In 2006 Dr Carol S. Dweck, a psychologist from Stanford University published her book on Mindset. Ever since then there have been a plethora of books and articles helping people develop a positive and growth-focused mindset. Below is my 6-step approach to help you on the path of moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset that will develop you both as a leader and grow your business.

Dweck’s idea of mindset is that a “fixed mindset” can hold you back and that a “growth mindset” can help you to reach your goals. Adopting a mindset of growth can increase your self-motivation, effectiveness, and success.

First, some key points of distinction to determine whether you operate with a fixed mindset or a growth one.

Fixed Mindset:

A fixed mindset is a belief that your intelligence, talents and other abilities are set in stone and that you’re born with a particular set of skills and that you can’t change them. If you have a fixed mindset, you will likely fear that you may not be smart or talented enough to achieve your goals . You may hold yourself back by engaging only in activities that you know you can do well.

Worse still, a manager with a fixed mindset may fear that their team members’ achievements will supersede them or they may feel threatened if someone else spots an opportunity that they missed. To avoid this “embarrassment” they often discourage a subordinate’s development and ignore their team’s needs.

Dweck and her colleagues actually examined the brains of people with different mindsets. The brains of those with a fixed mindset showed higher activity when they were told that their answers to a series of questions were right or wrong as they wanted to know whether they had succeeded or failed. But they showed no interest when researchers offered them help to learn from their mistakes. They didn’t believe they could improve so they didn’t try.

Growth Mindset:

A growth mindset holds that with effort, perseverance and drive, you can develop your natural qualities and according to Dweck, you can develop your own skills , abilities, talents, and even intelligence through your experiences, training and effort.

You use feedback and mistakes as opportunities to improve while enjoying the process of learning and becoming more productive in what she called “purposeful engagement.”

In her research, Dweck built on the theory of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to continue to form new connections into adulthood, after it has been damaged or when it is stimulated by new experiences. This supports the idea that you can adopt a growth mindset at any time in life and realize your own potential through learning and practice.

This is why Dweck says that offering praise when someone does well reinforces a fixed mindset, while praising their effort encourages growth, though the effort must also be effective. A growth mindset goes further than being positive and open-minded though, it also requires focused effort, and should have a measurable impact on learning.

The table below highlights the core differences between Fixed and Growth mindset.

There are many examples of entrepreneurs with growth mindsets that have changed and influenced the growth and development of their employees and their businesses. But such a mindset is also important in relationships…in schooling…in parenting…and in fact in almost every human endeavour. So do you have a growth mindset? Does it need developing?

The 4 core attributes needed for a growth mindset are:

1. Listen to yourself. Combat any negative thinking
2. Recognise that you have a choice. Look at the opportunities for every challenge and obstacle.
3. Challenge your fixed mindset. You may not always succeed, but keep trying and learning.
4. Take action. Any action and think in a postive way.

As part of my leadership coaching, I focus very much on mindset and helping you nurture a growth mindset. My 6-Step process involves answering and working through the following questions:

1. Where are you now? Be clear on what your current situation is.
2. Where would you rather be? What does that situation look like?
3. What is getting in the way of moving from where you are to where you want to be? What are the obstacles?
4. What do you need to overcome the obstacles? What resources do you need?
5. What resources do you already have?
6. What is the first step you need to take to move toward your desired situation?

So if you need help to manage and develop your mindset, book a no-obligation, no-cost discovery session with me by contacting me or booking an appointment through my Calendly app here.