From skillset to mindset: A new paradigm for leader development

Abstract

I argue in this paper that a new paradigm for how leaders should be trained and developed is needed. In the new paradigm, leader development will focus on transforming mindsets more than skillsets. Skills are necessary but not suffi cient for leadership. Drawing on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and cognitive science, and the theory of "unlearning" of Otto Rank, I maintain that leaders should be learning how to radically transform their current mental models when they are out-of-date or no longer useful, thereby creating greater capacity for seeing what others cannot see and thinking what others have not yet thought.