Business transformations aren’t just about processes and tools. They’re also about people, and one of the most powerful ‘people’ attributes leaders can encourage is a Growth Mindset.
But what is it, and how can you cultivate it?
The term ‘Growth Mindset’ and its opposite, ‘Fixed Mindset’, originate in the work of Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck.
A Growth Mindset is rooted in the belief that we are never finished learning and growing; and we can continue to learn, grow, and adapt.
People exhibiting a Growth Mindset tend to be excited by challenge, change and opportunity. They tend to fear failure less, because to them, failure is only temporary, and is only feedback to the process of continuous learning.
A Fixed Mindset is rooted in the belief that our capabilities are pretty much fixed.
People exhibiting the Fixed Mindset tend to avoid change and fear failure more. They tend to use language like, “You either have it or you don’t,” and, “This is how I am.”
Can the Growth Mindset be learned?
Of course, it can! And if you think about it, if somebody doesn’t think it can be learned, guess which mindset that is? Yes, it’s the Fixed Mindset!
But how is it learned? And how can leaders cultivate it?
Like many things, it is learned by practicing it—by being prepared to embrace the mindset and act from that mindset. This is where Coaching and leadership support may be useful.
Leaders can cultivate it by the example they set and the environment they foster.
- Taking measured risks within sensible guard rails
- Being transparent about one’s mistakes
- Treating the facts as friendly
- Treating mistakes as learning opportunities
Growth Mindset isn’t something learned in the classroom. It is learned by doing, supported by Coaching and experimentation.
Talk about how Lean Tree can help your organisation achieve the Growth Mindset.
