Much of the FBI Academy training focused on immersing new agents, like myself, in controlled exercises where failure was expected. Our responses to these failures helped develop the mental skills necessary to recover when facing the unknown. During these exercises, we often lost critical resources that we relied on to succeed or reach our goals.
I learned to develop skills that would help me navigate through change and chaos. Leaders need these same skills because they face similar real-world challenges — the failure of established procedures or the emergence of innovative competitors that require leaders to be flexible and strategic.
Often, this requires re-examining long-held opinions about how to do business and interact with people. Mental agility isn't just about being quick-minded — it's about being able to pivot and stay resilient; in other words, to learn continuously about our environment. The best way to know more about our environment is to be curious.
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