Mindset is a major key to both your personal and professional success. What you think and how you think have a direct effect on how you behave. Your mindset includes the assumptions and expectations you have about yourself, your life and the circumstances surrounding it. By understanding and altering your mindset, you can improve your personal and professional life and become more resilient.
Why Mindset Matters in Design Leadership
The role of mindset in driving business success
A fixed mindset offers limited success, whereas an open mindset leads to endless possibilities. To succeed in your business, you have to block out negativity from others and believe that you are capable of success. This may involve numerous dialogues to convince yourself. If you do not have the necessary self-esteem, how do you expect others to look to you for your expertise and leadership? If you want to be seen as an expert in your field, then, of course, you must project the mindset of expertise to be taken seriously.
A growth mindset can benefit you both personally and professionally. It will encourage you to improve your skills and knowledge, set and achieve goals and overcome challenges as well as be more creative and innovative. You will gain more enjoyment in your life which increases the probability of more success in your business and personal life.
How established designers can hit mental roadblocks despite experience
Design is a business that is constantly changing – that’s why many of you may love it. But with change may come challenges, including fear of failure or creative roadblocks. View challenges as opportunities in disguise. If you have a sudden fear of failure, turn it around and use it as an opportunity to brush up on risk management and fallback plans. Once you are prepared, the fear may disappear. If you are having a creative block, remain curious and open to learning and seek opportunities to expand your creativity, rather than just staring at a screen waiting for the ideas to flow.
Framing mindset as a competitive advantage in sustaining growth
Developing a growth mindset will allow you to be more flexible and adaptable – important characteristics in the design business. You can then adjust your designs according to the results you receive. You will find that your creativity will increase, and it will help you to be more innovative, willing to explore new ideas beyond your current knowledge. This skill can help propel you beyond the competition and increase the value you offer your clients.
Common Mindset Challenges for Interior Design CEOs
Scarcity vs. Abundance Thinking
Developing an abundance mindset means shifting your focus from what you lack to the reality of what you have and the possibilities available. A scarcity mindset allows fear and negativity to take over. Ask yourself if your beliefs are based on facts or fears. Focus instead on the core principle that there is enough for everyone and that helping others to succeed may create more opportunities for you. Practice gratitude for your successes and relationships with your resources. Don’t be afraid to share your vendors and resources with others. Sharing those sources is part of an abundance mentality.
An abundance mentality also means believing in what you are worth and charging accordingly. After all, this is a business, not a hobby. Developing self-confidence in your worth will attract your ideal clients who will value your expertise.
Believing that you have to control everything is a scarcity mentality. Learning to delegate is an abundance mentality. It means having a team – both internal and external – who add to the value of your firm. Delegating allows you to scale your business and strategically focus on higher-level projects. If you’re the owner of your company and you’re still doing bookkeeping or marketing yourself, it might be time to hire or outsource!
Imposter Syndrome
Even among successful designers, it is not unusual to experience imposter syndrome. Because design work is subjective with no single correct answer, it can lead to one feeling as if they are a fraud, even though they have had proven success. In creative fields such as design, some professionals can feel the pressure of staying knowledgeable about new trends, products, etc. It sometimes leads to a belief that their success comes from luck or factors unrelated to their own skill. This belief creates the worry that they will be “exposed” as a fraud and causes anxiety. Designers put so much of their personal identity into their work that they feel personal vulnerability around criticism.
To overcome these fears, remember that you are not alone in these feelings. Trust yourself and remind yourself that you are where you are because of your talent and hard work. Embrace the value of effective critiques and build an internal or external team to give you feedback. Let them know what sort of feedback you are looking for and use it to expand the success of your projects. Channel your uncertainty around being able to consistently update yourself on new ideas, processes, products, etc. Remind yourself that your desire for continual learning is another value you bring to the table.
