Mindset Development Tips

SELF BELIEF > INTELLIGENCE Believing in yourself is often more critical than raw intelligence. Intelligence can sometimes lead to overanalysis, hesitation, and self-doubt, hindering progress. On the other hand, confidence drives action, resilience, and the ability to learn from failures. Balancing intelligence with self-belief enables you to take risks, make decisions, and persevere through challenges. 1. Cultivate Self-Belief: * Affirmations: Start each day with positive affirmations reinforcing your abilities and potential. Statements like "I am capable," "I trust my judgment," and "I can achieve my goals" can boost your confidence. * Celebrate Successes: Keep a journal of your achievements, big or small. Reflecting on past successes can remind you of your capabilities and build your self-esteem.
 2. Manage Overthinking: * Set Time Limits: When faced with a decision, give yourself a specific amount of time to analyse and then commit to a choice. This prevents paralysis by analysis. * Simplify Decisions: Break complex decisions into smaller, manageable parts. Focus on one aspect at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
 3. Embrace Failure: * Learn and Adapt: View failures as opportunities to learn and grow. Analyse what went wrong, adjust your approach, and try again with newfound knowledge. * Resilience Practice: Develop resilience by challenging yourself to step out of your comfort zone regularly. The more you face and overcome challenges, the more confident you will become.
 4. Balance Intelligence with Action: * Trust Your Gut: Sometimes, intuition can guide you better than overanalysis. Learn to trust your instincts and make decisions with confidence. * Take Calculated Risks: Use your intelligence to assess risks, but don’t let fear of failure stop you from taking action. Embrace uncertainty and move forward with confidence.
 5. Seek Support: * Mentors and Peers: Surround yourself with supportive people who believe in you and encourage your growth. Seek mentors who can provide guidance and feedback. * Positive Environment: Create an environment that fosters positivity and growth. Minimise interactions with negative influences that may undermine your confidence.
 6. Continuous Improvement: * Lifelong Learning: Commit to continuous learning and self-improvement. Embrace new challenges and opportunities to expand your skills and knowledge. * Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable goals that push you slightly out of your comfort zone. As you achieve these goals, your confidence will grow.

🏃♀️ Imagine a study on marathon performance that doesn't mention some runners are carrying 50-pound backpacks. That's the 2025 Women in the Workplace report from Mckinsey and LeanIn 60 pages on why women "want promotions less." Zero mentions of childcare, eldercare, or the invisible second shift. Their own data shows women and men are equally committed to their careers, over 90% on every measure. Young women under 30 has even more ambitious than young men. Latinas are the most ambitious group in the entire study. 🤔 So where does this "ambition gap" come from? Buried on page 10, in a small box, they note that women who decline promotion cite "personal obligations" at nearly double the rate of men. Then they move on. No follow-up. No analysis. No asking the obvious question: What are these "personal obligations"? 💔 I'll tell you what they are. 👉 They're the 2am feeding before your 8am presentation. 👉 The school pickup that can't be rescheduled. 👉 The elderly parent who needs a doctor's appointment during your board meeting. 👉 The mental load of remembering everyone's everything while being told you "lack ambition." The report measured ambition without measuring the invisible infrastructure women are running at home. 👉 Here's what the report should have asked: ⁉️ Do women with equal childcare support want promotions at the same rate as men? ⁉️ Do women with flexible work arrangements show the same career drive? ⁉️ Does the "ambition gap" exist in countries with subsidized childcare? (Spoiler: Research says no, no, and no.) Instead, they concluded women are less ambitious and moved on to solutions that don't address the actual problem. This isn't just a missed opportunity. It's a misdirection! ❌ Because when you diagnose "ambition gap" instead of "care gap," you get solutions like "women need more confidence" instead of "workplaces need to stop penalizing caregiving." You get women blamed for systemic failures. 📊 Here's what an honest report would say: ✅ Women aren't less ambitious. They're doing two jobs while being evaluated as if they're doing one. ✅ The workplace wasn't designed for people with caregiving responsibilities. It was designed for people with wives. ✅ Until we redesign the system, we'll keep "discovering" that women don't want what men want, when really, women just can't afford what men take for granted. That's exactly why we built "From Hidden Talent to Visible Leader", because the women I work with aren't lacking ambition. They're lacking a system that sees their full contribution. Next cohort starts end of Jan 2026. 👉 Join the waitlist: https://lnkd.in/gx7CpGGR 👊 Because women don't have an ambition problem. The workplace has a measurement problem, and it starts with reports that count everything except what actually matters.

