EP160 S05 Mindset Takeaways

People with a fixed mindset believe they are naturally gifted in some areas and incapable in others. While those with a growth mindset believe they can develop any skill through effort and perseverance. #AdvancedQualityPrograms #TheQualityGuy #Mindset

In her book “Mindset,” Carol Dweck explains how our mindset shapes our beliefs about learning, change, and growth. While physical characteristics like the shape of our skull or the size of our foot are largely predetermined, our intellectual and physical abilities, such as playing basketball, drawing, or solving math problems, can change. Our mindset influences how we perceive our potential and abilities, and these require both disposition and dedicated practice. Thus, the role of mindset is crucial in this process.

Dr. Dweck introduces the fixed mindset and a growth mindset to understand this predisposition. People with a fixed mindset believe they are naturally gifted in some areas and incapable in others. While those with a growth mindset believe they can develop any skill through effort and perseverance.

Individuals with a growth mindset continue to grow throughout their lives, acquiring new skills and actively engaging in their abilities. They see life as a constant state of change, while people with a fixed mindset often allow rigid thinking to hinder their progress. When they face failure, they may look for excuses or blame others instead of improving. They hope for everlasting love in their relationships without putting in the necessary work to attain it for example.

Dr. Dweck explains that for persons with a fixed mindset, their abilities are set in stone, believing that talent is everything. In their perspective, a person’s abilities are predetermined from the beginning. A person is, by nature, either intelligent and talented or stupid and incompetent, and will stay that way.

Companies with a fixed mindset culture, like Enron and McKinsey, spend a lot of money finding so-called naturals at universities. These graduates are expected to immediately improve company performance with their exceptional abilities. However, because they are seen as so talented, they receive little training and fail to grow in their roles. As a result, their superiors often encounter these employees underperforming and question their talent. Consequently, employees who are not good performers from the start are quickly let go never giving them a chance. People with a fixed mindset think they can only do things they are naturally good at, dismissing the learning curve as a way to improve and progress. Therefore, they quickly judge themselves and others as either good or bad. They assume others are constantly judging them too, feeling the need to show how skillful and smart they are at every opportunity, believing their entire personality is at stake. One mistake is enough to label them as incompetent for life, leading to a constant cycle of seeking approval from others to protect their egos and self-worth.

On the opposite end, with a growth mindset, improvement and development are possible. When children with a growth mindset are given a difficult puzzle or math problem to solve, they embrace the challenge and are eager to solve more. They recognize that the more problems they solve, the more they learn. The sky’s the limit for these children. The precise degree of intelligence today may change tomorrow. Sure, their grades reflect their status at one specific moment in time, but they believe they can learn with hard work, dedication, and perseverance.

People with a growth mindset are not focused on getting the greatest grades or being the best. They seek the satisfaction of pushing themselves to grow their potential. Whether in music, sports, writing, or drawing, they practice relentlessly, knowing that improvement comes from practice and learning from failures. They enjoy learning from others, reconsider past strategies, and constantly work on eliminating their mistakes.

In relationships, people with a growth mindset encourage their partners to keep learning and improving. In sports, they focus on serving the team. In business, they respect other employees, express gratitude for collaboration, and seek honest feedback, even if it’s inconvenient. They view problems as challenges and invest energy into bettering themselves and the world around them.

People with a fixed mindset prioritize validation and maintaining their perceived abilities, while those with a growth mindset focus on continuous learning and improvement. The book illustrates this through the examples of Lee Iacocca and Lou Gerstner. Iacocca, initially a growth mindset leader, experienced success saving Chrysler but later declined in his leadership when he shifted to a fixed mindset, prioritizing his image over the company’s growth. In contrast, Gerstner’s growth mindset approach, emphasizing teamwork, open communication, and employee development, led to significant and lasting success for IBM.

A fixed mindset sees failures as disasters, while a growth mindset views them as opportunities. For people with a fixed mindset, failure has dramatic repercussions. They do not believe they can learn from their mistakes and see a single failure as evidence of being losers. To preserve their self-confidence, they tend to make excuses, lose interest, and even cheat. They avoid seeking help or analyzing their weaknesses. They see themselves as finished products, not as part of a continual process of evolution.

Dr. Dweck uses basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as an example of the growth mindset. During his career, he missed many potentially game-winning shots. Rather than blaming others, he practiced those shots repeatedly. By the end of his career, he had the best shooting technique of anyone on the court. Instead of finding fault in his teammates, he looked for ways to improve his own skills. He analyzed his mistakes, practiced even harder when he failed, and took advice from others.

People with a fixed mindset avoid challenges and see failure as a threat to their self-worth. They believe in innate talent and avoid situations that might expose their limitations. This fear of failure hinders their growth and prevents them from reaching their full potential.

Challenges provide opportunities for growth-minded individuals to take purposeful action. The more setbacks they face, the more determined they become to overcome adversity and evolve their abilities. Dr. Dweck uses actor Christopher Reeve as an inspiring example. After his tragic accident, doctors predicted he would remain completely paralyzed from the neck down. However, his growth mindset fueled his determination to defy the odds. Through rigorous training, he made remarkable progress, regaining movement in his hands, legs, and eventually his entire upper body. Like Reeve, individuals with a growth mindset embrace challenges and strive to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Our mindset is deeply influenced by the role models we encounter early in life. Mindset development begins at birth. Babies are born with an innate growth mindset, eager to learn and grow every day. The adults in a child’s environment, primarily their parents, play a crucial role in shaping whether this growth mindset is nurtured or replaced by a fixed mindset. In essence, parents set a mindset example for their children. Parents with a growth mindset encourage their children’s curiosity and support their learning journey, while those with a fixed mindset often judge their children, labeling them as right or wrong, good or bad.

Babies as young as one or two years old already exhibit behaviors aligned with fixed or growth mindsets. Growth-minded babies may attempt to comfort a crying friend, while fixed-minded babies might become irritated. Teachers also serve as significant role models and influence children’s mindsets. Many teachers hold a fixed mindset, believing that students’ abilities are static. They may label students as “good” or “weak,” inadvertently reinforcing a fixed mindset in the latter group. In contrast, growth-minded teachers believe in their students’ potential for improvement. They offer multiple approaches to problem-solving and encourage their students to embrace challenges. As a result, even weaker students can develop a growth mindset and achieve academic success, dispelling the notion of inherent limitations. Our mindset is not entirely fixed; it can evolve during childhood as we adopt the mindsets of our role models.

Anyone can cultivate a growth mindset and achieve the seemingly impossible. We are not bound by our circumstances; our mindset is within our control. Just as we train our physical muscles, we can train our brains to adopt a growth mindset. By taking deliberate steps, we can rewire our thinking patterns.

Embracing a growth mindset presents an opportunity for personal growth and connection with others. It encourages us to seek support, acknowledge our shortcomings, and create concrete plans for achieving our goals. However, shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is not always easy. A fixed mindset can become a familiar comfort zone, protecting us from failure and providing a sense of security. To break free from this comfort zone requires courage and self-awareness.

The key takeaway from this book, which is important not only for quality philosophies but for all areas of life, is that people with a fixed mindset obstruct their own development—personally, professionally, academically, and health-wise—because of their belief in innate characteristics and their fear of failure. On the contrary, people with a growth mindset work hard and practice to ultimately realize their potential. By confronting our own attitudes and ideas, we can develop a growth mindset and evolve in all areas of life.