How to Build a Growth Mindset

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A growth mindset. Probably the single most important trait for individuals to navigate the twists, turns, challenges, and curve balls that life throws at us. Otherwise known as grit or resilience, a growth mindset is critical to instill in kids to give them tools for a more successful personal and professional life, and also something as adults we have to continually adopt and cultivate.

I’ll go through the 5 key elements of a growth mindset in the framework of comparing each point to having a “fixed mindset” which is its opposite, evil twin. I’ll also touch on how to cultivate each piece as I go through them. 

1. Your relationship with feedback

The number one place to start is around feedback. An extremely important factor inside workplaces and teams because without feedback we cannot improve. It’s what allows us to gauge progress and success, as well as provide outside perspective to illuminate our strengths and weaknesses.

In order to be successful at anything, you must have a healthy relationship with feedback. It is useful to us in all of it’s forms whether that’s touching a hot stove and burning your finger (yes, that’s feedback), learning an instrument and making better sounds as we gain experience, or getting feedback at work from a leader about your performance and how you can improve. No athlete can even dream of getting to the Olympics without a lot of feedback.

Fixed Mindset:

Someone with a fixed mindset sees feedback from other people as criticism and a personal attack. They view feedback as a threat because it exposes their weaknesses, and they believe that other people are giving them feedback to make them look and feel bad. Fixed mindset people don’t ask for feedback for fear that they’ll hear something they don’t like or have to defend themselves. They are unaware of the impact their resistance to feedback has on their relationships.

Growth Mindset:

Someone with a growth mindset sees feedback as an opportunity to improve. They see it as a gift and a chance to get better. They know that external feedback will help them be more successful in a much faster way by illuminating their blind spots. They actively seek out feedback and are receptive to it. When they hear something they don’t like or agree with, they still look for lessons and value in what they heard.

How to cultivate a growth mindset around feedback:

The way to have a growth mindset around feedback is to welcome it. Be open and receptive, and actively seek it out. Adopt a mindset of, “Feedback will help me get better at what I want to do.” View feedback as a chance to accelerate your progress, and assume good intentions on the part of the person providing it. Do not see it as an attack, be vulnerable and willing to expose your weaknesses in order to improve. Not being great at something doesn’t mean you’ll never be great at it, it’s just where you are right now. Remember, you weren’t born being great at anything.

Bonus resource: 4 Must-Haves to Build a Culture of Feedback (3 mins)

2. Your relationship with failures & challenges

You cannot experience life as a human and not be faced with challenges, failures, setbacks, and mistakes. Both at work and in your personal life these things are a natural part of progress and they’re inevitable. Having a healthy relationship with these things will make your time on earth a whole lot easier.

Fixed mindset:

Someone with a fixed mindset sees their setbacks and mistakes as proof of their failures and inability to be successful. They see losing as a jail sentence and final judgement. They are easily discouraged, resistant to trying again and quick to give up if they don’t find immediate success. They avoid difficulty and are more concerned with saving face than giving their best if they fear their best will fall short.

Growth mindset:

Someone with a growth mindset understands that failures and challenges are a natural part of any process and another opportunity to grow and improve. They are constantly looking for lessons and ways that their failures can make them stronger. They don’t shy away from a challenge and are willing to try despite the risk of failure. They don’t dwell on mistakes or let their circumstances discourage them. They see failure as a great teacher, not a rival to their success.

How to cultivate a growth mindset around failure & challenges:

“If I fail 50 times, my 51st attempt will be a million times better than my first.”

The way to have a growth mindset around failure is to embrace it. Have a proactive mindset that understands that you will have lots of failures and mistakes and setbacks along the way. Acknowledge that your life and career will have losses and you’ll get knocked down from time to time. Also, you’ll survive it and take the blows as they come.

Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged or quit every time you fail or get knocked back. Failure is a great teacher and leaves a stronger imprint on us than winning. Use those lessons to move and motivate you, not discourage you. Adopt a mindset of resilience that says, “If I fail 50 times, my 51st attempt will be a million times better than my first.”

As spoken by the great Nelson Mandela, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.”

Bonus resource: Defining & Building Growth Mindsets on Teams (2 mins)

3. Your relationship with your talents & intelligence

This has to do with beliefs surrounding people's innate abilities and intelligence. Yes, some people are naturally gifted at some things, but all of us can improve our skills and intelligence with effort and repetition. This simply is about the fundamental belief that people can grow, and there is no finite amount of talent or intelligence for any of us. You can become great at anything if you are dedicated and willing to endure the learning curve and time it takes to get there.

“...with a growth mindset, every loss along the way is a worthwhile path towards success, not a shameful defeat.”

Chess is a perfect example of this. It's a very complicated game and I think it’s near impossible for someone with a fixed mindset to learn how to play chess, and win at it. They will quit or lose interest long before they could ever become good at it. You have to play and lose game after game after game before you can even think about winning at chess against someone who knows what they’re doing.

No one with a fixed mindset will endure that learning curve. However, with a growth mindset, every loss along the way is a worthwhile path towards success, not a shameful defeat.

