Developing a Growth Mindset

Do you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset?

Carol Dweck, an American psychologist and Stanford University professor, coined the term 'growth mindset' in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Dweck suggests that people either have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset when it comes to their abilities. People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed — are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset — those who believe that abilities can be developed.

Characteristics of a Fixed Mindset

People who have a fixed mindset:

• Avoid challenges out of fear they won’t succeed or will look “bad” in front of others; they don’t want others to see they are struggling or imperfect

• Have difficulty accepting criticism or constructive feedback; they may question the other person’s intentions and become defensive

• Focus on proving themselves to others

• Are threatened by the success of others; they think others’ success somehow diminishes their worth or makes them look bad

• Don’t accept failure or mistakes because they view them as weaknesses or shortcomings

• Often avoid doing unfamiliar things, choosing to stick to what they know or do best

• Believe the talent they were born with is all they’ll ever have (nature over nurture)

Popeye the Sailor Man had a famous catchphrase – "I am what I am, and that’s all that I am." I love that Popeye promoted eating spinach (which is a superfood, by the way), but that statement evidences a fixed mindset. Certainly, Popeye is not alone.

There are thousands of variations of Popeye's statement. I’ll use myself as an example.

"I’m just not good at math."

That was me in my high school calculus and plane geometry classes. I replayed this statement in my head so many times that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. It was no wonder, then, I performed poorly on tests because I had already convinced myself success was impossible.

Here are a few other examples of fixed mindset thinking. Do you see yourself in these?

• I’ll never be good at [fill in the blank], so why even try?

• I’ve always been unorganized. That’s just who I am.

• My brother is the smart one, not me.

• You either have a knack for doing something, or you don’t.

• Being chronically late is part of my personality. I can’t change that.

• There’s no way I’d be able to handle a management role, so I’ll just stay where I am.

• I don’t see why I need to learn that new process when the one we use now works fine.

• I’m too old to learn a new language.

Now that we understand what a fixed mindset is, let's flip this!

Characteristics of a Growth Mindset

People who have a growth mindset:

• View challenges as opportunities to learn and grow

• Welcome (and even ask for) constructive feedback and use it to improve and grow

• Focus on what they learned and achieved throughout the process, not simply the end result

• Are inspired when others succeed

• Learn and grow from their failures. They ask what did I learn from this experience that will help me in the future and what can I do differently the next time to be more successful.

• Step out of their comfort zone

• Believe that talent can be nurtured and that they can get better at something with hard work, practice, determination, and perseverance

Consider the story of the little engine that could. Despite the steep climb and heavy load, the engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the motto: "I-think-I-can". What a great example of a growth mindset!

Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset

• Understand the power of YET and BUT. I am not good at creating pivot tables in Excel, yet. I struggle with technology, but I am willing to work on that. There is power in positive self-talk. The next time you find yourself slipping into fixed mindset speak like the examples I listed above, add a yet or a big but!

  
  

• Chase progress, not perfection. Perfection is unattainable. Incremental progress is much more meaningful.

  
  

• Celebrate effort, not just results. And be proud of how hard you work. For example, maybe you are one of the thousands of people trying to lose weight. Maybe you missed your weight loss goal for the month by 5 pounds. The result was not what you wanted. But you can still be proud that you hit the gym regularly, got in your cardio and weight training, and resisted the temptation of eating that piece of chocolate cake. And, most importantly, that you persisted in the face of wanting to give up at times.

  
  

• Take risks. Try new things and exercise your learning muscles. When we experience something new and enjoy it, our brain triggers a release of dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that makes us experience pleasure. When we learn something new, there’s a rewiring or making and strengthening connections between the neurons in our brain. This is known as neuroplasticity.

  
  

• Prioritize learning over seeking approval. When you’re more concerned about other people’s approval, you miss out on many opportunities to grow. Stop worrying what others think and focus on bettering yourself for your own benefit.

  
  

• Learn from the mistakes of others. When you see someone make a mistake, place it in your mental file cabinet for when you find yourself in a similar situation. If you see someone burn their hand on the stove, you don’t have to place your hand on the stove to know it’s hot. That’s grandmother wit! This is why project managers compile and share lessons learned after completion of the project. This works in your personal life too.

  
  

What will you do over the next week to tap into a growth mindset?

Sources:

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What Do They Really Mean?

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What's the Difference?

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