September 19
Growth Mindset Though Leadership
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Have you heard the term “Growth Mindset” being bandied about lately? We’ll bet you have.
If you’re a Gen X-er or a Millennial (like we are), we’ll hazard a guess that you didn’t grow up with the concept of the Growth Mindset. It might even be downright foreign to you.
We had a very interesting brush with the reality of what it means to apply Growth Mindset recently. Our founder and CEO, Lauren Weinbaum, volunteers to coach girls Softball with the El Segundo Girls Softball League. Her task this year? To get a bunch of 8 and 9 year kids not just hitting the ball, but learning the values inherent to sports philosophy in a modern world.
The kids caught on pretty fast. The real problem was - you guessed it - the parents.
“I had moms and dads coming to me asking, ‘Why isn’t my kid hitting a home run?’ I had to reply, ‘Well, considering your little girl didn’t know how to hold the bat a week ago, I think hitting the ball is a pretty big accomplishment, don’t you?’“
We can’t really blame these parents for thinking their kids should immediately have it all together. There was a time not too long ago when the idea of Growth Mindset didn’t exist in the public consciousness. As Gen X-ers and Millennials, most of us were raised on the idea that our innate talent and ability defined not only our personalities, but our future ability to be successful in life and the in the workforce.
This type of mindset is now defined as a Fixed Mindset. By contrast, Growth Mindset teaches that we can develop our talents and abilities over the course of our lives. In the short term, Growth Mindset application implements the development of strategy, encourages the internalization of feedback from others, and puts a premium on hard work and a willingness to learn.
This all sounds great, but why does it matter? The Harvard Business Journal reports that, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning. When entire companies embrace a growth mindset, their employees report feeling far more empowered and committed; they also receive greater organizational support for collaboration and innovation. In contrast, people at primarily fixed-mindset companies report more cheating and deception among employees, presumably to gain an advantage in the talent race.” (Find the whole article here.)
Growth Mindset can also challenge the misguided belief systems that hold us back in all parts of our lives. Ever hear the Sneaky Little Record of Negativity playing in the back of your head? It usually sounds something like, “I’m not good enough,” or “I just can’t get anything right.” Some common limiting thoughts in our personal relationships can be, “I’m always the one who gets taken advantage of,” or “Everyone is always upset with me.” We can attribute these thoughts to a difficult upbringing or negativity in our childhood caretakers, but the most simple and universal explanation is that these thoughts were formed out of a Fixed Mindset. Growth Mindset challenges us to push back on those thoughts and stop that sneaky feedback loop. Instead of, “I just can’t get anything right,” Growth Mindset encourages us to say, “What I’m doing isn’t working. Maybe I can elicit some feedback that will help me overcome this challenge.”
Growth Mindset also encourages us to see how far we’ve come. Perhaps you’re looking for a home run at work, just like our softball parents were on the field. When you can see your own progress and put due emphasis on how far you have come and how much you have learned versus focusing on the end result, you can reach your goals in a much healthier and happier manner.
What Growth Mindset Is Not:
Magical Thinking
Many people discount Growth Mindset with the misguided belief that it stems from some kind of “If I just believe it enough it will happen,” idea system. That is magical thinking, not Growth Mindset. Growth Mindset focuses on learning, actionable items, and tracking the change that comes from hard work.
Participation Awards
It has been said that Growth Mindset leads to the idea that “Everyone’s a winner.” When it comes to praise for a job well-done, we’re all about it, but we aren’t suggesting that everyone is a winner all the time. Instead, Growth Mindset teaches us to stop focusing on the end result and to start focusing on what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. Growth Mindset focuses on playing the game well, regardless of who wins. This doesn’t mean we don’t want to win anymore. It means in the long-term, we are more likely to win the war, not just the battle.
Flexible Thinking
While we applaud flexible thinking, it is not the same thing as having a Growth Mindset. Flexible Thinking is just one tool that Growth Mindset uses, along with hard work, openness to feedback, and many other tools.
So, what effects did the Softball team see under Lauren’s Growth Mindset coaching?
Half of the team that began playing in the Fall could not catch the ball. By the end of the Summer, every player could catch over 100 catches in a row. In Lauren’s words. “In the end, attitude and effort are all that we can control. Everything else is just part of the game.”
References:
Psychology Today, HBR
Growth Mindset Though Leadership
Have you heard the term “Growth Mindset” being bandied about lately? We’ll bet you have.
If you’re a Gen X-er or a Millennial (like we are), we’ll hazard a guess that you didn’t grow up with the concept of the Growth Mindset. It might even be downright foreign to you.
