April 7, 2025

Challenging Your Thought Process

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Mindset forms the bedrock of effective leadership. The way we think shapes our decisions, influences how we solve problems, and determines the trajectory of our professional journey. But how often do we examine our own thought processes?

In this bonus episode, I explore the critical connection between mindset and leadership effectiveness. Your thought patterns affect everything—from how you allocate resources and prioritize tasks to how you motivate yourself and others during challenging times. I share three powerful strategies to challenge and improve your thought processes: paying attention to your thoughts (are they predominantly positive or negative?), breaking free from comfortable routines that stifle innovation, and rededicating yourself to authentic leadership. When was the last time you or your team generated fresh ideas or improved a process? If you can't remember, you might be trapped in complacency.

The most successful finance leaders consistently challenge their thinking patterns, embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth, and execute their leadership vision with renewed purpose. This mindset-focused approach doesn't just transform how you lead—it revolutionizes the results you achieve and the impact you have on others. Are you ready to elevate your leadership by transforming how you think?

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy: financeleaderacademy.com.

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Chapters

00:00 - Leadership Mindset Introduction

00:40 - Challenge Your Thought Process

01:36 - Breaking Free From Routine

03:12 - Leadership Rededication

03:51 - Upcoming Episode Preview

Transcript

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Hi. This is Stephen McLain of the finance leader podcast. This is bonus episode number 90. Now, how many of you believe that your leadership style affects others and affects yourself too? How we lead and where we focus is how resources are applied to problems and tasks, how we think affects our leadership and so many other aspects of our life.

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Now, how we process and use information affects our professional judgment and how we lead others. It affects our personal lens on problem solving and leading people. Now, this week, I wanted to take a few minutes to ask you to challenge your own thought process. Yes, again, it's a mindset discussion, because what is the foundational cause of success or failure? Yes, it's our mindset and how we approach learning a crisis a challenge. It's how we deal with conflict and how we decide what level of effort to apply every single moment, our mindset aids in deciding to keep going in the toughest of days, Now next week, I'll be back to sharing full episodes, and I to get up in the morning, to get to the gym, to manage an employee performance issue better, and Many other situations that you may find yourself in our thinking process can affect our personal bias, which is so critical to have something else to share with you. I conducted a great understand.

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Now, let's briefly discuss how to challenge your own thought processes.

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Number one, pay attention to your thoughts. Are they positive? Our thoughts are powerful. Our thoughts lead us to action, or maybe even inaction or to overthinking, interview recently with the CEO of Concord worldwide, Matt Lemo.

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which can paralyze our progress, and even more, including our goal achievement, the way our thoughts go, so does our effort, our priorities, how we use resources, how we lead, how we motivate others and how we motivate ourselves, work to identify your patterns, then start to modify how you think in Concord provides an amazing contract management platform order to get to the place where you want to be. Seek out support if you need to, like a trusted peer or a mentor or even a professional Number two, getting unstuck from our own routine. A solid, that can help you to be more efficient with all the contract productive, focused routine is great. Developing great habits is also amazing. I love productive habits, but is your details you are trying to figure out a great tool for CFOs. I routine got you stuck in your thinking? Did you get too wish I had access to this service in several of my comfortable? Now here's a test.

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Have you or your team come up with new ideas lately? Have you challenged anything? Have you previous roles. Matt also talks about finance leadership in the improved a process recently? Has work or even life become dull?

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startup environment. He had some great tips and amazing insights.

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Now review your responses. I love improvement. In the military, we continually work to improve our situation. We don't I can't wait to share that episode. You will love it. Thank stay static or get comfortable for when we do the enemy or in you again for listening. Please visit finance leader academy.com business terms, our competition will take advantage of us. Never get complacent. Fight your comfort zone. Get uncomfortable to find more resources. Thank you.

00:04:39.653 --> 00:04:44.430
so you can move forward.