What is a Growth Mindset ?
What is a Growth Mindset ? by Lisa Ekinci
Image Credit : Michelle Taing , Kaitlin Taing of Office Divvy
If you believe your talents can be developed through effort , persistence and input from others , then you can simply say that you have a “ growth mindset .” We all make statements like , “ I ’ m not good with numbers ” or “ I ’ m not a runner .” Combining that with a “ YET ” is a tactic some use when they are trying to break free of a fixed mindset .
Ask the following question of your team or client : “ When was the last time you did something for the first time .” This can be a way of opening up the dialogue about what may be stopping that individual from trying things that are outside of their comfort zone or what they feel they have “ permission ” to do .
The concept of a Fixed or Growth Mindset comes from Dr . Carol Dweck , a psychologist , professor and author . Dr . Dweck describes a fixed mindset as a belief in your basic abilities , intelligence and talents – just fixed traits . You have a certain amount , and that ’ s that , and then your goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb . In a growth mindset , you understand that your talents and abilities can be developed through effort , good teaching and persistence . You believe you can get smarter and better at something if you work at it .
Growth Mindset Organization
How do you apply a growth mindset to an organization ? Draw people to the company who share the belief that they can change their abilities through effort , intention and input from others . To retain those people , the organization must set the tone that new ideas are key to agility , and change and failure are part of the business . The message from the leadership team can never be , “ If it ’ s not broken , don ’ t fix it .” Why ? Because with new ways of thinking comes the need for new skills and better ways of doing things .
Finding the time
It can feel impossible to think about how to advance one ’ s skills when our days are already full . Some routine actions that have been working for us at Office Divvy are celebrating our victories and looking back at the work we are doing so that we can gain a new perspective . In the following three examples , we use a virtual whiteboard 1 so our entire hybrid team ( onsite and remote ) can contribute .
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