Developing a "growth mindset" - part 1

Imagine the situation; you are at work one day and your boss gives you an unexpected task. It must be completed today with minimal supervision. Whilst you have the resources available to you to learn how to complete this it is 100% new to you.

Do you:

A) View this new task as a burden and a source of stress?

B) See this as an opportunity to learn something new and feel quite inspired?

C) Feel somewhere between A and B?

There is no “right” answer to this question, it is a situation designed to understand your inner mindset and determine if you currently gravitate towards a “fixed mindset” or a “growth mindset.”

People with a fixed mindset believe that their basic qualities, such as intelligence and talent are either fixed at birth or become “locked-in” by a certain age. This mindset also leads to the belief that some people are inherently more intelligent, ambitious or successful than others. For example, a fixed mindset belief would be that the young, high-flying executive realised success quickly because he or she was innately blessed with the qualities to become that way and did not need to intensively develop these skills. In the same vein the confident public speaker was good at speaking in front of crowds from an early age and took to it naturally etc. etc. People with fixed mindsets are much less likely to challenge themselves or attempt new avenues of progression if they view themselves as not yet possessing the qualities needed, for fear of failure.

Conversely people with a growth mindset understand that the above basic qualities and new skills in general can be cultivated through effort. This means that while people may be innately different, with certain aptitudes and temperaments, all aspects of a person’s abilities and personality can be changed, regardless of where your starting point is. A new task or a larger life changing plan can be successfully completed by learning the skills and knowledge required and whilst it may be challenging it is also an opportunity for personal growth and fulfilment.

As I’m sure you’re beginning to realise, it is important to cultivate a growth mindset to enable yourself to progress in life; whether it be in your career or your personal plans for the future. To view your skills, intelligence and abilities as “fixed” means that you deny yourself the potential to develop and may shy away from life changing decisions or bold moves that may be of great benefit to you in your future. The good news is that if you see yourself as having a fixed mindset, it is simply something that you have been conditioned to believe (especially in the western world with early academic life stressing the importance of tests and measures that indicate our IQ, giving the impression that this is what we possess and that’s it). The truth is we can change these preconceptions by gaining a greater understanding of our core beliefs and realising that every single one of us has the power to continuously grow and develop. We can learn new skills and abilities at any age regardless of our background or prior education and this knowledge can propel us towards our career and personal goals.

So, lets see where your mindset currently is! Complete the attached mindset assessment, answer all questions as honestly as possible then read where you are based on your combined score. Remember if your score is skewed heavily towards “fixed mindset” this is not a cause for concern, it means that you have a huge opportunity to develop and overcome any reluctance to undertake new challenges or achieve complex goals. If you score highly towards the “growth mindset” this is great but are there any answers which may indicate that you could improve your mindset further?

In the next blog I will explain more about cultivating a growth mindset as a key tool in achieving the goals you have set for yourself.

Mindset+Assessment word.docx

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Thanks for reading!