You Thought Wrong About Growth Mindset
Chapter 1
3 misconceptions of the growth mindset.
(I’ll explain later!)
Okay. So we started a learning and development course club at the office. Initially I didn’t know what to make of it. I was indifferent. I can’t say I knew how others felt about it either, but one thing was certain, I wasn’t ready to add other online courses to my learning catalogue. It could well prove counterproductive. It seemed like more work, despite all the tones to it.
Basically the way it works is, an area of development is identified and everyone takes a course on it and shares her/his key learnings with the team.
And so, as the good Lord would have it, the decision wasn’t mine to make eventually. We had the first course on empathy. And I was blatantly wrong! Wrong!! Wrong!!! The learnings I got from taking a course on EI (Emotional Intelligence) and listening to different perspectives on the topic from others was very interesting and insightful. I learnt how important emotional intelligence is to us as individuals and how impactful it can be to the organization (increased employee retention, improved sales turnover and employee engagement). I resist the temptation to expatiate.
Our next stop was Growth Mindset.
I’m sure from eons ago, people have always had growth and fixed mindsets. But how much do we know about growth mindsets and it’s impact?
In her book Mindset, published in 2006, which has sold more than 800,000 copies, Carol Dweck wrote that individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with fixed mindsets (those who believe their talents are innate gifts).
If you have a growth mindset, you’d worry little about appearing smart and give priority to learning, you’d appreciate constructive feedbacks, and always take full responsibility for every outcome. You, you and you are to be held accountable. Organizations with more growth mindset, are more trusting, more innovative, more risk taking, have greater retention of employees and generally have happier employees.
In contrast, people working in fixed-mindset companies report more of cheating and deception among employees. You can almost see them playing the zero-sum game in the talent race.
Because I know very few of you would sit here with me for 15 to 20 minutes reading all I have to say about growth mindset, I’d be reeling it in 4 different articles (3 other articles I call chapters).
Chapter 2
6 roadblocks to the growth mindset.
Chapter 3
Benefits of the growth mindset both for you and your organization.
Chapter 4
Mindset in mundane life (why your mind is your biggest problem).
What you need to stop thinking about growth mindset.
The 3 famous misconceptions about growth mindset are:
- I already have a growth mindset, I always have.
Just like how we move in and out of the state of confidence, we don’t always have the growth mindset. Everyone has a mixture of the growth and fixed mindset which evolves over time with experience.
2. A growth mindset is just about praising and rewarding effort, outcomes don’t matter.
No one should be excited about being unproductive. It’s critical to reward not just effort but learning and progress, and to emphasize the processes that yield these things, such as seeking help from others (collaboration), trying new strategies (innovation), and capitalizing on setbacks to move forward effectively.
3. If I have a growth mindset good things would always happen.
Wait! Have you heard the saying, “bad things happen to good people?” Okay, I thought as much. Organizations with high growth mindset encourage employees to take risk, knowing full well that some plans won’t work out. Having a growth mindset involves stepping out of your comfort zone and I guarantee you that involves a few “battle scars”.
Being able to overcome these misconceptions doesn’t guarantee you can easily attain a growth mindset. This is because fixed mindsets are almost a default for us. For example we might give up when we face challenges, cringe when we compare poorly to others or receive criticisms/tough feedbacks. These responses inhibit growth.
Knowing the mindset you have can show you what to improve on and what you should blast through the productivity speakers.
Being aware of your fixed mindset has its perks. It can help you find tools and strategies to be better. Rather than ruminating endlessly, hear what it says to you and then reframe the words to help you push through and achieve your goals. This is not the time to start judging yourself.
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” — Wayne Dyer
See you in the next chapter.
As usual, I’d love to read your thoughts.