Fear of Change
It is often so easy to get too comfortable with business as usual – using the same technologies, processes, etc. that you have been using and that have been “good enough”. You may feel frustrated getting clients to be open to change, and yet, often, you might need a nudge to be willing to accept changes in your own business. Use some of the same approaches with yourself that you use when sharing the benefits of change with your clients. Think of possible time-saving benefits when adopting new technologies and creating new and more effective processes. Sure, it takes time upfront, but imagine how much time can be saved in the future! Streamlining and strengthening your business adds value for the client, as does expanding your teams – both internal and external. You may become less resistant to change within your business if you approach it with the same creativity you use when designing client projects. Learn to enjoy the positive aspects and creativity of change rather than resisting it.
Burnout & Overcommitment
Tying your personal identity too closely to your business can lead to neglecting health, family, friends and giving up your personal life for your business. You begin to feel guilty when you are not working and feel as if you must make an excuse if you take time away from your business. Your job title becomes your identity. That is not healthy and most often will lead to burnout and overcommitment – and may actually make you less successful at your business. Design a business that inspires, serves, supports and feeds the whole of your life.
You also may extend the expectations you have set for yourself to your team, which is a sure way to lead to regular turnover. Not only will your health and personal relationships most likely suffer, but so will the business if employees are always leaving. Imagine all the time you would be spending on interviewing and onboarding!
Learn to delegate and remember to share the success of your business with your team. Set healthy boundaries so that there is a separation between your work and personal life. Redefine success. Expand your view of success to include your personal values and growth as well as the firm’s. Remember your love of design and the excitement when you first started your business, and bring a bit of that joy back into your everyday workflow.
Adopting a Growth-Oriented CEO Mindset
Shifting from a “designer-doer” to a visionary leader
One of the most challenging areas of business for many designers is the shift from “designer-doer” to becoming a visionary leader. Yet it is one of the most important if you want to grow your business. You will need to shift your focus from taking your individual designs from start to finish to working with your team and increasing the joint output. Remember the adage “two heads are better than one”? Well, as much as you may want to control every aspect of the design, imagine how much more you will be able to offer the client with the combined expertise of your team. The shift involves developing new skills and taking advantage of your creativity. Apply that creativity in building a team with complementary talents that expand your firm’s value. It is important to learn to manage performance, develop clear processes, and provide a clear vision for your brand. Visionary leaders must handle detailed analysis and yet develop big-picture thinking and be able to do future forecasting to guide their team toward the mission they share with their team.
Setting boundaries and trusting your team
Leaders need to define their non-negotiables. This should happen even before the members of your team are hired. These non-negotiables will often relate directly to the culture of your firm and may include expectations like project expense limits not needing your approval, work hours, dress code, relationships with clients, etc. Explain clearly the “why” behind the boundaries.
Show trust in your team by empowering them and identifying the decision-making authority you are delegating to them.
Be consistent in upholding boundaries and be sure to project the behavior you expect. Open communication and collaboration are crucial for a strong team. Check in regularly without micromanaging.
Reframing mistakes as learning opportunities
Reframing mistakes as learning opportunities should be part of your culture. It applies to how you view your own mistakes as well as those of your team. The key is to identify how they happened, how they might have been avoided and how they can be avoided in the future. Foster a mindset that encourages open discussion, learning and creating ways to improve, rather than pointing blame or doling out punishment.
The importance of consistent self-reflection and strategic thinking
Be open to learning and expanding your knowledge, and don’t be afraid to look within. Journaling offers a tool to capture ideas and can aid in brainstorming solutions to challenges, developing marketing strategies, or jotting down ideas to share with your team. You can use it to release the burden of trying to keep so many ideas in your brain and to free up mental space. Coaching is also an opportunity to brainstorm ideas, learn from experts, get help with challenges and help you think strategically to expand the success of your business.
The key to strengthening your mindset for long-term success in your design business is to quit talking and begin doing! Start now and develop a design practice that offers the time and resources you need to live the life you have envisioned with a successful business that fuels and feeds that life.