At a time when companies are doing everything possible to remain competitive and keep up with the pack, fostering a growth mindset at work is one of the most effective ways businesses can drive success.
Businesses across the board find themselves operating in a tight market. In order to compete therefore, everyone is looking for creative solutions, whether that be leveraging technology and AI, investing in digital marketing, product improvement or niching down in order to provide the best service.
Companies looking for long-term success cannot afford to neglect team development, however. Happy employees are the backbone of every profitable business; and equipping your teams with the tools they need to thrive and grow reduces the likelihood of underperforming on your goals or risk of stagnating.
One of the best ways to invest in team development and reach new heights is to foster a growth mindset in your people.
In this post, we look at how companies can profit from a growth mindset by entrenching a culture that encourages learning and improvement.
But first things first…
What is a growth mindset?
The growth mindset is a phrase that’s been getting a lot of attention lately. But what does it mean exactly?
Growth mindset definition
A growth mindset, by definition, is the notion that intelligence and skill (or abilities) are things that individuals can develop over time through effort and persistence. That is, they are not set in stone.
The notion of growth mindset is the brainchild of Professor Carol Dweck, an American psychologist and researcher who established that while individuals have innate traits and qualities, it is through constant personal development that one can truly achieve success.
As she explains in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, an individual who possesses a growth mindset is not bound by their own limitations. [1] Rather, they have the capacity to learn, grow and improve.
Prof Dweck juxtaposed the growth mindset to another concept she labelled the “fixed mindset”.
Fixed mindset definition
A fixed mindset is the belief by an individual that talent and intelligence are abilities that you are either born with or without. That is, skills and intelligence are fixed traits that cannot be improved upon.
Subscribers to this school of thought are of the view that achievement in a certain area or field is predetermined and only a preserve of those born with skills and talents to succeed in that area.
They don’t believe that trying, failure and strategy development can move the needle in terms of honing talent or improving intelligence.
Growth mindset vs fixed mindset in the workplace
Dweck notes that individuals with growth mindsets more often tend to develop a high degree of talent and skills – something they achieve through hard work, good strategies and constructive feedback.
They also generally experience greater success.
In a nutshell:
A growth mindset does not believe people’s skills or intelligence is cast in stone. A fixed mindset believes skills or intelligence are innate and cannot be improved upon.
A growth mindset is open to learning. A fixed mindset believes they already know everything.
Individuals or employees with a growth mindset embrace challenges, while their fixed mindset counterparts avoid challenges.
A growth mindset embraces and accepts criticism. A fixed mindset dismisses criticism.
A growth mindset forges on in spite of failure. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, caves in when they encounter obstacles and adversity.
A growth mindset is motivated and inspired by other people’s success. A fixed mindset is threatened by the success of others.
When it comes to businesses, these two mindsets manifest at both an individual and organisational level.
Indeed, since the initial publication of her book in 2006, Dweck has carried out research looking at the impact of these two mindsets in organisations.
Noting that most companies tend to generally skew towards either one, she concludes what we all could presume: that embracing either a growth mindset or fixed mindset has real impact on organisations.
How a growth mindset looks like from an organisational perspective
An organisation’s mindset is shaped from the top-down. Leaders act as the guiding compass in their organisations, demonstrating the company mindset through their words and deeds. This trickles down to the employees, who go on to model the mindset exemplified by their leaders.
Here is an example of how a fixed mindset vs growth mindset would look like.
A leader with a fixed mindset sends signals that suggest they don’t believe their team can achieve more than they have been able to demonstrate. Therefore, in attempts to coax more out of their employees, it takes more effort and their teams will need more motivation to stretch beyond their current abilities.
On the other hand, leaders who exhibit a growth mindset understand their teams can learn and grow. That by providing their employees with some impetus, they can go above and beyond in terms of their ability to innovate and improve. This impetus could come in various forms, for example through:
Additional training or supporting employee upskilling
Normalising failure, cognisant of the fact that it is part and parcel of the process
Rewarding risk-taking
Making employees and managers feel valued by for instance, taking on board their input regarding important issues
Companies with a growth mindset are engaged, customer-focused, empowered and innovative. Their employees understand uncertainty when taking risks is a part of life and something to embrace, rather than a stumbling block that decapitates them into inaction or a problem to be solved.
These employees are more motivated, they maintain a positive attitude at work, and they go out of their way to max out their potential.
How companies can profit from a growth mindset
Dweck’s findings and research from others in her field has consistently shown that the type of mindset individuals and organisations practise (either growth mindset or fixed mindset) considerably influences how companies operate. [2]
Fostering a growth mindset at work can benefit businesses in different ways.
1. It boosts morale
In a growth-oriented organisation, employees understand that their effort and problem-solving is what their performance is judged on – not their inherent abilities or knack for supporting groupthink.
Companies that swear by this mindset make their employees feel valued and trust that they will grow with the company. This provides a huge shot in the arm. Indeed, employees in a growth mindset company are 34% more likely to have a stronger sense of belonging and commitment to the company, according to the Harvard Business Review.
2. It spurs innovation
Another way companies can profit from a growth mindset is by leveraging their workforce.
When employees are encouraged to try new things and are not restricted in terms of creativity, they come up with new ideas and creative solutions that can only be to the benefit of the company.
Without being afforded this platform, some of the discoveries and perspectives they come up with would not be possible.
3. It establishes a culture of trust
Fixed mindset companies have a corporate culture that propagates the idea that individual abilities are set. As such, their employees are more likely to view their colleagues more as competitors than collaborators on the journey to the top.
For this reason, employees not only have reduced trust towards their peers, but also are less committed to the organisation.
By comparison, surveys have shown that employees in growth-oriented companies are 47% more likely to consider their colleagues trustworthy.
4. It increases resilience
According to a growth mindset initiative conducted by the Neuroleadership Institute that involved five Fortune 500 companies, one of the main takeaways from follow-up surveys showed employees who switched from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset were more resilient. Not only were they more prepared for change, but also thrived better in the face of change.
As well, these employees were better placed to arrest negative thinking patterns and shift to a positive mindset. They also had a greater sense of belonging at work.
5. It keeps businesses competitive
A growth mindset encourages getting out of the comfort zone and thinking outside the box. It focuses on self-improvement and being solution-oriented. Businesses that promote this culture are better able to leverage the abilities and problem-solving skills of their employees.
A growth mindset culture leads to more motivated employees who derive a greater sense of purpose in their work. These companies and their people easily embrace new ideas and have an easier time pivoting towards new opportunities. This ensures they stay ahead of the pack.
In closing: So, can organisations cultivate a growth mindset?
Just as it is possible for individuals to develop a growth mindset, companies can instil this mindset and make it part of their culture to reap the benefits that come with it. It takes concerted effort to embed a growth mindset into your company fabric, starting from the top.
There are a few practices that organisations can incorporate to help them in this regard. These include:
Encouraging creativity and innovation
Continuous learning and development (upskilling of employees)
Embracing failure as a learning opportunity
Promoting a positive company culture, keeping in mind that productivity, employee satisfaction and creativity have a direct bearing on success
Setting goals that push employees out of their comfort zone. The caveat here is that the goals need to be clear and achievable. Ideally, everyone also needs to be sold on the goals so that they can “own the process” and strive towards common goals
Encouraging a sense of community by incentivising teamwork and collaboration
The thing about instilling a growth mindset at the organisational level is that it needs to be approached with a long-term view. Speaking about it at the workplace is not enough. Rather, companies need to take proactive steps that encourage employees to adopt this mindset, and the above measures are a good starting point.
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