Building a Growth Mindset Culture
Just as the interview for the last Corporate Role I was in was wrapping up, I asked my would-be Leader “what kind of support I could expect navigating the new role?” Her response hit me right in the heart - “we are going to learn and figure it out together.” I was in a good position at this point in my career, I was in the process of entertaining a small handful of great opportunities and strongly considering just starting my own. No matter how big the offer, I just couldn’t seem to pull the trigger on any of them. Too many interviews were hard driving around “prove yourself” and you can do anything with our company. Candidly, I think for most of us, that already goes without saying in any company - being reminded of that in an interview set the tone for a culture of having to “get it right.”
I accepted that offer from the Leader who was focused on learning. This was the kind of environment and working culture that brought out the best in me, where I thrived and saw limitless possibilities. Where “getting it right” was not the focus, learning was. If learning is the focus, it makes failure safe. Failure is the greatest feedback for uncovering opportunities, for creating change.
Early in my career, I used to assess my Leaders for qualities I liked and didn’t like. At a young age, a mentor taught me it was more important to take note of qualities I didn’t like and ensure they were not part of who I was becoming, rather than to fault a leader and hold myself back because of it. I was also to observe the things I really loved in a Leader, and incorporate that into who I wanted to become as a Leader. I was reminded, we don’t always get to choose our Leader, sometimes they choose us. There will also surely be a time where someone didn’t choose you - who will you be for them?
Reflecting on all of this, along with the research and work that I do today in helping individuals become their best selves, it is clear that the baseline I was using to observe my Leaders with was not their hard skills or experience, rather how their leadership style would impact which Mindset I would bring to the workplace.
Carol Dweck, who built the foundational research around Mindset describes two important types:
Fixed Mindset - where we believe basic things like our talent or intelligence are fixed traits - that we have all that we will ever have. Rather than improving them, we go about proving and protecting them.
Growth Mindset - the idea that these traits can be developed with work and dedication. This Mindset allows us to believe in possibility and yearn for more, fostering a love of learning and a resilience for failure.
The reality is, we all live with both Mindset’s and choose from moment to moment, and situation to situation which one to be in. The Fixed Mindset poses a real threat to organizations as individuals put their energy toward proving themselves rather than improving themselves. On the other hand, a Growth Mindset culture sees individuals take where they are now as a baseline. These individuals put their energy toward doing more, becoming more, learning more and growing more - all of which are responsible for driving fulfillment, engagement, new ideas & innovation.
Building a culture that supports and fosters a Growth Mindset is proven to produce limitless return on talent investment. The Growth Mindset produces the necessary adaptability to change that is required to stay relevant in today’s dynamic and continuously disrupted world.
Start creating the space for a Growth Mindset with focus and dedication to the following key areas:
Leadership Awareness - An understanding of the Mindset concept and how it fits with our own views of Talent and Learning. Building an awareness of how what we say or do as leaders directly impacts the talent around us. Awareness of how we limit ourselves, as these become the limits we place on others.
Create the Space for Learning & Vulnerability -Encourage and support individuals making it safe to try new solutions or ideas even when the outcomes that are uncertain. Creating learning rather than labels (like failure) from outcomes that are not ideal.
Patience & Flexibility - Everyone learns differently and at different paces. Taking the time to understand the individual needs of associates is crucial to supporting and encouraging their growth.
Active Listening Skills - Are you really listening to what is being said, and more importantly not said? Can you hear the limits your people are placing on themselves? Really listening to understand an associate, what they believe, what they assume can help you uncover what they need to break through perceived barriers and turn setbacks into opportunities.
Non-Judgmental Feedback & Acknowledgment - The need for individuals to prove themselves comes from a fear of Judgment. Judgment is everywhere. As leaders, it is important to champion our people, however, as Carol Dweck points out, what you praise becomes a measurement (a form of Judgment). When we acknowledge outcomes or talent, we are setting a benchmark against which an individual will feel judged in future. Instead, we want to acknowledge the learning, effort and process by which someone gets to the outcomes. These are areas within an individual’s control, where growth is possible.
Create the kind of culture that embraces challenges and adversity, approaches mistakes and poor outcomes with curiosity, loves to learn and is supported in a way that builds confidence in it’s people. The results will absolutely take care of themselves when individuals are given the opportunity and space to bring their true potential forward.
