An Introduction to State of Mind
We’ve spent nearly three decades, across five continents, coaching and consulting to leaders who are experiencing intense professional challenges—from extreme competitive pressures to mismanaged mergers and acquisitions. Throughout this work, we’ve observed a consistent link between leaders’ states of mind and their effectiveness, relationships, and performance. In particular, we’ve repeatedly witnessed the positive impact of higher states of mind and the adverse impact of lower states of mind. These observations inspired us to conduct more systematic research to validate and explore the patterns that seemed to be emerging.
What is State of Mind?
We deliberately use the term state of mind in our work because of its unique connotations and the accessibility of the concept. Unlike mood (which is mainly used to refer to emotion) or mental state (mainly used to refer to cognition), the term state of mind can encompass both thinking and feelings. This is important because the phenomena we’re looking at with leaders combine both emotional and cognitive aspects. At the same time, state of mind indicates a temporary condition, a state, that can change from moment to moment—unlike a more lasting disposition or temperament. What we observe, and what leaders report, is that patterns of thoughts and feelings can vary greatly even in a short period of time.
With these considerations in mind, our definition of state of mind is our moment-to-moment experience of life as generated by our thinking and feelings.
State of Mind White Paper
In our recently edited and re-published white paper, we clarify the concept of state of mind and examine its impact on leadership effectiveness, relationships, and performance. We share data from our Global Leadership & State of Mind Study, which provides evidence of this impact, and we share insights from executives who understand the importance of state of mind and observe its effects every day. We also discuss practical solutions for shifting state of mind.
Download the .pdf: “State of Mind: The Source Code for High-Performance Leadership,”
written by Alexander Caillet, Jeremy Hirshberg,
and Stefano Petti and edited by Amy Yeager:
Additional State of Mind Resources
Videos:
Alexander Caillet, CEO of Corentus, shares his insights on ‘The Power of State of Mind.’
Watch Alexander Caillet on the Insight Channel as he explores the personal and professional impact of state of mind.
Watch “How to Shake Off a Bad Mood,” with Harvard Business Review Editor Nicole Torres.
Articles:
Read on HBR.org: How Your State of Mind Affects Your Performance
Read on HBR.org: A Simple Way to Combat Chronic Stress
Read on HBR.org: 4 Steps to Dispel a Bad Mood
Read on HBR.org: Get in the Right State of Mind for Vacation
Read on NBCNews.com: Why it's so hard to come back from vacation — and how to do it better
Engage with Corentus
Are you looking to enhance your and your team’s effectiveness, cohesion, and performance? Learning how to use the State of Mind tool can help you better manage your patterns of thinking and feeling, thus enabling you to have a greater impact.
We can partner with you to develop an engagement tailored to meet your needs, and all of the Corentus Team Tools, including State of Mind, can be taught via our engaging virtual or in-person sessions.
By engaging with Corentus, you’ll learn a variety of practical strategies which you can implement on your own, as well as with your teams, to heighten your effectiveness.
Email us at EngageUs@Corentus.com to discuss your specific needs for team development. We look forward to partnering with you!
State of Mind: The Source Code for High-Performance Leadership. Copyright © 2022 Corentus, Inc. All rights Reserved.