There have been a number of occasions when I’ve watched professional sportspeople performing and thought “wow, that’s just awesome, if only I could do that.” Whether it’s running a marathon or performing some fantastic routine on the ice rink, we’re led to believe that the reason they can achieve these feats is that they have a pre-existing talent for athletics. But that talent had to be developed and strengthened, supported and nurtured. For every amazing athlete that exists, there are probably more who could have been, but didn’t try for fear of being criticised or failing. This is the difference between growth and fixed mindsets.
People with a growth mindset believe that talent isn’t fixed. Focusing on the belief that every individual has the potential to grow and develop, a growth mindset takes the initial qualities that a person has to offer and allows them to develop, usually through practice, failure and hard work. Thinking back to the sportsperson analogy above, this attitude was epitomised about 10 years ago by 30-year-old man named Dan who decided that despite never playing golf in his life he would try to become a professional golfer. He worked out that it would take 10,000 hours of practice and play to become a pro. You can read his story here*.
The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. Companies that follow a fixed mindset approach are less likely to experience employee growth and find it hard to discover emerging new leaders within their staff pool. Additionally, a fixed mindset will lead to less risk taking, reduced freedom, less collaboration, and individuals who operate with a fixed mindset have a reduced acceptance of failure. This can obviously be detrimental to a career or business.
So, how do you go about switching over to a growth mindset?
Develop new habits
It’s easy to get stuck in a career or business rut. Doing what you know is much easier than pushing for new challenges, but trusting either your talents and skills or those of your team can push towards far greater opportunities. We’ve all seen a parent trying to introduce new food to a toddler “You won’t know you don’t like it unless you try it”, the same can be said in business.
Challenges are there to be embraced
Yes, that does sound cheesy, but there is a lot of truth in it. Think for a second about what things wouldn’t exist today if it hadn’t been for someone taking on a challenge. Off the top of our head antibiotics, electricity, telephones, mass produced cars, all of these developments required someone to firstly say “I’d like to try that” and then to follow up with “I think I will try it”.
Curiosity isn’t (always) dangerous
Challenges spring from curiosity. Dan the golfer was curious to see if the experts were right about 10,000 hours being needed to become an expert. I’m not suggesting quitting work to take up golf (although that can always be an aspiration which you can work towards), but being curious can take your business and career in new directions.
The only validation you need is your own
Embracing a growth mindset means that you need to think about whether you look for feedback or approval. Feedback is infinitely more useful than validation because you can learn from it. No-one likes criticism, but equally no-one wants to be the Emperor with no clothes.
Other people make mistakes, learn from them
Just as someone is probably learning from your mistakes so you or your business should learn from theirs. Instead of comparing yourself to others, look at what they do well and what they do badly and use it as an invaluable lesson.
Nothing happens over night
If you join a gym you won’t find yourself buff and muscular the day after your first workout. In order to reach a goal, you have to persevere and those who do manage to reach a growth mindset are the ones who have shown dedication. Going to the gym once a week is better than not going at all, and the same can be said for attempting to reach goals.
If you would like to speak to an HR professional about steps you can take to improve your career, or are worried that maybe your business is stuck in a fixed mindset, contact Dakota Blue today (there’s really nothing to wait for).
*(For anyone who wants a spoiler, he managed 6,003 hours’ practice before his back gave out).