The Fundamental Nature Of Mindset.

We are living in a world where the pace of change is relentless, where exponential technologies, shifting economies, and planetary pressures are rewriting the rules of what it means to thrive. In this context, the concept of leadership—with its emphasis on control, certainty, and sticking to the playbook—feels dangerously outdated. What we need now is Leadering: a practice rooted in adaptability, curiosity, and the capacity to continuously learn.

But here’s the question: how do we actually cultivate this capacity, both in ourselves and across our organizations? That’s where the field of Mindset Psychology comes in..

FROM FIXED MAPS TO FLEXIBLE MINDSETS

Ash Buchanan’s new Foundations of Mindset Psychology series is the result of a decade’s worth of research using a regenerative methodology. It includes studying 40+ theories, 100+ definitions, 1800+ types, and 40+ supporting traditions, across 100+ years of mindset research. It also emerged as a result of leading real-world projects in schools and organizations, and engaging in collaborative inquiry with friends and colleagues.of research into how our mindsets shape behavior, resilience, and possibility. At its core, the work reveals that mindsets aren’t just attitudes—they are the invisible operating systems that determine whether we resist change or lean into it:

• A fixed mindset clings to certainty, control, and replication

• A growth mindset embraces learning, emergence, and experimentation

  
  

If Leadering is about navigating what’s next, then Mindset Psychology is a compass that helps leaders orient in a world where old maps no longer apply.

LEADERING AS APPLIED MINDSET WORK

When Nancy Giordano describes moving from leadership to Leadering, she is calling for a fundamental upgrade: from knowing to learning, from command to collaboration, from extraction to contribution. Buchanan’s research gives this upgrade a scientific foundation—showing us not just why mindset matters, but how to intentionally design cultures that nurture it.

WHY THIS MATTERS NOW

We are at a moment when our old operating assumptions—about business, education, economics, even leadership itself—are breaking down. To lead well in this age of radical transformation is to become a learner at scale. Mindset Psychology offers the frameworks; Leadering offers the practice. Together, they point us toward a future in which:

• Curiosity is rewarded more than certainty

• Contribution matters more than extraction

• Collaboration is valued more than competition

This is not just about changing how we lead at work. It’s about re-patterning how we show up in our families, communities, and societies.

A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION

If the playbook is dead, then what replaces it? Mindset Psychology suggests it’s not a new rulebook, but a new way of thinking. And Leadering reminds us that the future will belong to those willing to lean into wonder, navigate uncertainty, and reimagine success in regenerative, inclusive terms.

The question for all of us, then, is simple: are we willing to unlearn, so we can truly learn what this moment requires?