American psychologist and author Carol Dweck revolutionised the way organisations operate and run their businesses with her research and study of the “growth mindset”. 

She proposes that individuals — and organisations — with a growth mindset believe that talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and constructive feedback. This is in contrast to individuals with a fixed mindset, who believe talents are innate gifts.  

However, the popularity of the “growth mindset” concept has somewhat distorted the idea and made it more difficult to fully maximise the benefits of having an authentic growth mindset.

Dweck observed that there are three common misconceptions about growth mindset:

• “I’ve always had a growth mindset.” People can confuse a growth mindset with having an open or flexible outlook, and it’s impossible to have a pure growth mindset. Every person has a combination of both fixed and growth mindsets, being aware of this and accepting this is the first step in developing a true and effective growth mindset.
• “A growth mindset is just about praising and rewarding effort.” As leaders, you need to be critical of learning and progress. Outcomes matter and unproductive effort is simply not beneficial to your organisation.
• “Adopt a growth mindset and good things will happen.” Having an authentic growth mindset gives you the awareness that some risks won’t pay off, and that some projects provide important learning even if the original objectives aren’t met. A growth mindset needs to be reinforced with concrete policies and development and advancement opportunities.

To maintain within that growth zone, it’s important to be aware of the fixed mindset triggers and identify the best ways to work with them. By cultivating an authentic growth mindset, you can improve performance and productivity in your organisation while providing learning and development opportunities for your staff.

How a growth mindset positively impacts your organisation

According to a survey conducted by Carol Dweck as published by Harvard Business Review, “Supervisors in growth-mindset companies expressed significantly more positive views about their employees than supervisors in fixed-mindset companies, rating them as more innovative, collaborative and committed to learning and growing. They were more likely to say that their employees had management potential.” 

It’s crucial for business leaders to monitor their employees’ management potential, as this will allow them to create an effective succession planning process and secure business continuity.

The survey results also show that employees in a growth-mindset company are:

• 47% likelier to say that their colleagues are trustworthy
• 65% likelier to say that the company supports risk-taking
• 49% likelier to say that the company fosters innovation

A growth mindset encourages your employees to be more productive and innovative, contributing to the success of your organisation.

5 ways to cultivate a growth mindset in your organisation

We’ve shortlisted five strategies that you can use in developing a growth mindset in your company. 

1. Recruit “learners”

You need to be surrounded by the right people to effectively cultivate a growth mindset across your entire organisation. Hiring the right employees is crucial in this, your staff need to be “learners”, or people who are eager to expand their knowledge and pursue learning opportunities. 

There are different strategies that your HR department or manager can implement to find effective learners during the hiring process, such as:

• Use difficult “estimation” questions. Estimation questions can help your hiring manager assess a candidate’s ability to develop steps to a solution or make an educated guess and communicate their answers. This will show you how resourceful a candidate is, and how well they can use available resources and tools to their advantage when no direct instructions have been provided.
• Analyse a candidate’s persistence at difficult tasks. Observe how persistent candidates are when addressing difficult questions or tasks. An effective learner will humbly ask for more time or even assistance should they need it. 
• Encourage candidates to ask questions. The questions candidates ask will tell you how much they have prepared and researched about the company before the interview. 

While talent is a big consideration in hiring new staff members, it’s also important to assess a candidate’s eagerness and willingness to learn and grow. Finding “learner” candidates will be a great asset to your organisation especially if you’re geared towards developing a growth mindset.

2. Encourage innovation and initiative 

You need to give your staff opportunities to take initiative and be innovative in their roles so that they can further develop their skills and capabilities. 

In particular, you can train your senior managers to think more like business leaders by seeking their advice on important business issues and discussing how they can tap their potential. You can create collaborative projects between your staff members, allowing them to brainstorm and work together on new tasks.

3. Reward risk-taking and normalise failure

Part of taking initiative and being innovative is taking risks. And a big aspect of risk-taking is the potential for failure. Emphasise to your team that failure is part of the learning process and enable them to take calculated risks. 

While it’s natural to make mistakes and encounter stumbling blocks during this process, taking risks can help you discover more effective solutions and creative product development.

4. Invest in employee upskilling efforts

Upskilling is a natural step in developing a growth mindset, as it helps you and your team expand your skill sets and encourage further development. 

You can upskill your staff members by:

• Using e-learning platforms and digital tools – Many qualified online platforms can educate your staff members while allowing them to take courses at their own pace and time, ensuring that your employees can continue focusing on their regular work tasks.
• Attending webinars and seminars – Webinars or seminars focus on the latest trends and developments in different industries, allowing your employees to stay up-to-date in their respective fields.
• Providing development training – Creating in-house training programs can enable your staff to hone their skills to remain competitive in the industry. It also builds company trust and loyalty if you continuously invest in your staff members.

5. Support coaching and mentorships

Coaching and mentorship are beneficial to both leaders and employees. As a business leader, you need to coach and mentor your senior managers and junior staff to create strong bonds and steer them in the right direction. 

In turn, you also need a business coach or advisor to help them navigate the challenges of running a successful business. Effective leadership and mentoring can create a long-lasting team as it allows you to form strong bonds with your staff members. 

This ensures that you’re all on the same page as you continue to steer the organisation towards growth and development.

Developing a growth mindset is crucial for the success of your business. By identifying your fixed mindset triggers and finding strategies to work around them, you can focus on elevating your growth mindset as well as your staff’s development.

Are you ready to develop an authentic growth mindset within your organisation? Contact us and we will help you get started.