Lessons I have learnt so far as a woman entrepreneur We all accumulate lessons through career pivots, late nights, setbacks, and honest self-reflection. Here are principles that have shaped my journey, ones I hope every professional, especially women, will keep close in today’s world: 🔹Prioritize Financial Independence. Financial security is not only about independence, but also empowerment and options. It’s important to distinguish real security from mere comfort. True strength is having the ability to walk away when your peace or values demand it. 🔹Value What You’ve Earned. Aspiring for a high standard of living reflects your self-worth and ambition, not superficiality. Never feel apologetic for desiring a life that aligns with your hard work and dedication. 🔹Embrace New Beginnings, As Many Times As Needed. Reinvention is a sign of growth, not failure. Others may have opinions, but your journey should reflect your own aspirations, not limitations set by fear or judgment. 🔹 Care for Yourself to Sustain Others. Consistently supporting those around you requires you to be well, too. Make time for healing and self-care, strength is found in balance, not burnout. 🔹Build a Circle Based on Loyalty and Values. Relationships, whether professional or personal, are about quality, not quantity. Surround yourself with people who encourage growth, offer honest feedback, and value loyalty over simple proximity. 🔹Discipline Over Drama. Sustained success stems from consistent, intentional action—not from chaos or unpredictability. Let reliability and focus be your brand. 🔹Allow Results to Speak for Themselves. There’s no need to constantly prove yourself to skeptics. Exceptional outcomes and a strong work ethic will always reveal your potential. 🔹 Invest in Substance Over Surface. Skills, strategy, and self-respect far outlast short-term recognition. Prioritize development and preparation over mere appearances. 🔹Trust Your Own Timeline. Progress is personal and non-linear. Achievements, relationships, and healing each have their own pace. Blocking out comparison and external noise is essential to staying true to your path. What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear the principles shaping your story. #WomenEntrepreneur #LeadershipLessons #CareerGrowth #GrowthMindset

If your one-on-ones are primarily status updates, you're missing a massive opportunity to build trust, develop talent, and drive real results. After working with countless leadership teams across industries, I've found that the most effective managers approach 1:1s with a fundamentally different mindset... They see these meetings as investments in people, not project tracking sessions. Great 1:1s focus on these three elements: 1. Support: Create space for authentic conversations about challenges, both professional and personal. When people feel safe discussing real obstacles, you can actually help remove them. Questions to try: "What's currently making your job harder than it needs to be?" "Where could you use more support from me?" 2. Growth: Use 1:1s to understand aspirations and build development paths. People who see a future with your team invest more deeply in the present. Questions to explore: "What skills would you like to develop in the next six months?" "What parts of your role energize you most?" 3. Alignment: Help team members connect their daily work to larger purpose and meaning. People work harder when they understand the "why" behind tasks. Questions that create alignment: "How clear is the connection between your work and our team's priorities?" "What part of our mission resonates most with you personally?" By focusing less on immediate work outputs and more on the human doing the work, you'll actually see better performance, retention, and results. Check out my newsletter for more insights here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju #executiverecruiter #eliterecruiter #jobmarket2025 #profoliosai #resume #jobstrategy #leadershipdevelopment #teammanagement

Productivity looks impressive on a dashboard. Responsibility builds something deeper. Over time, I have learnt that hitting targets is not the same as taking ownership. You can have a team that delivers every metric and still misses the mark. Because real growth does not come from doing more. It comes from doing what matters and owning it completely. Responsibility shows up in the quiet moments. When someone stays late to fix a mistake no one else saw. When a client issue is resolved without it ever becoming an escalation. When team members hold themselves accountable without being asked. Productivity asks, “Did we finish the work?” Responsibility asks, “Did we care enough to do it right?” One builds short-term wins. The other builds long-term culture. So yes, I value productivity. But what I build for is responsibility. That is what sustains everything else. #Productivity #Strategy #Culture #Leadership

