This 1 Action will Kick-Start your Leadership Growth

Contents

• What is a Growth Mindset?

• How do I Apply a Growth Mindset?

• How do I Help Others?

• Where do I Start?

• Did Somebody Say Free Gift?

WHAT IS A GROWTH MINDSET?

There are many talented people out there, who we might think it’s hard to catch up to. Whether you’re building your expertise as a project leader, scrum master, or even a startup founder, it can seem like others are just born to do it.

The reality is that having the right mindset can set you apart from others over time, as it informs how you prioritise your learning and how you turn learning into meaningful action. Doing this right accelerates continued learning and development in your chosen career.

The concept of growth mindset was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck in the 1970s - 1980s. Through her research on children’s responses to failure, Dweck identified two distinct research mindsets: fixed and growth.

A fixed mindset believes that abilities are static, while a growth mindset believes that abilities can be expanded through effort and continuous learning.

Fixed Mindset:

1. My intelligence and talents are fixed

2. I must avoid challenges to avoid failure and disappointment

3. I give up easily when faced with hurdles

4. Too much effort is pointless or unnecessary

5. I ignore and avoid getting feedback, as I take it personally

6. I’m threatened by other people’s success, why can’t it be me?

7. I stick to what I know, I’m already good at it!

8. If I fail, I’ll be seen as a failure forever

9. I don’t want people to see my flaws

10. I need constant validation that I have worth

Growth Mindset:

1. My intelligence and talents can be developed

2. I embrace new challenges as opportunities for growth

3. I keep going when faced with setbacks

4. Consistent effort is the path to excellence

5. I welcome feedback as it helps me improve

6. I learn from other’s success

7. Failure is a short-term setback and a good learning opportunity

8. Mistakes are part of the learning process

9. I’m open about my weaknesses and keep working to improve them

10. I focus on my long-term growth and development

A growth mindset gives the belief that a person's abilities, intelligence, and talents can be developed and improved through effort, learning, and persistence.

People with a growth mindset tend to achieve more as they worry less about failing and they put more energy into learning and developing skills.

They are more likely to realise their full potential and adapt to new challenges.

HOW DO I APPLY A GROWTH MINDSET?

Applying a growth mindset can take many forms. Examples include:

1. Embrace Challenges: View challenges as opportunities to learn and grow rather than obstacles to avoid. This shift in perspective can help you tackle difficult tasks with a positive attitude. I found that when I did this, I was less fearful of new challenges and in some cases excited to face them.

2. See Failures as Learning Opportunities: Reframe failures as learning experiences. Reflect on what went wrong and how you can improve, rather than seeing them as a reflection of your abilities.

   I find being open about failures gives as sense of relief, and can build trust in you, as people can see you as trustworthy. It’s still important to take action and apply lessons from failures into future work.

3. Seek Feedback: Actively seek out and welcome constructive feedback. Use it as a tool for growth rather than taking it personally.

   💡 Don’t just ask for feedback when you expect a positive response. Ask for honest feedback even from those you expect to give you constructive criticism. This is where you will learn and grow the most.

4. Adopt the "Power of Yet": Instead of saying, "I can't do this," say, "I can't do this yet." This simple change in language can significantly impact your mindset and motivation.

5. Surround Yourself with Growth-Minded People: Engage with friends, family, and colleagues who also embrace a growth mindset, or at least will not drag you down. Their attitudes and behaviours can inspire and support your own growth.

   💡Conversely, spend less time with people that might drag you down with their negative or fixed mindset. This will prevent you from limiting yourself.

6. Take on new challenges: Learn a new skill or hobby that pushes you out of your comfort zone. I always feel much more confident after overcoming a new challenge.

7. Celebrate your effort: Acknowledge your hard work, not just your achievements. The work to get to the achievement is part of the journey and growth can be seen before the achievement has been reached.

8. Persistence: When faced with a difficult task, commit to sticking with it for a set period before considering giving up.

9. Reframe challenges: View obstacles as opportunities for growth rather than roadblocks.

10. Journal your progress: Keep track of your learning journey to see how far you've come. Hint, I’m working on it right now by creating this newsletter, which includes some elements of journaling.