We had a very interesting brush with the reality of what it means to apply Growth Mindset recently. Our founder and CEO, Lauren Weinbaum, volunteers to coach girls Softball with the El Segundo Girls Softball League. Her task this year? To get a bunch of 8 and 9 year kids not just hitting the ball, but learning the values inherent to sports philosophy in a modern world.
The kids caught on pretty fast. The real problem was - you guessed it - the parents.
“I had moms and dads coming to me asking, ‘Why isn’t my kid hitting a home run?’ I had to reply, ‘Well, considering your little girl didn’t know how to hold the bat a week ago, I think hitting the ball is a pretty big accomplishment, don’t you?’“
We can’t really blame these parents for thinking their kids should immediately have it all together. There was a time not too long ago when the idea of Growth Mindset didn’t exist in the public consciousness. As Gen X-ers and Millennials, most of us were raised on the idea that our innate talent and ability defined not only our personalities, but our future ability to be successful in life and the in the workforce.
This type of mindset is now defined as a Fixed Mindset. By contrast, Growth Mindset teaches that we can develop our talents and abilities over the course of our lives. In the short term, Growth Mindset application implements the development of strategy, encourages the internalization of feedback from others, and puts a premium on hard work and a willingness to learn.
This all sounds great, but why does it matter? The Harvard Business Journal reports that, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning. When entire companies embrace a growth mindset, their employees report feeling far more empowered and committed; they also receive greater organizational support for collaboration and innovation. In contrast, people at primarily fixed-mindset companies report more cheating and deception among employees, presumably to gain an advantage in the talent race.” (Find the whole article here.)
Growth Mindset can also challenge the misguided belief systems that hold us back in all parts of our lives. Ever hear the Sneaky Little Record of Negativity playing in the back of your head? It usually sounds something like, “I’m not good enough,” or “I just can’t get anything right.” Some common limiting thoughts in our personal relationships can be, “I’m always the one who gets taken advantage of,” or “Everyone is always upset with me.” We can attribute these thoughts to a difficult upbringing or negativity in our childhood caretakers, but the most simple and universal explanation is that these thoughts were formed out of a Fixed Mindset. Growth Mindset challenges us to push back on those thoughts and stop that sneaky feedback loop. Instead of, “I just can’t get anything right,” Growth Mindset encourages us to say, “What I’m doing isn’t working. Maybe I can elicit some feedback that will help me overcome this challenge.”
Growth Mindset also encourages us to see how far we’ve come. Perhaps you’re looking for a home run at work, just like our softball parents were on the field. When you can see your own progress and put due emphasis on how far you have come and how much you have learned versus focusing on the end result, you can reach your goals in a much healthier and happier manner.
What Growth Mindset Is Not:
Magical Thinking
Many people discount Growth Mindset with the misguided belief that it stems from some kind of “If I just believe it enough it will happen,” idea system. That is magical thinking, not Growth Mindset. Growth Mindset focuses on learning, actionable items, and tracking the change that comes from hard work.
Participation Awards
It has been said that Growth Mindset leads to the idea that “Everyone’s a winner.” When it comes to praise for a job well-done, we’re all about it, but we aren’t suggesting that everyone is a winner all the time. Instead, Growth Mindset teaches us to stop focusing on the end result and to start focusing on what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown. Growth Mindset focuses on playing the game well, regardless of who wins. This doesn’t mean we don’t want to win anymore. It means in the long-term, we are more likely to win the war, not just the battle.
Flexible Thinking
While we applaud flexible thinking, it is not the same thing as having a Growth Mindset. Flexible Thinking is just one tool that Growth Mindset uses, along with hard work, openness to feedback, and many other tools.
So, what effects did the Softball team see under Lauren’s Growth Mindset coaching?
Half of the team that began playing in the Fall could not catch the ball. By the end of the Summer, every player could catch over 100 catches in a row. In Lauren’s words. “In the end, attitude and effort are all that we can control. Everything else is just part of the game.”
References:
Psychology Today, HBR
Office: 310.598.7107
WMG is a certified DBE/SBE Construction Management Firm (ID# 41529) through the Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority (MTA/METRO), a participating member of the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP).
Office: 310.598.7107
WMG is a certified DBE/SBE Construction Management Firm (ID# 41529) through the Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority (MTA/METRO), a participating member of the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP).
WMG is a certified DBE/SBE Construction Management Firm (ID# 41529) through the Los Angeles County Metro Transportation Authority (MTA/METRO), a participating member of the California Unified Certification Program (CUCP).