Most leaders have very good intentions and all the talent they need to accomplish genuinely meaningful things. What often gets in their way is something they are not conscious of. Their Mind Filter.
The Illusion
We believe that we are rational beings who make deliberate and goal-oriented choices. But that is mostly an illusion. What we notice, what we overlook, what feels urgent, what feels right to do are mostly decided in the non-conscious part of our brain.
By the time it reaches our consciousness, and we believe we are making an original and conscious choice, the matter has already been processed outside of our awareness.
Mind Filter
A Mind Filter is the brain's way of dealing with our world's enormous complexity. It's an index of our previous experience; what we have learned is true and important. Against this index, the brain processes the impulses we receive and filters through what makes sense and what is prioritized to our limited conscious awareness.
Each person's Mind Filter is colored by their individual experience. Still, a few noticeable patterns are more or less visible across all people. These patterns have a great influence on our actions and choices over time. But we are not aware of it happening. We believe we are making rational, original choices.
In a landmark 16-year study, 80% of top-performing leaders shared a specific combination of Mind Filter patterns. Among poor performers, only 10% did. Regardless of personality, skill or experience.
This is why the big things are so hard
We agonize over the exact wording of a slide when, in hindsight, the success of the presentation so obviously depended on very different things. We worry too much about what others think. We take too much personal responsibility.
Overall, the things we are drawn to and prioritize are simply not the things that lead to the outcomes that would give us the most meaning.
Over a career, this is how talent gets wasted. Not through lack of skill or intention, but through a filter that keeps pointing attention at the wrong things. Setting the bar too low. Focusing on things that feel right and important in the moment, but are not critical to the outcomes that would really make you proud.
A Mind Filter is non-conscious. But it can be made visible. Once it is, you can recognize and redirect the impulses that so far have been running you.
When you see things differently, it will feel obvious to make different choices
Taking more conscious control of your mind filter helps you question some of the "musts" that before seemed so non-negotiable.
You can challenge the inner monologues that keep you stuck on solving the wrong problems.
And you can identify the few things that are most helpful to your success and stay focused on them despite turbulence and uncertainty.
This will not only engage you but will also allow you to mobilize your team towards goals that you all take responsibility for.
Succeeding together is for most leaders more meaningful than doing it alone.
Being more conscious of your Mind Filter's patterns helps you catch your intuitive impulses and instead make conscious and purposeful choices. Based on what is real instead of on hidden assumptions.
It keeps you grounded under pressure.
And although work will still be hard, it will feel much more worthwhile.
The leaders I work with are very good at what they do. They have sound values and they care deeply about their teams and their goals. What I want to help with is making sure that all that effort really matters. That it leads to things that leaders feel are genuinely meaningful.
- Jonas
Your Mind Filter profile is different from the part of yourself you are conscious of. A meta-analysis of 105 research studies showed an average overlap of only 1%.
But your Mind Filter can be made visible through a scientifically rigorous process. It is not a questionnaire, but a method that reveals patterns not available through self-reflection alone.
Most leaders describe it as one of the most clarifying experiences they've had. Things they have vaguely noticed all of their lives suddenly start making much more sense. And with this clarity, they can take much more conscious control of what it is that they really want.
Sign up for my regular newsletter Mind Filter if you want to learn more about
The leadership approaches that feel so right—but are holding you back
How to avoid being limited by non-conscious assumptions in your day-to-day leadership
The few things to focus on to accomplish more of what really matters to you
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