“This time will be different.”
Sound familiar? You’ve invested in yet another leadership programme, feeling energised, hopeful, convinced it’ll stick.
Yet inevitably, the sparkle fades, and behaviours slide back into old patterns.
According to a Brandon Hall Group study, a whopping 75% of leaders said their leadership development efforts fail to achieve lasting change. They’re not the only ones talking about the frustration of change efforts, and if you’re reading this then chances are you’ve experienced it too.
Why on earth do smart organisations keep repeating this costly error? (And what is this error, exactly)
The Illusion of Change
Most leadership training targets surface-level behaviours. But that’s like trying to change the direction of a river by splashing at the water instead of reshaping the riverbed. You might get a few ripples, maybe even a brief change in flow – but before long, the current snaps back to its original course.
Enter The Carrot Principle.
Picture your organisation as a garden. Each leader (yes, including you) is a carrot.
Most training focuses on the leafy tops above the soil: the visible stuff – actions, decisions, communication styles. But the real story lives underground.
Because what shapes behaviour isn’t behaviour.
It’s the root system: mindset, assumptions, beliefs. Ignore that, and you’re just pruning leaves while the same patterns keep regrowing.
That’s why change so often fizzles. People are still seeing the world the same way, so naturally, they feel and act the same too.
As you may have guessed, this is my twist on the classic iceberg metaphor – but instead of frozen blocks, I work with living, growing leadership teams. A team is like a garden of carrots and let’s be honest, we don’t get gardens of icebergs!
Quick Case Study: The Mindset Shift That Transformed Microsoft
Remember when Microsoft missed the mobile revolution? Satya Nadella, stepping in as CEO, quickly spotted the real issue: not behaviours, but mindsets. Under his leadership, leaders who once prided themselves on being “know-it-alls” (resulting in rife internal competition to stand out as the know-it-all) were transformed into curious “learn-it-alls.”
The result was staggering: a cultural renaissance and a skyrocketing market cap now nudging $2 trillion.
Nadella’s message: Mindsets are your invisible economic engine.
The Hidden Economics of Mindset
Let’s talk business impact.
According to McKinsey, organisations embracing a growth mindset outperform their peers by 50% in revenue growth during challenging market periods. Conversely, teams trapped in fixed mindsets squander 5-7 hours weekly on defensive posturing – guarding territory, managing perceptions, avoiding risks.
Add to that companies nurturing growth mindsets report a remarkable 47% increase in team trust and a 34% boost in ownership and commitment. Yet, astonishingly, most leadership development completely ignores this powerful lever of profitability.
Here’s a snapshot of stats from my whitepaper Unlocking Growth-Oriented Cultures That Scale
The Real Problem Isn’t Training; It’s the Operating System
When leaders hold fixed-mindset beliefs like:
- “I must always appear competent.”
- “Asking questions reveals weakness.”
- “Taking risks endangers my position.”
…they unwittingly cultivate toxic environments where innovation feels threatening, collaboration becomes competitive, and feedback triggers defensiveness rather than growth.
Your previous programmes haven’t failed due to lack of effort; they’ve failed because they’ve targeted the wrong part of the carrot.
(In this short article, I unpack how the praise we receive as children quietly installs our mindset “operating system” – fixed or growth mindsets – which we and our team members carry into adulthood and into how we lead.)
What Elite Organisations Do Differently
Look at today’s most adaptive organisations, such as Microsoft, Google, and even elite military units I’ve had the privilege to engage with. They don’t just train leaders’ behaviours; they systematically cultivate mindsets.
They understand a simple, powerful truth: When you change the root, the fruit takes care of itself.
These forward-thinking companies zero-in on three key root systems:
- The underlying narratives leaders tell themselves about success and failure.
- Invisible assumptions driving their decisions under pressure.
- Psychological safety mechanisms determining whether collective intelligence thrives or withers.
Bottom line: When you change these root systems (i.e. mindsets) transformations become effortless, enduring, and self-sustaining.
The Paradox
Here’s the twist… Something subtle yet profound:
The harder you push for behavioural change, the more resistance you encounter. But the more you cultivate mindset shifts, the more behaviours evolve effortlessly.
Here’s a quick experiment for you: in your next challenging leadership scenario, notice who’s defending their expertise and who’s curious about new possibilities. That difference reveals everything about the mindset beneath their behaviours.
In an upcoming post, I’ll unpack the three-phase protocol my most successful clients use to create these powerful shifts, often in under 120 days.
Until then, ask yourself this: Are you cultivating leafy tops or transforming root systems?
And if you’re keen to fast-track this shift, our Growth-Culture Accelerator assessment delivers a comprehensive, actionable insight into your team’s collective mindset across seven essential behavioural dimensions.
Contact us here to request more information.