In 1969, two researchers gave more than one thousand kids the same test NASA uses to measure creativity. What they found was shocking. It didn’t just reveal how creativity works — it showed how we lose it. 🧵 George Land and Beth Jarman started with an unusual test: They gave a group of 5-year-olds a creativity assessment designed to measure problem-solving and imagination — the same test NASA used to identify superstar scientists and engineers. The results? 98% of the 5-year-olds scored at the “highly creative” level. These were the creative geniuses NASA needed.. Then Land and Jarman asked a bigger question: What happens to this creativity over time? So they followed up. At age 10, only 30% of the same kids scored as creative “geniuses.” At age 15, that portion dropped to 12%. Eventually, they tested adults. Only 2% scored in the “highly creative” range. From 98% to 2%. What happened? Land blamed one major factor: the way we educate. He argued that uncreative thinking isn’t natural — it’s learned. Over time, we’re trained to converge and comply instead of imagine and invent. To memorize instead of innovate. The takeaway? Creativity isn’t something we lose. It’s something we unlearn. And that means we can relearn it, too. The challenge isn’t talent. It’s permission. To ask “what if…” To think in questions, not just answers. To treat curiosity as a skill — not a distraction. Creativity isn’t rare. It’s buried. If 98% of 5-year-olds are creative geniuses, maybe we don’t need to teach creativity. We just need to stop teaching it out of people.

I was shadowing a coaching client in her leadership meeting when I watched this brilliant woman apologize six times in 30 minutes. 1. “Sorry, this might be off-topic, but..." 2. “I'm could be wrong, but what if we..." 3. “Sorry again, I know we're running short on time..." 4. “I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but..." 5. “This is just my opinion, but..." 6. “Sorry if I'm being too pushy..." Her ideas? They were game-changing. Every single one. Here's what I've learned after decades of coaching women leaders: Women are masterful at reading the room and keeping everyone comfortable. It's a superpower. But when we consistently prioritize others' comfort over our own voice, we rob ourselves, and our teams, of our full contribution. The alternative isn't to become aggressive or dismissive. It's to practice “gracious assertion": • Replace "Sorry to interrupt" with "I'd like to add to that" • Replace "This might be stupid, but..." with "Here's another perspective" • Replace "I hope this makes sense" with "Let me know what questions you have" • Replace "I don't want to step on toes" with "I have a different approach" • Replace "This is just my opinion" with "Based on my experience" • Replace "Sorry if I'm being pushy" with "I feel strongly about this because" But how do you know if you're hitting the right note? Ask yourself these three questions: • Am I stating my needs clearly while respecting others' perspectives? (Assertive) • Am I dismissing others' input or bulldozing through objections? (Aggressive) • Am I hinting at what I want instead of directly asking for it? (Passive-aggressive) You can be considerate AND confident. You can make space for others AND take up space yourself. Your comfort matters too. Your voice matters too. Your ideas matter too. And most importantly, YOU matter. @she.shines.inc #Womenleaders #Confidence #selfadvocacy

If you overthink, try this. All you need is a pen, a piece of paper, and 15 minutes. That’s all it takes to measurably improve your mental and physical health, according to hundreds of scientific studies. Dr. James Pennebaker’s ‘Writing Protocol’ is the method behind those results. Here’s how it works: 1. Write for 15 minutes, once a week ↳ Tip: Focus on the same emotionally challenging event every time. 2. Keep it raw and unfiltered ↳ Tip: Don’t worry about grammar or structure — this is just for you. 3. Stick with it for 4 weeks ↳ Tip: Make it a ritual. Same time, same place. Over 200 peer-reviewed studies show that this practice - essentially expressive writing - improves mental clarity, emotional resilience, and even physical health. No gimmicks. No cost. Just a science-backed reset for your mind and body. P.S. Do you ever find yourself overthinking something negative that happened? Studies: Guo, L. (2023). The delayed, durable effect of expressive writing on depression, anxiety and stress: A meta‐analytic review of studies with long‐term follow‐ups. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(1), 272-297. Lukenda, K., Sülzenbrück, S., & Sutter, C. (2024). Expressive writing as a practice against work stress: A literature review. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 39(1), 106-137. Range, L. M., & Jenkins, S. R. (2010). Who benefits from Pennebaker’s expressive writing paradigm? Research recommendations from three gender theories. Sex Roles, 63, 149-164. Ruini, C., & Mortara, C. C. (2022). Writing technique across psychotherapies—from traditional expressive writing to new positive psychology interventions: A narrative review. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 1-12.

