Have you ever felt paralyzed by fear of failure, holding you back from taking on new projects or speaking up in meetings? A growth mindset is what can help you move ahead. It’s the belief that your abilities can develop through continuous learning and effort, as opposed to being fixed and unchangeable.
Embracing challenges, not shying from them
Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist, popularized the concept of growth mindset. This mindset supports learning, fosters resilience and a willingness to take risks. Imagine two colleagues: Sarah, who sees challenges as opportunities to learn and improve, and David, who avoids anything outside his comfort zone, fearing failure. Sarah, driven by a growth mindset, is more likely to volunteer for challenging tasks, seek feedback, and ultimately, advance in her career.
Such a mindset can influence the way we approach challenging situations. Let’s take the story of Burbn, a location-based social app that initially offered users the ability to check in at various locations, arrange meetups, and share life’s moments. The concept held promise, but as Burbn began to take form, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of Burbn, recognized a critical issue: complexity. The app had expanded to encompass a plethora of features, including check-ins and gaming elements, resulting in a cluttered user experience. The founders made a daring decision — to streamline Burbn’s core functionality. They opted to shed numerous features, focusing exclusively on one compelling element: photo-sharing. The change was driven by the founders’ realization of the need for simplicity and focus on photo-sharing which led to Burbn becoming what we know today as Instagram.
Turning setbacks into stepping stones
Challenges are catalysts for growth. Take Amazon’s success story with its e-reader, the Amazon Kindle. When Kindle was launched, all the books were still printed on paper. So, to succeed, Kindle needed to create the digital book (or eBook) industry, which it did, plunging into uncharted waters. By approaching the project with a growth mindset, they were able to power through challenges and achieve remarkable results.
Building a culture of continuous learning
Organizations can foster a growth mindset by encouraging continuous learning and development. A notable example is Microsoft and Satya Nadella, who openly cites the move toward a learning culture at Microsoft as a critical element driving the company’s growth. Microsoft embraced the growth mindset when Satya Nadella became CEO in 2014, encouraging employees to learn from both successes and failures to develop their capabilities. Microsoft Learn is central to the company’s learning culture, offering various training options to employees, which allows them to learn at the pace and in the style, they wish to.
Embrace the growth journey
A growth mindset fuels personal and professional development. By implementing growth mindset initiatives, companies create a culture where learning is encouraged and setbacks are seen as opportunities, not roadblocks. This empowers employees to take risks, develop new skills, and ultimately, drive innovation and success.
