Nutshell: How to develop a growth mindset

When it comes to obstacles, challenges and criticism, how we react depends on our mindset, how open we are to seeing these things as opportunities to learn.

It can be tough when things don’t go entirely to plan. Maybe that new product launch has fallen a bit flat. Maybe we didn’t get that promotion we really wanted.

Or perhaps we’re just starting a new job or project, and our inner critic is having a field day. It has us questioning whether we’re really up to it or fearing that we’re bound to fail. So why bother at all?

What happens next, how we react to setbacks and challenges like these says something about our mindset, our predisposition to react to and interpret in a certain way the situations in which we find ourselves.

For psychologist Carol Dweck, the mindset we adopt can determine the course of much of our lives: how we learn, how we cope with setbacks, how we relate to others.

If she’s right, adopting a mindset that supports learning and curiosity can only be a major plus.

Fixed vs growth mindsets

Dweck differentiates between two main mindsets, based on how fixed (or not) we consider our abilities and intelligence to be:

Fixed mindset

In a fixed mindset, we believe that our basic qualities, such as intelligence or talent, are simply fixed, unchangeable traits.

If we have a fixed mindset, we believe that we’re either smart or dumb, and that talent alone creates success. We often feel defensive and the need to prove ourselves.

Failure – however small – is a setback, so we tend to avoid challenges. Effort is seen as pointless.

Unsurprisingly, a fixed mindset can be a real obstacle to curiosity and learning.

Growth mindset

In a growth mindset, we believe that these abilities can be developed: brains and talent are just a starting point.

If we have a growth mindset, we believe that we can get smarter with effort, persistence and the right learning strategies.

A willingness to see mistakes as a learning opportunity and to seek stretching challenges creates “a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment”.

The impact of our mindset

Our mindset will determine how we react to things such as:

• challenges: do we avoid or embrace them?

• criticism: do we ignore or learn from negative feedback?

• the success of others: do we feel threatened or inspired when those around us do well?

This is how that manifests itself:

Let’s think back, for example, to that promotion we missed out on and the mindset we might adopt as a result:

Fixed mindset thinking

We’re a failure, destined never to progress.

Growth mindset thinking

We’re really disappointed, but we’ll focus on how we can improve and do better next time.

Choose growth

For Dweck, choosing the right mindset dictates how we live our lives. And it is a choice.

She argues that, whatever our talents, aptitudes or interests, we can all develop a growth mindset. And, as with so much, this starts with self-awareness.

Dweck has developed some simple questions to help us interrogate how fixed – or otherwise – we consider our intelligence and personalities to be.

Often, just acknowledging how the two mindsets work and thinking about our preferences can help us to choose growth.

It’s also important to acknowledge that the mindsets are not binary: we are all a mixture of both. Which mindset is to the fore will depend on the situation we find ourselves in.

Working with our fixed mindset

In fact, Dweck suggests that accepting that we have both mindsets is the starting point for growth. Then we need to:

• Identify what triggers our fixed mindset

This could be when we’re faced with a new challenge; when we struggling with something; when we suffer a setback; when we see someone doing well at something we want to excel at ourselves. Or do we have a fixed mindset about others, like our peers or team members?

• Interrogate those triggers

Dweck suggests giving our fixed mindset a persona, naming it even. Then we can identify not just when it appears but what it feels like; how it makes us act and how it impacts the people around us.

• Re-educate our fixed mindset persona

We need to accept that our fixed mindset will show up at certain times. The trick is to not be paralysed by it. If we know our triggers, we are better placed to overcome them.

Understanding that everyone has a fixed mindset persona can also make us more compassionate towards others, to understand their struggles so that we can support them better.

Some growth mindset behaviours

We can also practice choosing growth by adopting growth mindset behaviours. These include:

Being clear about our learning goals

Knowing our purpose, what we want to achieve, helps us to focus on our learning goals. They need enough challenge without being unrealistic. For example, being a top basketball player might be a bit of a stretch if we’re a 5’ 2” 30-year-old – but that doesn’t mean we can’t become a linchpin in our local team.

Using the past to inform the present

Think how we’re handled a challenge or learning experience in the past. What did we previously find difficult, but can now handle easily? How did we achieve this change? If we’ve improved in the past, we can improve again.

Seeking feedback

Seeking feedback from others will give us insight into what has gone well or what might need improvement. This can help us to set goals for improvement.

Learning the power of “yet”

Even where we have not yet mastered something we want to get better at, we can always improve if we want to. Dweck suggests that, if we start thinking “I’m not very good at this”, we should add the word “yet”. Developing a growth mindset is about realising that our weaknesses are strengths we haven’t necessarily developed – yet.

Learning from others

Look for examples of people who embody a growth mindset. What do they do? How do they approach challenges? What can you learn from them?

Learning something new

Try a completely new activity and challenge yourself to learn something that you’re not already good at.

By getting used to getting out of your comfort zone, we can change our mindset and be more open to learning new skills.

Accepting mistakes

We’re not going to perfect something at the first attempt. The trick is not to give up if things don’t go as planned, but to allow ourselves to make errors - and learn from them.

Take time to acknowledge, reflect on and embrace failure. Try to see mistakes as part of the learning process.

Re-framing challenges

View challenges not as problems, but as to overcome something difficult and grow as a result.  The more difficult the challenge, the greater the opportunity for learning and growth.

Lifelong learning

Developing a growth mindset is a not a one-time thing. We need to keep setting goals, to keep on learning. Dweck suggests that, every day, we should ask ourselves this question:

What are the opportunities for learning and growth today? For myself? For the people around me?

As you think of opportunities, form a plan, and ask:

Q: When, where and how will I embark on my plan?

As you encounter the inevitable obstacles and setbacks, form a new plan and ask yourself the question again:

Q: Where, when and how will I act on my new plan?

Regardless of how bad you may feel, chat with your fixed-mindset persona and then do it!

And when you succeed, don’t forget to ask yourself:

Q: What do I have to do to maintain and continue the growth?

How we react or feel about situations we find ourselves in is influenced by our mindset. For Carol Dweck, that’s all about whether we choose to hunker down with our fixed mindset or learn to understand and overcome it – choosing growth instead.

Unsurprisingly, having a growth mindset – seeing the opportunities in challenge and obstacles – is an important contributor to curiosity and learnability.

When we’re guided by a fixed mindset, we are more likely to take fewer risks – but we also miss out on opportunities and chances to learn and grow.

Dweck’s work reminds us that “you’re in charge of your mind. You can help it grow by using it in the right way”.

By thinking more intentionally about what that means and how we can change our worldview, we’ll be well on our way to the growth we all need.

Test your knowledge

• Describe Carol Dweck’s two types of mindset.

• Identify two positive growth mindset behaviours.

What does it mean for you?

• Download Carol Dweck’s Which mindset do you have? questions templates to help you to identify where your mindset might be more or less fixed.

• Identify the things that might trigger you fixed mindset.

• Reflect on two to three behaviours you might adopt to help you choose growth more often.