The Growth Mindset
Linda Callecod, Senior Consultant
In June I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference in New Orleans. Of the many stimulating sessions I attended, one that I found both thought-provoking and practical was “The Neuroscience of Potential: How to Create a Growth Mindset Culture” with Dr. Britt Andreatta. The chief learning officer at Lynda.com, Andreatta holds a Ph.D. in Education and has immersed herself in neuroscience research. She’s passionate about discovering how people and organizations can realize their full potential, and a key part of her presentation centered around rewiring one’s mindset for growth.
The idea of developing, or enhancing, a growth mindset resonates with me personally and also aligns with our philosophy and values in POD. Per Andreatta, a fixed mindset leads to a desire to look good or appear capable whereas a growth mindset leads to a desire to learn. People with a fixed mindset typically plateau early in their careers and may achieve less than their full potential. On the other hand, those with a growth mindset tend to reach ever-higher levels of potential and performance.
The table below shows the two mindsets at work, as presented by Andreatta at the SHRM conference and also appearing in her book “Wired to Grow: Harness the Power of Brain Science to Master Any Skill.”
| Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset |
|---|---|
| Believes that most skills are based on traits that are fixed and cannot change | Believes that skills can be improved with hard work |
| Sees efforts as unnecessary; something to do when you’re not good enough | Sees effort as a path to mastery and therefore essential |
| Sees feedback as personally threatening to sense of self and gets defensive | Embraces challenges and sees them as an opportunity to grow |
| Views setbacks as discouraging; tends to blame others | Views setbacks as a wake-up call to work harder next time |
| Feels threatened by the success of others; may undermine others in effort to look good | Finds lessons and inspiration in the success of others |
Andreatta’s model is based, in part, on research by educational psychologist Dr. Ruth Butler. A study by Butler showed that students who were told that their performance between two parts of a test would be compared saw dramatic improvement while students who were told their results would be compared with others in the group saw no such gains. Per Andreatta, “When people are told that growth matters, they step up and improve… Those students have unrealized ability in their knowledge of the material. And it wasn’t more studying that brought it out, but rather the motivation that comes from knowing that improvement matters.”
Let me repeat that phrase: the motivation that comes from knowing that improvement matters.
What if we, as leaders, could tap into that? Take a look at the table again. When one of your employees doesn’t meet expectations or makes a mistake, are you a critic or a coach? As a leader, your language, attitude, and approach are powerful, and you can help shift your employees from a fixed to a growth mindset. For instance:
- When something goes wrong, seek to understand what went wrong and partner with them on solutions.
- Instead of focusing on a mistake, provide ideas and encouragement around how skills can be improved.
- Spend less time focusing on the hardship that challenges can bring, and welcome opportunities for growth and innovation.
- Applaud improvement and celebrate success.
If you’d like to learn more about Andreatta’s work, I’d recommend her compact book “Wired to Grow.” The “learn, remember, do” model that Andreatta presents in the book is one we use in POD when designing courses and developmental activities. Andreatta also discusses how the brain functions in each phase of learning and provides practical strategies and examples for maximizing growth and learning in each phase. You may also enjoy Andreatta’s Tedx Talk, "Potential," on how your past hijacks your future.
