Developing a growth mindset for success

Creating a growth mindset culture in your workplace can be transformative. Want to ignite enthusiasm and commitment? Boost workplace creativity and innovation? Increase trust and co-operation between teams? Discover 3 great reasons to nurture a growth mindset in your workplace.

1. People who work in a growth mindset culture excel at creativity and innovation

It may seem strange to think organisational mindset can dictate to creativity and innovation. When you scratch beneath the surface of a fixed mindset approach to business you’ll discover a huge fear of failure pulsing through the heart of the company. A fixed mindset has the same attributes for organisations as it does for individuals, the belief that you’re either good at something or not, talented or not, capable or not. In a fixed mindset culture people avoid experimenting with new ideas because they fear that falure will define them. When the opportunity to learn from setbacks is ignored, creativity and innovation are stifled. A growth mindset culture is great for creativity because it enables us to experiment and innovate without fearing the negative consequences of any setbacks encountered during the creative process.

2. Trust and cooperation are hallmarks of a growth mindset culture

When you work in a growth mindset organisation you’re more likely to trust your colleagues. Why? Employees in fixed mindset companies are guarded about their expertise and knowledge, making them reluctant to share their smarts with others for fear of diluting their reputation as ‘the go-to guy’. Research also reveals that those working in a fixed mindset organisation are more likely to cut corners and keep secrets in their quest to promote their virtuosity in a company where talent rather than effort is paramount. Not a great recipe for trust.

3. A growth mindset business capitalises on failure

Businesses that truly embody a growth mindset recognise that their approach to failure is key to success. A growth mindset business encourages new ideas and growth by framing failure as the route to mastery. Growth mindset teams ask crucial questions such as what can we learn here? How can this inform future projects? What do we need to change, tweak or strengthen here? When a fixed mindset prevails, the valuable lessons that failure can provide are lost within a blame culture.

Originally published at medium.com