Old habits die hard.
The very thing that helps some leaders earn a seat in the C-suite could eventually hold them back, according to Muriel M. Wilkins, CEO of executive coaching firm Paravis Partners and author of Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential.
“I’ve been working as an executive coach for over 20 years…and while they are wildly successful in terms of what they are able to do with their organizations,” Wilkins said, “I have often found that they run into roadblocks, not necessarily realizing that the roadblocks include themselves.”
HR Brew chatted with Wilkins about what possibly prevents some executives from being effective.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What will people leaders learn from your book?
A lot of times when leaders have to develop themselves, they often look at things outside of themselves…But very often, they don’t look at the internal game, which is their mindset. And, when you think about a leader being able to scale, be able to operate differently than they have in the past…Change in skills is one thing, but changing mindset is actually what leads to sustainability in terms of their effectiveness.
From an HR perspective, the ability to understand what the mindset is that’s required to be able to lead more optimally is paramount. And, from this book, they would be able to identify the areas where mindset might be able to get in the way, as well as a roadmap for how those leaders could actually expand our mindset.
What tips do you have for leaders who need to change their mindset?
They have these beliefs that they have formed that, frankly, has led to high performance, but that might not necessarily be working in the position, or role, or context that they’re in…[You need to] have an understanding of what the beliefs are that you hold, and question whether they are the ones that most serve you in the capacity that you’re in. Because if they don’t, then it is critical that you shift to a different mindset, or thought, or belief that actually supports the outcomes that you’re looking to drive to rather than working against you.
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Have the mindsets or priorities of CHROs and CPOs shifted since you started working with them 20 years ago?
One of the big shifts that CHROs and CPOs have had to make, and quite frankly, that they wanted to make, is really from being seen as tactical leaders, who are there to sort of execute on HR policy and HR administration, to really being a strategic leader within the organization…[They’re also] able to be in a place where they are a valued, trusted, and a strategic advisor to the rest of the C-suite, and that is a complex role to play.
Because you’re sitting at the C-suite level, while at the same time being an advisor and thought partner around not only people issues, but really people issues as it relates to the business being successful. So, that’s a big shift that I’ve seen over the past two decades, and being able to not only build the skill to do that, but again, see yourself in that role. And, going back to the mindset piece, having the mindset that enables you to operate at that level is a critical shift that folks who are in that career and advising in that career need to make.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for CHROs navigating this precarious time?
It’s a time of a lot of change and a lot of complexity, but we’ve been here before. So, getting them to understand that they have to operate from a place of confidence, that they may not have seen this particular environment before, but they are actually experts in being able to deal with change and being able to navigate change, not only at an individual level, but also how do you move an organization or a team through change. They’re the crux of being able to do that. They bring that value to an organization.