Fostering a growth mindset is critical if you want to be irreplaceable in the future.

1. 20 ENTREPRENEURMAG.CO.ZA NOVEMBER 2018
SMARTS GROWTH FOCUS
HAVE YOU EVER wondered why
some people can view failure
as the end of the world while
others see it as an exciting
opportunity? Psychologists and
neuroscientists have focused on
this phenomenon over the last
decade to better understand
how we approach challenges in
our personal and business lives.
The phenomenon has been
defined as a ‘Growth Mindset’
by Stanford Psychologist
Dr Carol Dweck and has
been linked to higher levels
of collaboration, resilience,
motivation, performance and
innovation. Since publishing
her book, Mindset (1.6 million in
print already), the term Growth
Mindset has begun to appear
in many major leadership
frameworks and school
curriculums, both locally and
internationally.
In fact, Growth Mindset has
become a core strategy at many
global companies, including
Microsoft, Google and NASA. It’s
also been put forward as one
of the key skills for the future
world of work, as it’s believed to
have a significant impact on the
ability to handle change in our
environments.
Some believe that in order
to future-proof ourselves in the
new world of work, driven by
rapid change, the question we
should be asking ourselves is
no longer “what skillset do we
need to have?” To ultimately
determine both personal and
business success we need to
rather ask “what mindset do we
need to have?”
Cultivating a Growth Mindset
A mindset is the unconscious
way that we view our world.
It’s the lens that influences the
way that we make sense of,
and interpret, information. This
ultimately guides our decision-
making and our behaviour.
Our lens is largely determined
by our experiences and
interaction with the world. A
Growth Mindset is a lens by
which you interpret the world
based on a belief that you have
about the ability to grow and
learn. Specifically, it’s the belief
that you can grow and learn
throughout life and that your
ability is not something that you
are born with.
Sounds philosophical and soft,
but it has since been underpinned
by advances in neuroscience and
psychological research and has
proven to have a hard business
impact. Research started with
school children and the way
that different children handle
challenges and setbacks. Since
its application to the business
context, researchers have seen
it linked to higher levels of
performance, greater frequency
of feedback and different ways
that information is processed in
the brain. Some of its biggest
applications have been in
goal-setting, performance and
development conversations in
the business context. It’s also
believed to be a core principle
underpinning an innovation
mindset.
Growth vs Fixed Mindset
A Growth Mindset is contrasted
by a Fixed Mindset, which is
a belief that you are the way
you are and that you can’t get
better. In truth, we possess
both mindsets that vary related
to certain tasks that trigger
either a Growth Mindset or Fixed
Mindset response. Sometimes,
having a Fixed Mindset is okay,
but for important tasks it can
hamper our performance.
For example, I can have a belief
in my ability to improve my rugby
skills, but if I’m not big enough to
make the Springboks I still won’t
make it. Although I can definitely
improve my ability at rugby, I also
have to be realistic and recognise
what parts of the environment
trigger which mindset to leverage
the best parts of my thinking.
Where having a mindset
does not serve us, and is easily
triggered, is in learning something
new, which normally prompts a
Fixed Mindset reaction. In the
new world of work there is an
increased need to learn and adapt
that will ultimately determine
our ability to succeed and grow.
However, our mindset is at the
core of how we interpret the
inevitable challenges thrown
at us.
A Fixed Mindset response
generally focuses on looking good
at all times. This places
an emphasis on proving
oneself, demonstrating skill
and performing better than
others. Although this can be
used to describe the current
status quo of business,
many companies and
institutions are beginning
to realise the negative
side effects of this dated
approach in the new world
of work.
This mindset makes us
focus on problems, get
bogged down in details, be
defensive or anxious and
get derailed by negative
emotions. However, if
we change the focus to
not ‘look good’ (Fixed)
but ‘get better’ (Growth)
we can change the way
we interpret the same
challenges or changes.
We focus on improving
ourselves, developing skills
and performing better than
before. When you apply
this approach to work you
seek out role models, take
better risks, set better goals
and ultimately become
more effective — because
it comes from a belief that
you can get better.
Leverage your brain for
better performance
A Growth Mindset can be
nudged with language and
changed over time. How
you set goals, give feedback
and have conversations can
all influence whether you
trigger a Fixed or Growth
Mindset response.
Once you understand
Fixed and Growth mindsets
there are two strategies
to make sure you elicit
the best response to
challenges in your business
environment. One easy way
is to simply add the word
“yet” when communicating
feedback.
Instead of saying that
someone “did not do a
presentation well,” say
that they “did not do the
presentation well yet.”
This places a focus and
a belief on the ability to
improve and not a focus
on judging performance.
This enables the brain to be
at its best to process this
information and see it as
an opportunity to grow and
not an opportunity to justify
performance or get bogged
down in details.
Another great way
is to apply the Rule of
Three when faced with a
challenge that you find
threatening. When faced
with a challenge think
about where you were six
months ago, or how you
had previously approached
a different challenge, and
reflect on your progress.
Once you acknowledge
your progress, think about
where you might be six
months after this challenge.
This reaffirms the belief that
we can all get better and
that challenges, although
they may stretch us, make
us better by the end of it.
By being aware of how
our mindset affects us
and taking active steps
to reframe the same
challenges that initially
scared us, we can leverage
our brains for better
performance. EM
ROB JARDINE
is the Head of
Research and
Solutions at the
NeuroLeadership
Institute South Africa. The
NeuroLeadership Institute is
a research-driven leadership
institute based out of New
York City that brings together
some of the world’s best
PhD Neuroscientists and
organisational leaders to co-
create solutions to leadership
challenges. Locally, they offer
consulting, education and
solution services from offices in
Johannesburg and Cape Town.
www.neuroleadershipinstitute.org
A FUTURE-PROOF YOUFostering a growth mindset is critical if you want to be
irreplaceable in the future. BY ROB JARDINE
SUCCESS SCIENCE
GROWTH
MINDSET
Our ability to
succeed and grow
is determined by
how adaptive we
are, and our ability
to learn. The good
news? You can
foster a Growth
Mindset.