Fixed mindset:

Someone with a fixed mindset believes that people are good at some things, not at others, and you're basically born with what you've got. They have a black and white mentality about what they and other people are capable of. They feel like the effort it takes to improve is not worth the struggle and they abandon ship if they don’t have easy success. They have an extremely hard time improving at anything they aren’t naturally gifted at because they are afraid to look bad in the process. They quickly resort to “I’m not good at (fill in the blank)” as an excuse not to try.

Growth mindset:

Someone with a growth mindset believes that they can always get better, learn, and grow their skill level. They see value in the journey and the effort they put into becoming great at something. When it comes to games and activities, they are able to have fun and enjoy playing or participating, even if they lose. They have a willingness to try and don’t mind if they look bad in the process because they are less fearful of outside criticism and less critical of themselves in the process of learning and improving.

How to cultivate a growth mindset around your talents & intelligence:

To have a growth mindset around these, you have to be willing to endure the learning curve of progress which means you won’t start out perfect. Understand that you can grow and yes, you will face failures and challenges along the way. You don’t have to view those as unpleasant or an exposure of weakness. You can just embrace them as natural and not a big deal, because they aren’t.

Nothing you want to achieve will fall from the sky for you without resistance. And nobody who’s great at anything was born that way. Enjoy the journey, don’t obsess over looking perfect in the process of becoming better. The greater the mountain, the harder the climb. And unlike climbing a mountain, failing along the way won’t kill you.

Bonus resource: 5 Things That’ll Make You a Truly Exceptional Leader (4 mins)

4. Your relationship with vulnerability

This one is huge because everything else ties into this. Having a growth mindset means being willing to be seen by other people as imperfect.

Fixed mindset:

Someone with a fixed mindset is afraid of being exposed for being imperfect. They are extremely insecure, their self-worth is deeply tied up in what other people think of them. They see failure as shameful, mistakes as shameful, and they view vulnerability as a weakness. They don’t like to be corrected, never admit when they’re wrong, and enjoy having authority over other people because it gives them a feeling of power. They are preoccupied with appearing perfect and saving face in front of other people.

Growth mindset:

Someone with a growth mindset is willing to be vulnerable. They readily admit when they’re wrong and are willing to say, “I don't know the answer to that,” or “I'm not very good at this, but I’ll try,” etc. They understand that vulnerability between humans builds trust and deeper relationships. They are not overly concerned about other people’s judgment and are willing to make mistakes, fail, and be imperfect in the process. This is extremely important and valuable as a leader and part of a team.

How to cultivate a growth mindset around vulnerability:

First, you have to understand that it is not weakness. The courage it takes to be willing to be vulnerable in front of other people is a sign of strength and confidence. Acknowledge that you are not perfect, and that no one expects you to be perfect at anything. You have blind spots that require feedback and learning to illuminate and improve upon. Be willing to try and participate and play, regardless of what other’s will think.

The honesty and authenticity that you create in your relationships as a result of being able to be vulnerable will make them stronger. Put people at ease by removing your ‘perfect mask’ around them, which will allow them to do the same.

Bonus resource: Brené Brown has a wonderful Ted Talk on the power of vulnerability, in case you haven’t jumped on the #imperfectlyperfect bandwagon, yet.

5. Your relationship with change

Our last one here is around change. Change is an inevitable part of the human experience. We are constantly moving through and navigating change in our work and personal lives. A significant part of a healthy growth mindset is to be able to embrace change and see it as an opportunity for improvement, and not a threat of loss.

Not all change is good, but regardless, change is a constant throughout life. Your mindset and relationship with it will have a big impact on how wonderful or miserable your life feels to you.

Fixed mindset:

Someone with a fixed mindset sees change as a threat. They resist it and are uncomfortable with it. They come from a place of fear of the unknown and scarcity, worrying that change will cause loss and they will end up worse for it. They do not trust that things will work out for the better, and remain focused on what can or will go wrong.

Growth mindset:

Someone with a growth mindset embraces change. They don’t fear it, they welcome it and understand that change is inevitable for growth and improvement. They view change as an opportunity — even change that feels terrible at the time. They are optimistic and know that things always work out eventually and are down to enjoy the ride, even if they don’t know where it will take them,

How to cultivate a growth mindset around change:

“Some of the best things that have happened to you have come from changes you resisted at the time.”

Embrace it. If you’re living, you’re changing. See change as an opportunity, not a threat. Remain present and optimistic in the process, and open for what’s to come. Some of the best things that have happened to you have come from changes you resisted at the time. Understand that nothing can grow if it doesn’t change.

Don’t dwell on how things used to be, it doesn’t do your life any good to keep your head living in an old neighborhood while your body has moved into a new house. Change will not stop coming so don’t hide when it rings your doorbell, open the door and let it in.

Bonus resource: Navigating Change: Building a Resilient Team (2 mins)

Want more?

This article was created by keynote speaker Galen Emanuele for the #shiftyestribe. Free leadership and team culture content centered on a new focus every month. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Shift Yes Tribe at http://bit.ly/jointheshiftyestribe

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