It is part of human nature to become complacent. When we are in a good position, we take it for granted. That is why we often lose appreciation for the things that once made us so happy.

Complacency leads to two things in life. The first is the inability to experience happiness in the present. We lose sight of the good we have because we take for granted the things we have.

The second is the inability to change. Most of us change our ways of working due to acknowledging a better way of doing things or accepting new founded knowledge. However, when we believe we are already better off, we become rigid in our ways. After all, if our current way of thinking got us to this position, why would we change it.

Unfortunately, it can be easy for leaders to become complacent. After a few good projects and results, it makes sense to stick in your ways. However, it is this very same mindset that brings about the leaders we do not want. These leaders rarely accept suggestions and reduce collaboration on purpose to get their way.

What I have found is that there are two ways of thinking about everything in life. The difference between a growth mindset and a fixed one is the way the person sees life. We can boil many opposing methods of achieving happiness, success and love to these two mindsets I will discuss in this article.

So, here is why the best leaders are always learning. And it all comes down to their grounding understanding of what leadership is.

Leadership as a Science

Sciences are things that lead to definite results. In some sense, leadership is like this. There are results we can all extrapolate from the practice of leadership that is definite.

For example, treating your team members with disrespect will lead to lower productivity and division in the team. Also, not having a plan of action will lead to ineffective results.

When we treat leadership as a science, we can get good results up to a certain point. Many of the books and articles you read on leadership are enough to make you a competent leader. And before writing on leadership, I viewed leadership like this too.

To many of us, leadership is a set of skills that need to be developed or acquired to get the results you want. It is a science or a complex formula that has many inputs and positive outputs.

However, when we see leadership as a science, we often try to fit it into a box. We begin to inherit a fixed mindset and develop a set of rules that work for our version of leadership. But the problem is, the reality of leadership is not like this at all.

What works for one organisation may not work for the other. Even within organisations, different departments need a different set of leadership rules.

Now ofcourse, we need to extract those sets of qualities that work and those that do not on a global scale. However, we see many differences in leadership styles that should not be ignored either.

When we put leadership in a box, we stop learning. We start thinking that leadership is a set of rules that we need to have adhered to. Therefore, once we know the rules, there is no need to learn anymore. We just need to practice.

Leadership is an Art

There is no question that leadership is an art. When we look at the number of books and articles written on leadership, we can see many ways to do it.

There are wrong ways, and there are right ways. But there is no definite wrong or right way. It is for this reason that leadership is a challenging terrain to navigate.

Art is not something that has formulas or is perfected by one method. Even some art pieces look messy yet sell for millions thanks to their unique perspective on something.

The thing about art is that it is also not rigid. Two different artists can get the same result whilst taking different approaches. An example of this is a painting or a drawing. They can start at different positions on the page or draw a component first and get the same result.

When we see leadership as an art, we will always see the need to grow. Once we understand that leadership is not black and white but somewhat grey, we continue to better ourselves.

Closing Remarks

When we see things like art, we are less likely to become complacent. We accept that life is not black and white and that we must continue learning to get better.

Of course, this does not apply to everything. As I highlighted, some things are science and must stay like this to ensure we have some guidance. However, for the most part, matters that concern our lives and well-being are less black and white than we think.

So, become a leader that views their profession as an art. Do not be stuck in your ways, and always question the way you do things. Keep growing and finding new ways to build on your leadership.