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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Writer's pictureJordan Guard

Developing The Mindset of a Leader

Exclusively for our Advancement Zone community, Ash Barty's mindset coach Ben Crowe - shares three mindsets that an athlete should practice, to enter onto a journey of leadership development.



"It’s your decisions, not your conditions or environment, that determine your mindset. That might sound simple, but it’s actually very powerful. Once you realise you’re the author of your own story, you have the power to write the narrative. You have the power to own your perspective.


Rather than thinking you’ve got to train or you’ve got to go to the gym, try changing that ‘o’ to an ‘e’. You get to train and you get to go to the gym. This shift in perspective takes it from an obligation to a privilege, and you begin to recognise all the wonderful things you might take for granted.


People think confidence comes from getting results, but it can’t, because you can’t control the results. Confidence only ever comes from two places: training and mindset.


There are three mindsets you can tap into to answer three of life’s biggest questions: a connection mindset, purpose mindset and a performance mindset."



Connection Mindset

"With connection mindset, the question you’re looking to answer is, ‘Who am I?’. It starts with focusing on the human being, rather than the human doing, and looking within.

This is important because we’re often so distracted by the external that we forget to look inside ourselves. We can get caught up in caring what others think of us or stressing about things outside of our control.

But it’s only once you accept yourself, celebrate your imperfections and own your story that you can go after the next big question: ‘What do I want?’"



Purpose Mindset

"Tapping into a purpose mindset helps us work out our life’s purpose, along with our goals, dreams, values, motivations and needs.

What lights you up? What legacy do you want to leave?

Once you know who you are and what you want, you can ask, ‘How do I get there?’. This is all about performance mindset."



Performance Mindset

Like sport, life is a performance, and there are so many distractions that can sabotage us.


A lot of the work I do with my clients centres around performance mindset. It helps answer the question of ‘how do I get there’ and means focusing your attention on the things you can control, and being the best version of you, rather than getting distracted by a fear of failure or focusing on results.


Ash Barty went into the 2022 Australian Open final with three words in mind: accept, celebrate and focus. Accept the things you can’t control, celebrate the journey and the opportunities you’re creating for yourself, and focus on what you can control.



Leading With Purpose

"Whether I’m working with athletes or CEOs, I try to shift the focus from achievement to fulfilment. Rather than aiming for an extrinsic goal, like winning a Grand Slam or making a lot of money, think about the intrinsic — why you want to do something and who you want to do it for. What do you want to be celebrated for?


Having this purpose in mind helps you get out of bed in the morning, and it takes away the pressure of winning. If we could all take a step back and realise that life isn’t about us, and that it’s about the impact we can have on someone else, we’d all achieve a lot more.


To me, the definition of leadership is the ability to create an environment that helps others reach their potential. It’s not about you, it’s about how you can help your people. So how can you be the best part of someone else’s day?"


Ben Crowe, Via salesforce.


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