It is a common mistake that high achievers and technically sound persons are promoted to leadership positions. Many find it difficult to do the so called “mindset jump” and so they end up feeling excluded for the teams they are supposedly leading, being constantly pulled in different directions and constantly solving daily operational issues. Many managers feel they are failing and exhausted within 18-24 months from taking their new position. Why is this so?

Research keeps showing that to succeed, leaders need to be future-focused and good with guiding, communicating and persuading people. However many times, we become the main stumbling block to enable us to excel in these areas. Business leaders and managers can and should be trained at how to change their mindsets to avoid having themselves and their brains be the major stumbling block along the path to success.

Focusing on the Future and what is happening out there: Rather than just doing the work of today, leaders must constantly scan for what’s next and make sure their teams are prepared. This is at odds with how our brains evolved to value the immediate and short-term future. That’s a concern because anticipating things like industry trends, future skills requirements and customer needs is central to a leader’s success. The challenge, of course, is that thinking about the future is difficult in the best of times. The more you have to think about immediate and short-term challenges, the harder it becomes to notice the quiet signals that can provide you with insights about possible futures. Our brains also have to battle distance bias, which causes us to prioritise ideas and decisions closer in time over things further in the future. Fortunately, research suggests the habit of thinking about and predicting the future is a learnable skill, and it’s one of many cognitive skills leaders can and should learn as part of leadership training. One way to get started is to block off time each month and map out a “future state” for where you’d like your team to be in three to six months. Using that vision, then work backwards to determine what you’d need to do to get your team to that destination in the next six months.

Your People: Besides being future focused, leaders must also be good at connecting with and motivating their people. These two tasks are often at odds because people often get promoted to leadership positions because of technical competence, not their leadership skills. Research constantly shows that leaders who are both technically competent and highly skilled in emotional intelligence, is somewhat of a much needed rarity. It is likely that there are neurological reason for this. Research shows that as an individual’s responsibilities increases, the brain’s goal-focus network becomes dominant. However, getting the right balance between goal and people focus is key. However very few manage to achieve this balance without training. Hence the importance for business leaders to learn how to cultivate the right balance by being more intentional about the signals they are sending to their team members.

Remaining with your feet well on the ground: Being future focused is important, but then leaders cannot get themselves detached from the present realities that surround them. One risk leaders run is that they get over confident as they feel more in control over certain situations and hence pressure the teams around them towards unrealistic targets, causing a disconnect between themselves and their direct reports. It is natural for leaders, who change their mindset to be future focused, to then become less detail-oriented and more visionary. That is not bad within itself. However, that would need to counteracted by seeking other perspectives to stay realistic about the present and set more people-focused goals that are tied to the welfare of others. Which is why, one of the main skills of a leader is the ability to listen.

In essence, we as human beings might not be naturally built for leadership. However with the right training and habit formation, leaders at all levels can elevate their performance and that of their teams.