that I have resources.”

She keeps coming to mind. When she does, I feel sad. She works in the fastest and most robust growth industry in the country. There should be nothing but potential in front of her. Despite this, she is only able to see the obstacles.

I can’t get her to return my calls. That’s why I feel sad. I know her company well. I know there are real challenges that she faces.

But she’s only held back by her mindset. And that is the truth.

Until she’s willing to allow her mindset to be challenged, she’s stuck. Therefore, so is the entire company. Everyone else who has career hopes and dreams. Every client who could and should receive more, better or new services. Every stakeholder who has a vested interest in the company’s success.

They can’t go beyond her mindset.

Confusing Skills and Titles with Leadership

This is why it is an absolute necessity for senior leaders to be people who possess a mindset of growth and the ability to see opportunities.

To “lead” means to go first. Sometimes this means to go first with your imagination or vision. I can’t lead anyone to somewhere I can’t imagine. If I can’t see or imagine or discern or identify opportunities, I will never lead to them.

Most people think in terms of the status quo. They might want to maintain it because it is familiar. They may just not be able to see anything beyond “what is.” That is the norm. They can’t lead you.

Although they can fill leadership positions.

When I work with boards, it is common for existing boards to look for attorneys or CPAs to sit on the board. They rightly understand that they need people with those areas of expertise.

However, what they usually end up with are risk-adverse individuals who have a higher tolerance for atrophy than for mistakes. That is a big problem.

If you need an attorney, find one who has built and grown their own company. If you need someone with a financial background, find a CPA who has functioned as a CFO in a fast growth company. Or a financially literate CEO who has already navigated the path you are one in a different company.

Find someone who has demonstrated an ability to see opportunity and produce growth.

The Precious, Precious Mindset of Growth and Opportunity: Five Indicators

You need senior leaders who think in terms of growth and improvement. Here is what to look for:

1. They find opportunities in tough situations: When times are tough, there is a tendency for people to focus on pain points. Many people shift to fatalism; “I hope things get better.” “We can’t do anything about the economy.” Others shift to victim-stance; “I inherited a mess.” “My team just doesn’t step up.” Some get stuck in second-guessing; “I don’t want to make a mistake.”

The best leaders recognize challenges, but they own the situation and look for ways to make things better. They turn their teams around. They create opportunities if none present themselves. They pursue imperfect progress. They are resilient.

2. They don’t miss the right opportunity in good situations: When times are good, it is easy to coast. It is easy to say, “What got us here will probably get us anywhere else.” It is easy to feel that good opportunities will wait. They misjudge the thin line between feeling comfortable and being complacent.

The best leaders actively look to move from strength to strength. They don’t look for opportunities to coast. They look for opportunities to leverage. They understand that organizations are organisms. They require movement and growth to be healthy.

3. They prepare and position themselves for opportunity: Many people wait for opportunities to curl up and go to sleep in their lap before they get ready for them. Teams, finances, structures are all designed and set up to handle, “now.” (Or even worse – “yesterday.”) There is no built-in capacity or readiness for growth.

More people are willing to prepare themselves for disaster (which they can more readily imagine) than for growth.

The best leaders are constantly readying themselves and their teams for opportunities. They create margin so they can act. They work with their teams to think forward. They train and grow to handle more. They build systems and foundations that can support more.

4. They are innovative: Status quo leaders can only offer used ideas. When situations change, they’ll keep trying to do the same thing. Blockbuster will ignore streaming Sears will ignore the internet.

The best leaders innovate. They combine two “used” ideas and make something new (gourmet chocolate bars with bacon). They discover new applications or audiences for an old idea (Lego movies that are targeting adults). Inventing is good but innovating is faster and easier.

5. They are ready to act: Some leaders just don’t consider action. However, most are afraid of making a mistake or failing. This is a common reason why smart people don’t follow through on great (or even just half-way decent) ideas.

The best leaders are resilient. They realize that most of us aren’t brain surgeons and most of our work can tolerate some error. They realize it is better to fix and improve something that has started than to miss your opportunity by never starting.

If you are in a position of recruiting or hiring someone for senior leadership look for mindsets of growth and opportunity.

It is healthy to have a team that can question and challenge new ideas as part of a decision vetting process. It is unhealthy (to the point of being fatal) to have a team that only sees obstacles and prefers to shoot down anything that looks new or feels unfamiliar.

This article is part of a series called 12 Key Traits to Look for When Building Your Dream Team. To read more click here.

Would You Like to Lead a Great Team or Consistently High-Performing Organization?

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