Are You Playing Above the Line? Why Your Leadership Mindset Matters
In leadership, thought leadership and personal development, the way we frame our thoughts can profoundly impact the way we perform both personally and professionally. Negative self-talk is very common. In fact, research by the National Science Foundation found that the average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day and of those about 80% are negative. But this kind of thinking – even though common – can see us becoming closed off to opportunity and innovation, and stop us from taking any positive actions to move forward.
It's clear that if we want to be high performers, we need to be playing above the line.
Playing above the line – why your leadership mindset matters
But what does ‘playing above the line’ mean? Well, you can think of your mindset and the language you use around that mindset like an iceberg. Just like the vast bulk of an iceberg is hidden beneath the surface of the ocean – 90% in fact – most of our thoughts are unconscious too. In fact, only about 10% of your mindset is really conscious. The other 90% are those unconscious thoughts that, if left unchecked, can negatively influence our attitude, the words we speak and then the actions we take.
This is the line. But instead of floating ice above and below the water line, we’re dealing with our mindset. Below the line are our negatively framed thoughts and words, and above the line are our positively framed thoughts and words
The Above the Line Model of Leadership Mindset
If we’re playing below the line we might hear ourselves saying things like, ‘I’m struggling,’ ‘Hopefully this happens’, or ‘I’m lost.’ These phrases all denote defensiveness and closed-mindedness, and sometimes even a victim mentality. When you’re in this place you will likely feel at the mercy of the circumstances, rather than in control of your own future.
On the other hand, when we’re playing above the line, we might hear ourselves say things like, ‘I’m learning,’ ‘I’m practising,’ or ‘I’m trying to understand.’ These kinds of phrases reflect openness, curiosity and a commitment to growth. And this leads to conscious leadership and proactive action taking.
The impact of language on performance
The language we choose doesn’t just reflect our mindset. It also actively shapes it. Research shows that adopting a growth mindset, where we recognise that our abilities and even intelligence aren’t set in stone but can be developed through work, leads to higher levels of resilience and performance. Psychologist Carol Dweck’s work emphasises that individuals who do develop a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges and persevere even when they face setbacks because they see them as an opportunity to learn and improve.
A study published in the International Journal of STEM Education also found that students who developed a growth mindset had more motivation and ultimately achieved more over time.
But having a growth mindset isn’t just about believing it to be true. It’s about adopting it into your behaviours and actions. And you do this first by reframing your below the line thinking.
Reframing your below the line mindset
I once worked with a client who frequently used ‘below the line’ language. When we would meet, her most used phrase was ‘I’m struggling.’ This was actually true. She was struggling in her practice. She didn’t have the support she needed to grow. But her language was keeping her stuck. She believed she was a victim and was closed to taking any real steps to fix her situation.
Once she started to see how her language was impacting her mindset, she started to work to reframe it in a more positive, growth-minded way. When she found herself saying, ‘I’m struggling’, she’d replace it with an ‘above the line expression’ like ‘I’m still learning,’ or ‘I’m starting to understand.’ This simple change caused a significant transformation in her practice. She started to take a more positive approach to her challenges, and began to take proactive action, including getting more support to help her grow.
If we want to be high-performing leaders we need to become conscious leaders, as described by Jim Dethmer in The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. It’s from Dethmer that we first hear about the above the line and below the line thinking.
Dethmer also tells us that conscious leaders are those that are self-aware and able to tell themselves the truth. When we lead from below the line, a leader’s main commitment is to being right, but when we lead from above the line, the main commitment is to learning.
The gateway to moving from an unconscious leadership model or mindset to a conscious leadership mindset is to take responsibility – we can no longer be victims or ‘have things done to us’. We must become open so that we can really learn, and take responsibility for our own actions. Then we’re in position to become conscious leaders and ultimately high performers.
Next steps
Listen to your language. Pay close attention to the phrases you use, especially when you’re facing challenges. Are you using ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line’ phrases?
Reframe your statements. Every time you catch yourself using ‘below the line’ language, take a moment to consciously reframe it. For example, if you find yourself saying, ‘I’ll never figure this problem out,’ reframe it to, ‘I’m exploring solutions to this problem.’
If you consistently practice these steps, you can shift your mindset towards more openness and curiosity. And that will put you in a position to take active steps towards change and learn to be a more effective leader and higher performer overall.
I’d love to hear your thoughts…
