“No, you can’t do that! You’re too little!”
“Yes, I can! I can do anything I want, you’re not the boss of me!”
Typical conversation between a soon-to-be seven year-old, and her four-year old little brother. And if you’ve been anywhere around my house, this happens pretty much every day. By “this”, I don’t just mean this constant, bickering (and downright hilarious at times) sounds of sibling rivalry; but the fact that most children don’t see or believe in limitations. They have a “growth mindset”, which is characterized by the belief that there are no limits to human potential. The “fixed mindset”, on the other hand, is what makes so many of us “grown-ups” believe in setbacks, barriers and limitations. And that’s also what ends up affecting how we view our performance at work…
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
In her hit book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success“, Stanford University researcher Carol Dweck explains the difference between these two mindsets by using the examples of students:
“In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb.
In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.”
Basically, Dweck’s research has proven that your success really depends on whether you believe your abilities can be developed, or whether they are fixed and already pre-determined.
Using the Growth Mindset to Boost Your Performance at Work
A Growth Mindset allows you to navigate the sometimes unpredictable waters of Big Corporate with more assurance and increased success. In my own career, changing my mindset from one of being limited to my existing skills and abilities, to one that focused more on learning and growing, boosted my performance ten-fold. Some of the incredible benefits that also seeped into my everyday life included:
- Emotional intelligence: While women tend to be naturally gifted when it comes to emotional intelligence, the top ten percent of leaders exhibit comparable levels of emotional intelligence across gender lines. In general, it allows you to adjust better to the ups and downs of your career by controlling, not suppressing, your emotions.
- Resilience: A Growth mindset lets you see your mistakes for what they are: a part of your career journey, and most importantly, an opportunity to learn and get better. According to Dweck’s research, people who have a fixed mindset tend to give up quicker on tasks, even those they’ve shown competence in, because they believe their failures are linked to a lack of ability.
- Confidence: Performers with a growth mindset also tend to display more self-confidence, as they don’t see themselves plagued or defined by their flaws and weaknesses. Those with a fixed mindset on the other hand, tend to downplay their achievements more, and become more fearful that the process will show their limitations.
How to Develop a Growth Mindset
- It starts with a commitment. From repeating daily affirmations to practicing meditation and other ways, developing a growth mindset starts with a commitment to change our thought patterns. It’s only if you want to change, and become better, that you
- Use Failure as Opportunity: Start seeing failure in a new light. Instead of beating yourself down, learn to use it as an opportunity to see past the setbacks and limitations. Turn every failure into an opportunity to learn something new!
- Trust the process! It takes time and perseverance to develop a growth mindset. Take it in stride, and enjoy the process!
Have you been developing a growth mindset at work?
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
