Uncovering an overlooked element of leadership development: The foundational role of mindsets

Abstract Mindsets are individuals’ mental lenses that selectively organize and encode information, thereby orienting them toward a unique way of understanding their experiences and guiding them toward corresponding actions and responses. Decades of research have demonstrated that mindsets are foundational to how individuals process and operate. Despite this research, mindsets have largely been overlooked when developing leaders. In this article, we seek to introduce mindsets into the realm of leadership development. To do so, we explore what mindsets are, why they are so important for leadership development and effectiveness, and which mindsets leaders could further develop to operate more effectively. We review the research associated with four different sets of mindsets (fixed and growth mindsets, goal orientations, implemental and deliberative mindsets, and prevention and promotion mindsets) to demonstrate the important role they play in leaders’ effectiveness. We conclude by discussing how leadership developers and leaders themselves can focus on mindsets to improve leadership effectiveness.