Most people do not manage their mindsetâthey are not aware that it can even be managed. But the most successful leaders, sportspeople and clinicians know that managing their mindset sets them up for success.
The culture of the organisation weâre working within can also influence our mindset. Processes that do not allow employees to feel trusted and valued can have a significant impact on mindset. Whether people are trusted or treated with suspicion, they will live up to the expectation.
Growth mindset
Dr Carol S. Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University and leading researcher in the field of motivation, has spent decades researching achievement and success, and has determined that there are two types of mindset: fixed and growth. She also determined the power of mindset and the profound affect it can have on our lives.
Prior to her research, she held the belief that we couldnât get smarter; whatever we were born with was what we had. Through her research, she has discredited her original belief and proven that we can become smarter.
Do you have a fixed or growth mindset?
People with a fixed mindset:
âą believe that intelligence is fixed and their qualities are carved in stone
âą avoid challenges
âą give up easily
âą donât see the value of effort
âą avoid negative feedback
âą are threatened by othersâ success, and
âą shy away from challenges for fear of being exposed.
People with a growth mindset:
âą believe that intelligence can be developed and their qualities can be cultivated through effort
âą embrace challengesâin fact, they relish challenge
âą see effort as a path to mastering a skill
âą learn from criticism
âą incorporate learning and get inspiration from othersâ success, and
âą believe that we donât all have the same talents and abilities but that we can all grow through hard work, mentorship and perseverance.
Depending on which mindset we operate in, we either narrow our world or widen it. Those with fixed mindsets narrow their world to appear as though they are achieving, whereas those with growth mindsets open up their world so they can look for opportunities and challenges, allowing them to grow.
Many people have elements of both mindsets, and different mindsets for different areas. For example, a person could have great social skills but think she is incapable of standing up and delivering a presentation for a group. Someone could have a great business mind but think he is unable to master new gadgets.
Beliefs are powerful. We do have a choice; we can change our mindsets if we want to.
What you can do to move to a growth mindset
âą Raise your awarenessâsimply understanding that you have two mindsets enables you to challenge your thinking and can produce incredible results.
âą Acknowledge that we all have elements of fixed and growth mindsetsâdonât beat yourself up; itâs what makes us human. By embracing this, you can start to notice how often your fixed mindset creeps in. I (Lyn) think I canât sing, and I (Donna) think I canât draw. In reality, we know that if we were motivated to overcome these limiting beliefs, we could enrol in singing and art classes, and we know we could improve. Our motivation to do so is clearly low; otherwise, we would already have taken steps to rectify these perceived shortcomings.
âą Become aware of triggersâknow when your fixed-mindset persona shows up.
Perhaps at a networking event you meet someone in your industry who appears more confident and polished. How do you feel? Do you shrink in comparison, and is your mind telling you that you can never be as good?
How about when you lose a prospect during a pitchâdo you blame yourself? And does this knock your confidence and ability to win future pitches?
How do you handle it when you receive a complaint? Do you become defensive?
Maybe youâve received negative feedback during a personal development review. Do you feel uncomfortable and maybe choose to ignore the feedback? Do you dislike your manager a little for giving the feedback?
Or perhaps a colleague has been praised for doing something well. Are you looking for ways to discredit what he or she has done to make yourself feel better?
âą Name your fixed-mindset personaâthis might seem a little odd, but bear with us. It works well in practice.
We were talking about pricing with one of our clients (a high-end business, so not the cheapest in their sector). A senior employee argued that they would not attract new business as their price point was too high. Her fixed-mindset persona, whom she had named Margaret, had taken over. Her tone changed and so did her style of communication, which became very direct. When challenged, she became even more direct and defensive. Another senior colleague in the room responded, saying, âWhen Margaret comes out in this way, it impacts the groupâs ability to move forward with the discussion because she is so closed offâ. Another colleague bravely spoke up at this point: âWhen Margaret comes out, I feel that I canât get my point out and I just fall silent. This is Violet, my fixed-mindset persona. She shrinks and feels intimidated and tongue-tiedâ. These revelations allowed the group to continue the discussion. Once they understood each otherâs triggers and personas, they were able to move past them and identify the real barriers to winning new business.
âą Educate your mindsetâonce you have identified your triggers and have named your fixed-mindset persona, take your persona on the journey to grow your mindset. Later in this section, we will explore a number of ways you could do this. For example, you could find a mentor to support you, work with a coach to help you develop, ask for constructive feedback (perhaps 360-degree feedback if youâre a manager), listen to what your clients say about you, or work on positive affirmations and visualisations and on removing limiting beliefs.
Managing your mindset is not a one-off event. It takes time and continual effort to flip the switch from fixed mindset to growth mindset. But once youâve done so, seemingly insurmountable challenges will be easier to navigate.
How you can inspire your team to have a growth mindset
âą Promote problem-solving when failure occurs.
âą Praise teamwork and effort, not just outcomes.
âą Lead by example: walk the talk.
âą Encourage the team to share and talk about how they have overcome challenges.
âą Show vulnerability as a leader and allow team members to show vulnerability too.
âą Celebrate team winsâagain, not just the outcome but also the process.
âą Encourage and empower the team to ask better questions.
âą Place a high value on learning (for everyone, including leaders).
âą Encourage the team to obtain feedback from clients and promote peer-to-peer feedback.
âą Coach employees on how to benefit from feedback.
âą Encourage staff to embrace new challenges and to step outside their comfort zones.
âą Encourage healthy and open debate and conflict. This avoids groupthink, where everyone agrees with an egotistical leader and nobody is able to challenge his or her viewpoints.
Can you identify whether your mindset is fixed or growth in different circumstances?
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the capacity to be aware of, control and express your emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.
Emotional intelligence, also referred to as emotional quotient (EI or EQ), is broken down into four categories:
âą self-awarenessâyour ability to perceive your emotions and understand your tendency to act in certain ways in given situations
âą social awarenessâyour ability to understand othersâ emotions (what others a...