A fixed mindset brings individuals to view their intelligence, skills, and strengths as unchangeable. On the other hand, someone with a growth mindset views those same traits as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. When they don’t know how to do something they address why they can’t do it by closing the knowledge. 

In the realm of the workplace, you’ll encounter individuals with varying degrees of confidence in their creative problem-solving abilities. However, the greater the number of team members who possess self-assuredness and a desire for growth, the more vibrant and innovative solutions will fuel the collective effort of the team.

That’s why, if you think a growth mindset will impact only the actions and attitudes of individuals, you’ll be surprised to learn that your team’s overall skills will also benefit from a shift in this direction.

After chatting with hundreds of team leaders and human resources professionals in the past few months, we’ve found four constant elements that come with growth-first mindset leadership:

For decades, our approach to workplace learning has been focused on outcomes and results. However, if we base our pursuit of success on a foundation of scarcity, such as “we lack these results,” it’s no surprise that our teams may end up operating from that same place of fear. They might be driven by thoughts like, “I need to achieve this, or I won’t be good enough.”

But let’s switch gears and consider this notion: what we need are managers who genuinely believe in their own (and therefore their team’s) capacity for growth. It’s all tied to what we could simply call the “mindset-supportive-context hypothesis.” Don’t fret; it’s far less complicated than it sounds: we’re talking about the idea that managers must first internalize this belief through dedicated mechanisms before they can effectively weave it into the fabric of their team’s daily routine.

Now, that brings us to a vital point: fostering a culture of fear won’t lead to growth. What managers need to focus on is creating a positive and resilient environment by taking proactive steps.

This involves building a workplace where team members feel empowered, supported, and encouraged to cultivate a growth mindset. By doing so, they pave the way for their teams to thrive and reach their full potential.

Let’s do some role play: Let’s imagine you’re a manager and you now believe people can change. How do you take your team from “I can’t” to “I can’t right now, but if we did this I might be able to?”. 

The first step is changing the way you approach individuals: focus on the process over the outcome. If we only reward the people who succeed, we may be slowly discouraging those team members who’ve tried different things and have not yet found what moves them.

We summed up three actions the managers we’ve been talking to consider essentials in order to bring the change into their teams’ attitude – yes, it all starts from practice.

1. Set your team up for challenges regularly

Solving problems and having to think of new ways to get there promotes self-efficacy and confidence. A simple way to do this is by defining shared goals that are tough but doable. 

You can do this by increasing accountability bit by bit. Talk to your team members about their potential and growth, and create ways for them to learn the skills they need for their current and future job.

2. Define a self-evaluation model

According to Janet Mizrahi, a lecturer of professional writing at the University of California, “without thinking deeply about how we learn, we can never gain the insight necessary to correct poor habits and affirm good ones”. In a nutshell, it’s essential to be aware of what we’re good at and where we need to improve, planning how to get better in the end.

Our tip? Encourage your team members to reflect on how they do their work with detailed growth plans. This helps them plan how to achieve their learning goals, ask for feedback to get better, fix mistakes when they make them, and figure out what support they need.

3. Gamify the task achievement process

A growth mindset is influenced by how people perceive their creative ability (Yu-chu Yeh, Yu-Shan Ting, and Jui-Ling Chiang, 2023). Which is why cultivating creativity in everyday tasks is so important. So, what about inspiring creativity through gamified leadership techniques? 

If you’re curious to read more about the growth mindset and find ways to instill this way of thinking among your teams? Browse through these curated resources to help deepen your knowledge. From industry leading books to an excellent podcast to listen on the go, there will be at least one that brings value to your team:

Independently from the hard skills we develop, the mindset we bring to our daily tasks and challenges is the true secret weapon. In this article, we’ve ventured into the distinction between fixed and growth mindsets and uncovered the advantages that come with nurturing a growth-oriented outlook.

A growth mindset represents a paradigm shift waiting to empower your team. It creates an environment of continuous learning, where individuals eagerly seek new skills and knowledge. This, in turn, fosters a team culture that’s not just adaptable but also highly skilled, perfectly poised for success in our ever-shifting business world.