Skills for the Win: How to Cultivate a Growth Mindset | ATD

You have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. · A growth mindset is all about positivity. · A growth mindset just means setting goals. · With a ... Advertisement SelectedForYou SkillsfortheWin:HowtoCultivateaGrowthMindset BuildingChevron’sLeadershipPipeline LeadershipDevelopment:LayingtheFoundation Advertisement ATDBlog SkillsfortheWin:HowtoCultivateaGrowthMindset By NickWelna Friday,November19,2021 Advertisement 0 Comments Bookmark MainSiteSigninPage Don'thaveanATDaccount? Don'thaveanATDaccount? ForgotyourPassword? AlreadyanATDcustomerwithoutawebaccount? Institutionalsubscriber?Clickheretosignin. Share Broughttoyouby LastyearmillionsoffanstunedinforTheLastDance,adocuseriesaboutMichaelJordanandtheChicagoBulls.Someexpectedaone-sidedbasketballsuccessstory,butinsteadtheseriesshowcasedtheteam’sstruggles. YearsagopsychologistCarolDweckanalyzedJordaninherbestsellerMindset:TheNewPsychologyofSuccess.“Hewasapersonwhohadstruggledandgrown,notapersonwhowasinherentlybetterthanothers.Hewasthehardest-workingathlete,perhapsinthehistoryofsport.” JordanandhisteammateshadwhatDweckcallsagrowthmindset.Jordanledbyexampleandchallengedtheothersconstantly.Ifyouwantedtobelikehim,youneededtocultivateagrowthmindset. GrowthMindsetvs.FixedMindsetWithagrowthmindset,webelieveourskillscandevelopovertime.Ifwefailatsomething,welearnfromitandtryagain. Theoppositeofagrowthmindset,accordingtoDweck,isafixedmindset.Whenwefeelourintelligenceorabilitiesareinnate—thatwecannotchangewhatwe’recapableof—thenwehaveafixedmindset. Withafixedmindset,we’reworriedaboutourperformance.Failureandfeedbackarebadbecausetheyexposeourinadequacies.Whenwemakeamistake,itfeelslikeproofofourpermanentlimitations. Advertisement WhyMindsetMattersThesedays,cultivatingagrowthmindsetisessential.Wemaylearnonewaytoworkthennewtechnologychangeseverything.Yourmindsetaffectsyourcreativityandresilience.Someonewithafixedmindsetwon’tseefreshperspectives,butwithagrowthmindset,youcanletgoandchangeyourapproach.Thissparksinnovation. TheBullswentthroughthis.In1989,Chicagowasatopteam,andJordanwontheMVPaward.Afterlosingintheplayoffs,theBullsswitchedtoanunusualoffensecalledTheTriangle.Atfirsttheystruggled,fallingshortagainin1990.ButtheBullskeptlearningandthenextyear,theywontheirfirstchampionship. Advertisement MythsAboutGrowthMindsetSinceCarolDweckpublished Mindset,manyhavetriedtofollowheradvice.Butsomearestuckwithmythsaboutmindsets.Let’ssettherecordstraightbybustingafewofthesecommonmisconceptions: Youhaveafixedmindsetoragrowthmindset.Noneofushavethesamemindsetallthetime.Forexample,Ihaveagrowthmindsetwhencooking,butwithartwork,Iusuallydoubtmyself.Recognizingthisiskeybecausefixedmindsetscansneakupincertainsituations. Agrowthmindsetisallaboutpositivity.Youcouldtrytosmilethrougheverystruggle,butthat’sunrealistic.Agrowthmindsetmeansrecognizingproblemsandleaningintofrustrations. Agrowthmindsetjustmeanssettinggoals.Somegoalsreinforceagrowthmindset,butothersbackfire.Stretchgoalspushustopatientlyimprove,butcertainperformancegoals—liketryingtomakeeveryshot—candiscourageusfromworkingonourweaknesses. Withagrowthmindset,youcanmasteranything.Tryingnewthingsdoesnotguaranteemastery.Agrowthmindsethelpsyougetalittlebetter;itwon’toverwhelmotherfactors,likeluckandtalent. CultivatingaGrowthMindsetWhatcanyoudotocultivateagrowthmindset?Psychologistshaveidentifiedplentyofstrategiesyoucantry: Dealwithdiscomfort.Recognizeyourdiscomfortthenrememberthateveryonefeelsthiswaysometimes.Tellyourselfthatit’sokaytomakemistakes. Putimprovementbeforeperformance.Workonyourweaknessesinsteadofalwaysplayingtoyourstrengths.Trackingyourprogresshelpstoo. Makeadjustments.Psychologistsrecommend“flexiblethinkingpatterns,”whichmeanslookingataproblemindifferentways.Tryuniquestrategiesuntilyoufigureoutwhatworks. Positiveself-talk.Languagemakesadifference.Tryadding“yet”tonegativethoughts.“I’mnotgoodatthis…yet.”YoucanevenquoteJordanwhenhesaid,“Icanacceptfailure.Everyonefailsatsomething.ButIcan’tacceptnottrying.” Workingtowardcultivatingagrowthmindsetcantransformyourpersonalandprofessionallife.Itwon’talwaysbeeasy,buttherightmindsetcanhelpyoulookpastyourimaginedlimitations.LikeJordansaid,“Youmustexpectgreatthingsofyourselfbeforeyoucandothem.” AbouttheAuthor NickWelna NickWelnaisacontentwriterforDegreed. Bethefirsttocomment SignIntoPostaComment SignIn Sorry!Somethingwentwrongonourend.Pleasetryagainlater.