I knew stepping into a Chief People Officer role would be a major undertaking. And boy, was it. But as with any big leap, there’s what you expect to learn... and then there’s what you learn by living it. Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts I’ve made is moving from a function-first mindset to a business-first one. As a VP, I focused on how I could build the most thoughtful, progressive People strategies out there — and rolled out some pretty darn awesome #HR programs if I do say so myself. (See: Our 'No Negotiation Policy' and our '$100 Bonding Perk') But here's the thing: I didn't often have the "overall business success" in mind when I pushed these initiatives forward. I started with what I thought was best for my function (AKA: the #People strategy), and then retroactively found ways to justify it to leadership. As a C-suite executive, however, you have to be a business leader first, and a function leader second. Your number one priority must be to empower the success of the business. Your job as a C-suite executive is to start with the business goals, and work backwards from there to determine how you can best empower the business through your function. In my recent piece for the amazing Jess Yuen's The Left Hand Column, I unpack what that shift actually looks like — not just in theory, but in practice — and offer tactical prompts to help other People leaders build their own business-first mindset and catch yourself when you start to go astray. Some of what I cover: ✅ How to spot when you’re working backward from your function instead of forward from the business ✅ How to level up your fluency in company vitals, general business acumen, and cross-functional strategy ✅ Why it’s so important to trade territorial thinking for true collaboration (especially in moments of budget tension) If you’re in the middle of this shift — or working hard to get yourself CPO-ready — this post should offer a useful framework for navigating what’s next. 👉 Check out the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eZTxiQWb 👉 Want even more tips for leveling up your leadership skills? Check out my top tips and tricks here: https://lnkd.in/egBrc4Kj

In 2008, Michael Phelps won Olympic GOLD - completely blind. The moment he dove in, his goggles filled with water. But he kept swimming. Most swimmers would’ve fallen apart. Phelps didn’t - because he had trained for chaos, hundreds of times. His coach, Bob Bowman, would break his goggles, remove clocks, exhaust him deliberately. Why? Because when you train under stress, performance becomes instinct. Psychologists call this stress inoculation. When you expose yourself to small, manageable stress: - Your amygdala (fear centre) becomes less reactive. - Your prefrontal cortex (logic centre) stays calmer under pressure. Phelps had rehearsed swimming blind so often that it felt normal. He knew the stroke count. He hit the wall without seeing it. And won GOLD by 0.01 seconds. The same science is why: - Navy SEALs tie their hands and practice underwater survival. - Astronauts simulate system failures in zero gravity. - Emergency responders train inside burning buildings. And you can build it too. Here’s how: ✅ Expose yourself to small discomforts. Take cold showers. Wake up 30 minutes earlier. Speak up in meetings. The goal is to build confidence that you can handle hard things. ✅ Use quick stress resets. Try cyclic sighing: Inhale deeply through your nose. Take a second small inhale. Exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat 3-5 times to calm your system fast. ✅ Strengthen emotional endurance. Instead of avoiding difficult conversations, hard tasks, or feedback - lean into them. Facing small emotional challenges trains you for bigger ones later. ✅ Celebrate small victories. Every time you stay calm, adapt, or keep going under pressure - recognise it. These tiny wins are building your mental "muscle memory" for resilience. As a new parent, I know my son Krish will face his own "goggles-filled-with-water" moments someday. So the best I can do is model resilience myself. Because resilience isn’t gifted - it’s trained. And when you train your brain for chaos, you can survive anything. So I hope you do the same. If this made you pause, feel free to repost and share the thought. #healthandwellness #mentalhealth #stress