Mindsets in the Workplace



The other day via one of my newsletter subscriptions, I came across this article (Carol Dweck on Creating a Growth Mindset in the Workplace) that surveys a book from 2007 - Mindest: The New Psychology of Success. I thought it had some really interesting points - to the point that I decided to jump in and order Mindset from Amazon (should be here in a few more days). The idea behind Mindset is that different mindsets impact not only how we do our jobs, but the mindsets of our employees can impact the ultimate success of an organization.


Much of the article is spent looking at what most would recognize and consider as a "bad" mindset to have - the fixed-mindset. This is defined as a mindset that sees some people as superior and some people as inferior. One of the negative results of this mindset is that these people are always focused on what is in it for them even at the expense of an organization or other employees. They are driven by the need to not only be the "winner" in any situation but to make sure that everyone around them knows they are the "winner".

Besides creating big problems with employee morale, especially if the person with this fixed-mindset is a supervisor,  the fixed-mindset also causes problems with exploring creative solutions and dealing with challenges and obstacles. As noted in the article, fixed-mindset people tend to jump to treating suggestions as criticism and spend much of their time in an angry and defensive state of mind.

The alternative to a fixed-mindset is a growth-mindset, characterized by the following:

  • skills are learnable
  • an organization that values learning and perseverance (not just natural talent)
  • feedback that promotes learning and future success
  • managers as resources for learning

The article notes that Dweck's book is full of practical advice that can actually be used in organizations and the workplace. Hopefully that will pan out and I will pick up some tips and tricks to help me in my own work.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book review - A Whack on the Side of the Head

Image
As I start some work to bring some life back to this blog site, it seems appropriate that I start with a review of A Whack on the Side ofthe Head . From what I’ve gathered, A Whack on the Side of the Head is a bit of a classic in self improvement although I had never run across it before adding it to my 2017 reading list. And yes, as you may have guessed from the date of this entry, I am running behind on completing that list. I attribute part of that to not keeping up with the discipline needed to keep moving forward with the list, although some delay was introduced by the need to read some other materials and books during the year. Anyway, I’m back and ready to get some creative with some new entries. A Whack on the Side of the Head covers ways to help the reader tap into their creative juices and remove those mental blocks that keep them stuck in a rut. Author Roger von Oech sets forth several examples to open the book demonstrating creative thinking and how people have so
Read more

Spreading the Load

Image
Last week I shared an article about some potential problems that can crop up if collaboration efforts are not managed effectively. One of the issues that may surface is the stress and burnout for top performers when they are continually sought out by others in the organization. Likewise, as managers we likely have certain employees who are considered stars and it can be tempting to turn to them on a frequent basis to get the work done in an organization. However, it is important that we proactively manage the work that is being delegated so as to avoid overloading some employees and at the same time taking steps to help raise up lower performing employees. Although management may be as much art as it is science, we can still bring some structure to this delegation process as discussed in the article Make Sure Your Team's Workload Is Divided Fairly . The article brings up several steps and actions that managers can take when delegating assignments and projects. The main th
Read more

The Perils of Collaboration

Image
I was recently reading an article on collaboration ( Collaborative Overload ) and some of the problems that it can create for an organization. Wait, what? Collaboration is a problem? That may seem like an odd claim in this day and age when we seek ever increasing levels of collaboration and teamwork in our workforces. As the article points out though, there are potential problems out there if the effects of collaboration are not managed effectively. The basic problem with collaboration that is identified by the authors is that demands for collaborative activities - like attending meetings - pulls people away from being able to work on the actual tasks that they have been hired to work on. This creates a cycle requiring them to do things like take work home, which in turn increases stress, which then leads to burnout and turnover.
Read more