Last week, I wrote an article called “My Greatest Leadership Lessons from the World’s Greatest Leader” to pay tribute to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and I have received many condolences from colleagues and friends all over the world.
In the article I touched on only a few aspects of His Majesty’s leadership lessons, which I truly cherish and seek to emulate. The fact is, I don’t think I could possibly enumerate all of the things he has done for the country as the list seems to be endless.
Still, there is one more trait of the late King which I find important and want to address, and that is the virtue of the “outward mindset” leader.
I have already written numerous times about the benefits and the advantages of having an outward mindset, but normally I focus on how this applies on the job, within companies or organisations. In reality, the power of outward mindset can be harnessed outside the scope of work but in day-to-day life as well, so please allow me to explain one more time for those who may not be familiar with the concept.
Few of us know the power of our own mindset. We scarcely realise that our mindset is essentially at the core of everything we do as well as our ability to perform. When we operate from the self-centred mindset, which often happens unconsciously, we are operating with an inward mindset according the terminology developed by the Arbinger Institute.
The inward mindset is one that focuses solely on your own results and reduces the value of others by seeing them more as objects, and less as human beings — they can be vehicles for advancement, obstacles or irrelevancies depending on the circumstances. This mindset impedes behavioural change as individuals prefer to stay where they feel most comfortable and tend to be blind to what others need; therefore, they become more prone to creating conflicts.
On the other hand, the outward mindset involves a focus on being accountable and helpful to the goals of others. When we operate with this mindset, we will see things as OUR results and see others as “people”. In fact, this is when the individual is focused on collective success and every person believed to be invested in the success of everyone around them. In other words, it’s the mindset that leads to a win-win solution.
In such a case, individuals have the desire to improve others and care about others’ interests. They will begin to see the work as a function of how they can best fulfill the needs of others in a way that creates real and sustainable results. Simply put, this outward mindset creates a culture of authentic collaboration and accountability.
In this regard, if we look back through His Majesty’s reign spanning 70 years, we’ve seen him countless times rolling up his sleeves and hiking into impoverished villages and remote rice paddies to assess the state of the country in order to help resolve everything from water and food shortages to family squabbles. We’ve seen our beloved King work tirelessly on his social projects and development programmes for the welfare of the country, even when his own health was not good.
All of these activities, I’m certain, were a reflection of his outward mindset. He operated with the goal of developing the country and improving the lives of his people, not for his own sake but for the country and its citizens.
In fact, King Bhumibol took the following oath on his coronation: “We will reign with righteousness for the benefits and happiness of the Siamese people.” And he has done so. His Majesty's words were abundantly put into action through his devotion to doing good for the country and people throughout his reign.
Lastly, while all leaders must pass, I’m sure the great ones “pass on” what is important by example and that is through how they lived. For me, His Majesty King Bhumibol passed on many great leadership principles through his extraordinarily well-lived life. Being an outward mindset leader is another positive attribute worth adding to the ongoing list.
Our beloved King’s enduring works will continue to resonate in our hearts and his deeds will be greatly remembered as he will forever be revered.
Arinya Talerngsri is Group Managing Director at APMGroup, Thailand's leading Organisation and People Development Consultancy. She can be reached by e-mail at arinya_t@apm.co.th or https://www.linkedin.com/pub/arinya-talerngsri/a/81a/53b
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