Rajal C. is the Founder & CEO of GRAVITAS and a member of the HBReview Advisory Council, Ex-ATOS VP & Global Head.
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Mindsets are responsible for framing the running account of information, thoughts and feelings that take place inside everyone's heads during every minute of every day. These mindsets allow us to observe the incoming data and guide the process of helping us use this data to make informed choices.
A fixed mindset creates an internal monologue (self-talk) that is focused on judging the emotions, behaviors and actions of ourselves and others. On the opposite end of the spectrum, people with a growth mindset are also constantly monitoring what's going on, but their internal monologue is not about judging themselves and others in this way.
Certainly, those with a grown mindset are sensitive to positive and negative information, but they’re also attuned to its implications for learning and constructive action: What can I learn from this? How can I improve? How can I help my team member do this better?
Most leaders operate from both mindsets, but it's crucial to understand how these mindsets differ, which mindset you primarily operate from and how to incorporate more growth mindset into your everyday life — especially if you want to change your leadership game.
Hallmarks of growth mindset leaders:
• Arriving at the top of the corporate ladder organically as a by-product of their enthusiasm and attitude.
• Enjoying money and recognition, but not desperately seeking it as validation of their worth or to prove themselves "superior" to others.
• Being surrounded by folks who challenge them to grow.
• Establishing a culture of collaboration. They encourage and applaud team effort by unlocking/unleashing the untapped potential of their team so as to realize their fullest potential.
• They have very accurate estimates of self-awareness and self-abilities.
Hallmarks of fixed mindset leaders:
• Top of the ladder is where they hunger to be, irrespective of the effort put in
• Throw their weight to get their work done by flaunting authority
• Surrounded by folks who boost their fragile self-confidence and are sycophants
• Create a culture of fear within their teams and veer toward lower long-term performance
• Inaccurate estimation of their abilities & self-awareness
Use this table to compare the beliefs of a growth mindset vs. beliefs of a fixed mindset and determine which mindset most closely matches yours. Any leader or organization that cannot self-correct cannot thrive. Reflect on your leadership: How well do you embody a growth vs. fixed mindset? Every one of us has a journey to take to move from a fixed to a growth mindset.
How to pivot from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
The journey to a growth mindset starts by acknowledging that we all have both mindsets. It's important to embrace and accept your fixed mindset. The next step is to become aware of your fixed mindset triggers, and then learn to recognize what situations and circumstances trigger these reactions. It is failures, criticism, deadlines, disagreements or is it something else?
We must come to understand what happens to us when our fixed mindset "persona" is triggered. What does it make us think, feel and do? How does it affect those around us? If we're in touch with our triggers and excruciatingly aware of our fixed-mindset persona and what it does to us, then we can gradually learn to remain in a growth-mindset place despite the triggers. We can further educate our persona and invite it to join us on our growth-mindset journey.
If you're on the verge of stepping out of your comfort zone and into a new leadership persona, you must be ready to greet the ambivalence such an action causes. One way to address this issue is through self-talk. Thank your fixed mindset for its input, but then tell it why you want to take this step toward growth and kindly ask it to come along with you. Tell yourself something like this: "Look, I know this may not work out, but I'd really like to take a stab at it. Can I count on you to bear with me?"
Ideally, once we've achieved this level of growth mindset within ourselves, then we can help others embark on a similar journey, too.
Is change easy or hard?
At times change is easy. Simply learning about the growth mindset can sometimes mobilize us to meet challenges in our professional lives and persevere. It can cause a big shift in the way we think about ourselves and our lives. The growth mindset is based on the belief in change, and it can be achieved by simply changing the internal monologue from judging to growth-oriented. And more importantly, it gives us a way to work toward making them real.
At times, change is also hard. It's not as though the fixed mindset wants to leave gracefully. If the fixed mindset has been controlling our self-talk, it can say some pretty strong things to us. It will not quickly or easily escort us out of the framework of judgment and into the framework of growth.
Growth mindset workshops or coaching have a real impact, as they put us in charge of our brains — freed from the vices of the fixed mindset. Cognitive therapy also helps people make more realistic and optimistic judgments.
Concluding thoughts.
Mastering a growth mindset is tricky but it is worth the effort to undertake, as it's the game-changer for solving tricky leadership problems. History has shown that leaders with a growth mindset reached the pinnacle in their fields and industries and stayed there for a long time because they constantly dug down, faced challenges head-on and kept growing. They are taking an inclusive, learning-filled and rollicking journey — a journey that anyone interested in expanding their own growth mindset can also take.
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