It can be very daunting trying out everything all at once. Instead, pick 1 or 2 of these and get started, then add more as you show progress. Remember to be patient too. This is an ongoing journey and not a one-time task.

HOW DO I HELP OTHERS?

Your personal growth can be transformed just by changing your mindset to growth mode.

What would be even more transformational is if your entire project team, department or organisation did the same. Here are a few ideas to help others and maximise the potential in your team:

1. Communicate the Value of a Growth Mindset:

   • Share Success Stories: Regularly share examples of how a growth mindset has led to success within the organisation.

   • Reinforce Growth Mindset Principles: Regularly communicate the importance of learning, effort, and resilience through communications in whichever way is appropriate in your team.

2. Lead by Example: 

   • Leaders should model growth mindset behaviours and openly discuss their own learning experiences.

   • Sharing your journey and how it is helping you will inspire others and often increases your credibility as an authentic leader.

3. Encourage Risk Taking:

   • Encourage Experimentation: Allow team members to take calculated risks and try new approaches without fear of punishment if things don’t go as planned.

   • Create a Blame-Free Culture: Focus on solutions and learning rather than finding someone to blame when things go wrong.

   • 💡If your team don’t feel empowered to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them, they won’t be empowered to grow

4. Establish a Feedback Culture:

   • Offer Specific and actionable feedback ensuring feedback is aimed at helping team members grow and improve.

   • Encourage peer feedback. Promote a culture where team members feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback from their peers.

5. Encourage Collaboration: 

   • Promote knowledge sharing and teamwork to leverage diverse perspectives and skills.

   • 💡Letting teams know that there are no prizes for holding back key knowledge, shows how much a successful team working together matters more than individual high performers.

6. Encourage Continuous Learning:

   • Create an environment where continuous learning and skill development are essential and everyday parts of the team culture.

   • Provide opportunities for formal education, on-the-job training, and mentorship to ensure team members are always growing, especially in the areas they feel passionate about.

7. Celebrate Effort and Progress:

   • Recognise and reward effort, persistence, and progress rather than just outcomes. This reinforces the value of hard work and continuous improvement.

8. Provide Safe Spaces for Discussion:

   • Create an environment where your team feel safe to discuss failures and ask questions without fear of judgment. This openness encourages learning and innovation.

WHERE DO I START?

To avoid spending effort in the wrong areas, it’s good to reflect first, before deciding the actions you’ll take to build a growth mindset.

Some of these reflections and initial steps worked for me.

1. Acknowledge Your Current Mindset: Recognise whether you currently have a fixed or growth mindset. Awareness is the first step towards change.

2. Get Initial Feedback

   • Find out what others perceive about you. This would help you with prioritising your efforts.

   • For example, if feedback suggest you are often negative about new ideas, could this be due to a fear of trying new things? If So, what can you start to do differently?

3. Reflect on Past Lessons

   • Think back to recent failures or difficult times you have already experienced.

   • Capture what you learned from those experiences, what growth you already achieved and what you would do differently, then commit to do ing it differently next time.

   • Doing this at the start allows you to get going quickly rather than wait for a new experience to learn from.

4. Set Realistic Goals:

   • Understand your limitations and set achievable goals. This helps you stay motivated and focused on continuous improvement.

5. Set Learning Goals

   • Instead of solely focusing on performance goals, set specific learning goals. For example, aim to learn a new skill or improve in a particular area.

   • Put a timeline and an action against these goals, then diarise time with yourself to review your achievement against them.

6. Find Someone to Help

   • Think of people you already know who you believe demonstrate a growth mindset. Get some time in their diary and start a conversation with them about it. What can you learn from them?

   • When I first learned about growth mindset, I immediately knew who in my network applied this method and started observing them more closely. This helped me to get going.

More people have elements of both growth and fixed mindset in their work and life, but great success can be had the more you lean towards a growth mindset. The key is to be conscious of your situation and ask yourself these 3 questions I often ask myself when I get stuck:

1. In this situation, do I have a fixed or growth mindset?

2. How can I apply more of a growth mindset to this situation?

3. How will I know I’ve achieved a growth mindset?