Teams that promote and foster a growth mindset tend to be more collaborative, empowered, and committed--all factors we need in an effective organization. But how do difficult times impact people’s ability to stay positive and maintain a growth mindset? In this session, we'll review Dr. Carol Dweck's research on mindset, translate how a growth mindset can help build a more effective team, and provide real-world examples of how mindset can help you not only survive, but thrive in spite of our current environment.

1. FOSTERING A GROWTH
MINDSET IN DIFFICULT TIMES

5. TOPICS
What is a growth mindset? How does a growth mindset help
your team?
How can you cultivate a growth
mindset now?

6. ABOUT US
FUNDRAISING PRACTITIONERS
NOT PH.D., PSYCHOLOGIST OR
SOCIOLOGIST

7. DEFINING A
GROWTH MINDSET

8. MINDSET BY CAROL DWECK, PH.D.
Stanford psychologist
Latest edition 2016
Short summary:
https://youtu.be/EyIF5VUOJc0

9. WHAT MINDSET ARE YOU?
http://blog.mindsetworks.com/what-s-my-
mindset

11. FIXED MINDSET
Talents are innate gifts
Failure defines you and is to be avoided
More black and white approach to learning:
you know it or you don’t
May have a sense of entitlement or denial

12. FIXED MINDSET
In a fixed mindset students believe
their basic abilities, their
intelligence, their talents, are just
fixed traits. They have a certain
amount and that's that, and then
their goal becomes to look smart all
the time and never look dumb.
—Carol Dweck

13. GROWTH MINDSET
Talents can be developed through
hard work: skill comes from
practice
Failure is a temporary setback:
mistakes are part of learning
Learning is a process that is
ultimately rewarding

14. GROWTH MINDSET
In a growth mindset students
understand that their talents and
abilities can be developed through
effort, good teaching and
persistence. They don't necessarily
think everyone's the same or anyone
can be Einstein, but they believe
everyone can get smarter if they
work at it. —Carol Dweck

15. KEY COMPARISONS
Growth
• No matter your intelligence, you can
always change it
• I like my work best when I have to
think hard
• I can learn from my mistakes
• When something is hard, I work
harder
Fixed
• You can learn new things, but can't
change your intelligence
• I like my work best when I can do it
well without much trouble
• Mistakes are to be avoided
• When something is hard, I feel like
I'm not smart

16. IS A GROWTH
MINDSET BETTER?

17. IS A GROWTH MINDSET BETTER?
We all have aspects of both
You don't want or need constant
innovation: some things should be done
a certain way for good reasons
Constant change in a time of change
can lead to panic, dissatisfaction and
disengagement

18. YOUR TEAM AND
GROWTH MINDSETS

19. “WHEN ENTIRE COMPANIES EMBRACE A GROWTH MINDSET,
THEIR EMPLOYEES REPORT FEELING FAR MORE EMPOWERED
AND COMMITTED.
A [FIXED MINDSET] COMPANY…MAKES IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE
TO PRACTICE GROWTH-MINDSET THINKING AND BEHAVIOR,
SUCH AS SHARING INFORMATION, COLLABORATING,
INNOVATING, SEEKING FEEDBACK, OR ADMITTING ERRORS.”
-ANDREW NGUYEN, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

20. BENEFITS OF A GROWTH MINDSET
Fosters collaboration
Encourages innovation
Promotes higher achievement
Supports a more inclusive culture for
different backgrounds, skills and
abilities
Avoids the “expertise trap”
May make your team more responsive

21. GROWTH MINDSET COMPANIES IN CRISIS
Immediately challenge core services
How can we serve mission differently?
How can we reassign our talent?
How can we distribute the problem
solving?

22. EMPLOYEES IN A GROWTH
MINDSET COMPANY ARE:
47% likelier to say that their
colleagues are trustworthy
34% likelier to feel a strong
sense of ownership and
commitment to the company
65% likelier to say that the
company supports risk taking
49% likelier to say that the
company fosters innovation
“How Companies Can Profit from a Growth Mindset,” Harvard Business Review, November 2014

23. DISADVANTAGES OF A GROWTH MINDSET
Growth mindset people can
sometimes believe “anyone can do
anything” even when they really can't
Risk of distraction and frustration
Try to do everything
New ideas too often
High performers who are motivated by
star status may leave

24. WHERE
DO FIXED
MINDSETS
THRIVE?

25. ORGANIZATIONAL
GROWTH CURVE

27. PHASE ONE
Formative stage
Trial and error
Informal
Leader dominated
High risk
Hard to attract established talent
Reactive

28. PHASE TWO
Normative stage
Repeat and refine; set systems
Formal
Manager dominated
Low risk
Easy to attract established talent
Responsive and planned

29. PHASE THREE
Storming stage
Revise systems
Chaos and confusion
Leader-Manager dominated
Risk increases
May lose talent
Responsive and reactive

31. FIXED MINDSETS TEND TO THRIVE IN
PHASE 2 ORGANIZATIONS OR
DEPARTMENTS

32. CULTIVATING
GROWTH
MINDSETS

33. CULTIVATING A GROWTH MINDSET
Define and communicate
clear vision
Identify and address
needs for professional
development
Create mistake
promotion zones
Measure based on
improvement

34. CLEAR VISION
Define what is not negotiable
What is the bigger picture goal?
Especially in times of crisis, focus is key

35. “YOU DON'T WORK FOR LOWELL
OBSERVATORY. YOU ARE LOWELL
OBSERVATORY.”
BOB MILLIS

36. PROMOTE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Set professional development
expectations
Encourage sharing
Periodic skills gap analysis
Investing in your team

37. BOOK STUDY:
MARKETING
REBELLION
MARK W. SCHAEFER

38. CREATE MISTAKE PROMOTION ZONES
Strategic risk tolerance
Designated “loss”
Conservative wins
Innovation lab

39. EAA DAY OF FLIGHT

40. MEASURE BASED ON IMPROVEMENT
Be less defensive about mistakes
Post-mortem analysis
Reinforce improvements

41. CLICKER
TRAINING

42. HIDDEN BRAIN: WHEN EVERYTHING CLICKS
HTTPS://WWW.NPR.ORG/2018/06/04/616127481/WHEN-EVERYTHING-CLICKS-THE-POWER-OF-JUDGMENT-FREE-LEARNING

43. HELPING GROWTH AND FIXED MINDSETS INTERACT
Talent management systems are biased toward
fixed mindset
Understand what fixed mindset people see as
their best assets
For fixed mindsets, place them where they excel
Use growth mindset strategies to build a culture
of strengths

44. WHY NOW?
We've hit the reset button
Planning in times of uncertainty
focuses on assessing your assets

45. WHY NOW?
Stages of quarantine
• Entertainment
• Personal development
• Combat sense of helplessness
• To help
How can you help your team navigate
this time?

46. SUMMARY
Growth mindset people prioritize learning
Fixed mindset people prioritize innate talents
A growth mindset focus can help a team be more
collaborative and innovative, but if unchecked
can lead to distraction
Talent management models tend to reward fixed
mindsets
Create growth mindset innovation zones where
mistakes are encouraged

47. ALICE FERRIS, CFRE, ACFRE
JIM ANDERSON, CFRE
info@goalbusters.net
888-883-2690
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