Invoking Growth Mindset and why it matters

In the race to success, it's not just about crossing the finish line; it's about the character we build along the way. In cut-throat world of competition, we are focused sometimes obsessed of outcomes. But you got to pay attention because when we are chasing goals, we are moulding our character which is shaped by how we achieve these. And it’s the character that takes you to the top but more importantly makes you stay there. Let me talk about the transformative power of mindset which shapes up your character and is an important skill to acquire, citing a few examples from personal and professional life.

🏆 Reflecting on the past choices 🏆

During formative years of my character, once I fell sick during a national level drawing competition. Stakes were high, time was short, expectations on high, so, I asked a local artist known to me to draw for me. I explained to myself that I was very much capable of producing the same if I was in the right condition. Was this Jugaad, being street smart, being goal-oriented (or even delegation) - well, that’s a discussion for another time. The entry earned 3rd prize. Irony is that I didn’t feel any sense of achievement. I was validated by elders, but I wasn’t feeling proud, how could I for the artwork was not produced by me. Soon, I had a prevailing sense of failure and I eventually convinced myself to silently resign from drawing.

But the dilemma stayed with me. I analysed this episode based on the work of Carol Dweck . I recognize that the fixed mindset was at play at that time. I was pushed into the fixed mindset due to constant praise of my abilities by elders leading to the notion of being a smart and natural talent where there’s no scope for failure. A fixed mindset creates the need for constant validation of your abilities no matter how. Ignoring the need for validation, if I would have pushed myself to take the effort to draw despite the circumstances, it would have been so satisfying regardless of the result. Even then, when I had the sense of failure, once again fixed mindset was at play, so, instead of coping with the situation by owning the mistake and improving, I resigned. I had lost two chances to outgrow myself in art by refusing the learning and coping.

Whenever now I pick the pencil, the inner urge drives me to sketch again, it's not to compete, or validate or prove, but for the sake of art. It’s to overcome my deficiencies and vulnerabilities. It’s for the joy of learning. My growth mindset is now at play in art.

⚽️ Learning through play ⚽️

Sports is hard, where input is equal to output. Couple of years ago, when my son started to learn football, he wanted me to play with him. I had excuses – shoes, foot, weather, stamina, time, etc – I was afraid of the amount of input it would need to play reasonably well. Once I observed that my son is blaming everything for his skills not improving. I tried to motivate taking examples of successful players, but he had counter arguments. He was displaying a fixed mindset, so was I, but I didn’t know then. However, I decided to push myself to play with him so I can eventually help him learn. When he noticed my weaknesses and vulnerabilities, he started to learn about himself and we together found ways to overcome those. He told me recently that my game is improving which is encouraging. Lesson is that when we are allies in learning, then instead of stereotyping or labelling or blaming, focus shifts to the effort, strategies, feedbacks, joy, coping. My growth mindset is now at play in sports.

🏦 Organizations and Change 🏦

Applying the same framework, if we analyse, you will notice a complex web of fixed and growth mindsets at work in our professionally managed organizations. Role of the leaders (driven by purpose) of the organization is to bring financial success by inspiring and instilling growth mindset. Since leaders have with their own fixed mindset encountered in various circumstances, they got to be aware of their vulnerabilities and must create a supporting and learning environment around them. But more often than not, their need for validation is strong (of prime importance) and growth mindset is equated to obsession with financial results or talent outcry, which in turn pushes rest of the organization into fixed mindset of how to look smarter and better than others (in fact, they carry fear of failure). When Hubert Joly says we got to lead from heart, it’s about people-first which means to create a safe environment for our people to challenge themselves to produce extraordinary results for the organization while outgrowing themselves; the sequence is People then Business then Finance. Possible reasons of failure of leadership observed in many circumstances are exerting superiority, mistaking positive criticism for resistance, overemphasis on talent, ignoring warnings, among others. Undertaking Digital transformation in an organization is also an interesting journey where you encounter fixed mindsets and most of the effort goes in instilling growth mindset. Digital Transformation is an Operating Model change which touches all parts of the operations leading to resilient operations and often new business models. To do this, we must create microclusters of learning across the operating parts. Everyone involved internally and externally got to act as allies in this journey to find innovative and alternate solutions to create the new framework for organization growth. That said change is hard and there are many dilemmas to be dealt with. And in both the cases, Pareto principle is seen at play - if you build 20% of the team with right knowledge and growth mindset, change is achievable.

🌱 Why acquiring mindset skill is important and urgent 🌱

While I was carrying fixed mindset in arts and sports throughout, my professional life has been a growth mindset journey. I learnt out of failures and setbacks to emerge stronger like many of us. Events like Covid taught us resilience. But recollecting all those moments of overcoming fixed mindsets and how it shaped my character during the journey, is altogether liberating. I conclude that liberation is in growth mindset. Liberation is in taking the effort you have been avoiding, embracing the challenge you fear, accepting criticism that helps you to become better. It’s in knowing yourself, stretching yourself, owning mistakes, taking risks, finding your purpose and engaging meaningfully.

1. The world we face together is VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) for which the fabric of the organization needs to be resilient, adaptable, communicative and better at anticipating & managing risks. It’s imporant for us as individuals to acquire the skills to identify our mindsets at play in circumstances and find strategies to quickly drive ourselves and others into growth mindset. You will take better decisions faster.
2. Pay attention to the character in your journey. It’s about developing the ability to dig deeper during trying times to find your strength and bouncing back. Exactly when you are in your crucibles, treat it as an opportunity to learn, you will see yourself emerging stronger out of it. Remember children observe you to learn. You need strong character for the VUCA challenge.
3. Become an ally (or find your ally) in learning to unlock potential of others and yours. Prejudice, Stereotyping, Inequity are all very common diseases or problems which needs more power of growth mindset. Create a movement around you to deal with these. Progress is when everyone progresses. Mentor more.
4. Remind yourself that every stroke of the pencil or kick of the ball is not about validation but about the joy of learning and growing.  Do celebrate every progress however little it may be.

Statutory warning: Try this at home with caution. Too much of mindset discussion can fire back 😊