We’ve spent nearly three decades, across five continents, coaching and consulting to leaders who are experiencing intense professional challenges—from extreme competitive pressures to mismanaged mergers and acquisitions. Throughout this work, we’ve observed a consistent link between leaders’ states of mind and their effectiveness, relationships, and performance. In particular, we’ve repeatedly witnessed the positive impact of higher states of mind and the adverse impact of lower states of mind. These observations inspired us to conduct more systematic research to validate and explore the patterns that seemed to be emerging.
We deliberately use the term state of mind in our work because of its unique connotations and the accessibility of the concept. Unlike mood (which is mainly used to refer to emotion) or mental state (mainly used to refer to cognition), the term state of mind can encompass both thinking and feelings. This is important because the phenomena we’re looking at with leaders combine both emotional and cognitive aspects. At the same time, state of mind indicates a temporary condition, a state, that can change from moment to moment—unlike a more lasting disposition or temperament. What we observe, and what leaders report, is that patterns of thoughts and feelings can vary greatly even in a short period of time.
With these considerations in mind, our definition of state of mind is our moment-to-moment experience of life as generated by our thinking and feelings.
In our recently edited and re-published white paper, we clarify the concept of state of mind and examine its impact on leadership effectiveness, relationships, and performance. We share data from our Global Leadership & State of Mind Study, which provides evidence of this impact, and we share insights from executives who understand the importance of state of mind and observe its effects every day. We also discuss practical solutions for shifting state of mind.