Developing an executive mindset for a successful career

You don’t have to be at the very top of your career to benefit from having an executive mindset. Any leader looking to grow in their role should invest time and effort into developing an executive mindset. Why? Because in doing so you will become a better leader, you’ll be more motivated to do your job, and you will have a global vision of your company’s needs.

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Table of contents:

• What is an executive mindset?
• 6 skills for developing an executive mindset
• Key strategies to develop an executive mindset

What is an executive mindset?

Having an executive mindset involves being able to look at your company in a holistic way. As Stever Robbins says, “Leaders think vertically, horizontally, and through time.”

What does vertical thinking mean? CEOs, C-level executives, VPs, and other people in leadership positions have likely climbed the ladder step by step. Because they’ve moved from the bottom rung to the top, they have experience in every level of the business they’re in. That amount of experience makes them great leaders to team members in any position in the organization at any stage in their careers. 

Even if executives are no longer involved in making smaller decisions, they have a deep understanding of the business from a global standpoint. When you have a sense of highly developed vertical thinking, you know what it takes to bring any vision into reality. You can also visualize the future effects any company initiative might have.

What does horizontal thinking mean? Managing a company of a couple dozen employees is doable, but when your staff starts growing exponentially, keeping everyone engaged and connected becomes increasingly difficult. That’s what horizontal thinking means: it’s the ability to keep people and processes connected. 

When your company goes public, you’ll probably run out of time to be the one in charge of keeping everyone linked, but make sure you hire someone who can do exactly that; otherwise, you’ll run the risk of team members becoming isolated and feeling disengaged. 

Why is it important to think through time? When you are in an entry-level position, you probably make minor decisions. You make calls that don’t impact entire teams. The decisions at this level are important at the moment but are unlikely to have significant implications for the future. 

Thinking through time means you need to think about the implications a decision can have today as well as five years from now. Executives must work on this skill so they can make the right calls for urgent matters without compromising the future of the company and its employees. 

6 skills for developing an executive mindset 

Having an executive mindset is not a given; it is something you have to work toward. You may be a natural for some aspects of what we may consider part of the executive mindset, but there are other skills you can work on and develop over time. 

As a company that focuses on helping executives get better every day, we have identified 6 skills that contribute to any exec’s personal and professional development. The result of working on these skills is achieving an executive mindset and making better decisions for their company and their teams. 

Effective communication

Communicating effectively is important in every aspect of life, but let’s focus on the professional aspect. If you’re in a leadership position, communicating effectively is especially important for you and for your team. Imagine one of your direct reports has been working on an important project you delegated to them. What if they present the project, and you realize it is not at all what you had in mind? 

If you’re not specific about what you need, and you don’t communicate your expectations effectively and in a timely manner, there is a big chance your team members will put a lot of time working on something that is not even aligned with what you had hoped for. 

At that point, you have two options: tell that team member they failed to deliver or take the blame yourself. At the end of the day, the outcome is what matters. In this scenario, time is wasted, a team member feels their effort didn’t pay off, and you’re still waiting for the job to be done. Our advice? Overcommunicate.
 

Emotional intelligence

The tenure at US startups is only two years, and the reasons vary. Some people are looking for new challenges or a higher paycheck, but according to this article, the 5th most popular reason people quit their jobs is because they’re looking for a better manager. 

You can’t (and shouldn’t) stop a team member who wants a new challenge, but if you have multiple team members jumping ship, consider the possibility that it might not be about them. It might be about you. If you’re managing one or multiple teams, ask yourself: What am I doing to ensure my team members are happy to work with me? 

An emotionally intelligent leader is someone who can tell when a team member is feeling discouraged or disengaged. These leaders know when their workload is taking a toll on them, and they care about team members beyond their work relationship. Invest time in getting to know your team’s preferences, hobbies, and motivations. Show that you care and be empathetic, and you will have a much happier team to lead.

Visionary thinking

Leaders don’t let things happen; they make things happen. Being a visionary means you can visualize the effects that work in progress will have once they’re fully implemented. Having that visionary way of thinking is inspiring for your company and your team. 

Imagine you ask your team to spend several days or even months working on a project– maybe launching a new app feature or re-designing the website. And say that after all the hard work, you or someone else on the leadership team paused the initiative because it no longer aligned with the company vision. 

These kinds of episodes are sometimes inevitable, but they will tell your team one thing: that you are leading them in the wrong direction. To develop visionary thinking, take extra measurements to live and breathe your company’s vision. When you can vividly describe what that vision looks like, make sure your vision is aligned with your company’s vision. 

Strategic thinking

If you’re leading a company, you need to get ahead of your competitors rather than wait for their next move or understand industry trends. You need to be the trendsetter and one of the main ways to achieve that, is to think strategically about what your business needs. 

If you’re going to follow a trend, make sure there’s a strong enough rationale behind it. Does it make sense for your brand? Is it aligned with your goals? If not, it’s time for you to put extra effort into coming up with strategies that truly reflect your company’s goals. 

Adaptability

If you’re the CEO of a new startup you may have a plan in mind, but when your company doesn’t take off as you expected, it’s a sign it may be time to adapt. In the startup world, adaptability is what happens when the leadership team decides to pivot. 

What does it mean to pivot? It’s when you shift your company’s business model to pursue a new approach. Think about when Instagram went from being a location-based check-in app to a photo-sharing app, or when Slack pivoted from being a gaming app to a team collaboration and messaging platform.

Working on your adaptability can make your company grow in directions you didn’t even consider in your initial vision, but it can be the difference between modest success and real success. 

Resilience

There’s a lot of discomfort that accompanies growth. Not everyone will see your vision right away when you come up with disruptive ideas. That means you will have to fight for the ones you believe in. You will win some of those fights and you will lose others. What matters the most is that you stay motivated and keep on bringing those new ideas to the table. 

That’s what it means to be resilient: to get back on your feet every time, despite how hard you’ve fallen on the floor. Maybe you’ll be forced to fire half of your team. Maybe the project that seemed the most promising falls flat. Developing an executive mindset requires a great deal of resilience because the company’s goals are bigger than your ego. Just get back up and think of the next big thing.

Key strategies to develop an executive mindset

• Invest in personal development: Continuously seek opportunities to learn and grow, whether through formal education, mentorship, or self-study. This ongoing investment in yourself sharpens decision-making skills and enhances your ability to lead effectively.
• Take responsibility: Embrace accountability for both successes and failures, demonstrating integrity and setting an example for your team. By owning outcomes, you foster a culture of trust and responsibility within the organization.
• Listen to your team: Actively seek and value input from your team, recognizing that diverse perspectives lead to better solutions. Listening builds trust and empowers your team to contribute fully to the company’s success.
• Build a leadership network: Cultivate relationships with other leaders, both within and outside your industry, to exchange ideas and gain fresh insights. A strong network provides support, guidance, and new opportunities for growth and collaboration.

Whether you’re an accomplished leader or feel you still have a long way to go, developing your executive mindset will help you grow in your role. If you’re committed to becoming a better leader every day, explore our leadership blogs—they’re packed with valuable tips just for you.