Leading With a Growth Mindset for Business Impact
At CFCD we are passionate about high performing teams and believe leader’s adopting a ‘Growth Mindset’ can gain a competitive advantage.
Popularised by Carol Dweck, the Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University a Growth Mindset is focused on learning versus a Fixed Mindset which concentrates on looking good. Put simply, a Growth Mindset believes effort is the pathway to mastery with a Fixed Mindset viewing effort as a waste of time with skills and talents innate. Rather than one set mindset or another Dweck’s recent work shows a continuum between the two where we fluctuate.
This approach is being adopted by many schools and corporations including Microsoft shared in this recent HBR article co-authored by Dweck.
The article states: “Research shows that managers see far more leadership potential in their employees when their companies adopt a growth mindset — the belief that talent should be developed in everyone, not viewed as a fixed, innate gift that some have and others don’t. But what are those organizations doing to nurture their talent?”
At CFCD we believe a Growth Mindset aligns to leaders taking a coaching approach, believing their team members have the gold.
Here are some of the benefits and business impact translations we see with our client partners when leaders adopt a Growth Mindset:
- Higher employee engagement levels
- Talent retention resulting in lower staff turnover
- More effective delegation allowing time for strategic priorities
- Empowered workforce with an instilled learning culture
- Less risk adverse culture leading to more innovation and creativity
Worried you are stuck with a fixed mindset? The good news is Dweck’s research is built on the theory of neuroplasticity which shows that we can carve new neural pathways, changing the brain at any stage of life.
It’s never too late to embrace learning and the power of human potential.
A couple of questions to help you get into a Growth Mindset:
- What am I going to learn today?
- How could I get there? (Thinking of a destination you’ve previously thought wasn’t possible)
These 10 tips from the Positive Change Guru may be a useful tool for leaders to help foster a Growth Mindset culture: http://positivechangeguru.com/10-tips-growth-mindset-team/
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