I’ve met many co-workers, colleagues and peers over the years.
Hundreds of them are excited to take on new challenges with an eagerness to learn. Others have a harmful tendency for complacency and stubbornness.
In other words, I’ve met numerous people with growth mindsets and fixed mindsets.
A growth mindset is the belief that someone can improve themselves — that their skills and abilities are not definite but continuously developing.
A fixed mindset is just the opposite — it’s the belief that someone is stuck with what they have. They believe that their skills and abilities are set in stone, and therefore they either refuse to change or believe they simply cannot.
So, if you’re looking for someone to add to your team, which mindset would you prefer?
My money’s on the growth mindset.
Yet sometimes, it can be difficult to perceive which mindset dominates a particular person.
In order to assist, I’m breaking down the growth mindset vs. fixed mindset and how you successfully can tell one from the other.
Key Takeaways:
- A growth mindset is the belief that dedication, hard work and a willingness to learn will produce greater abilities that help achieve the desired result.
- A fixed mindset assumes that abilities are unchangeable and can’t improve.
5 Growth Mindset Characteristics
There are plenty of signs that someone has a growth mindset — like a passion for learning or being willing to take on new tasks.
Here are the five characteristics I find to be clear signposts of someone who wants to grow.
1. Embraces Challenges
It’s not uncommon for challenges to come up in the workplace. I can recall a handful of times just this week when I was stuck behind a roadblock.
And while it’s natural for you to feel discouraged at the sight of a challenge, someone with a growth mindset wouldn’t ask someone else to solve the problem for them.
Instead, they would face the challenge headfirst by seeking the support, additional time or training they need to overcome it.
2. Persists in the Face of Setbacks
Whether it’s being passed over for a promotion or losing a client, everyone will experience some type of setback in their work life.
Although setbacks threaten confidence, they shouldn’t determine how a person performs moving forward. Someone with a growth mindset remains resilient through disappointment.
They have a strong belief that their hard work and dedication will pay off in the end.
3. Learns from Criticism
People tend to respond to criticism and feedback in one of two ways: they hate it and become defensive, or they welcome it and are eager to learn from it.
The latter response is the growth mindset at work.
When someone with a growth mindset hears feedback, whether in a performance review or after a project review, they don’t respond by justifying mistakes. Instead, they admit they could have done better and use that experience to grow.
4. Finds Lessons and Inspiration in the Success of Others
Sometimes, a co-worker or peer will be rewarded. Perhaps the co-worker received an account they wanted, or the company chose them for a highly desired opportunity.
How people respond to this is key in determining their mindset.
While someone with a fixed mindset would feel bad for themselves and maybe even talk badly about their peers, someone with a growth mindset would take the opportunity to congratulate and learn from that peer.
5. Believes in the Power of Hard Work
Someone with a growth mindset doesn’t expect pay raises and promotions to simply land in their laps. They do, however, believe that the work they do will earn them bigger and better opportunities.
Instead of waiting for something to happen, growth mindset employees take the initiative and continue working hard to reach their goals, both in work and in life.
5 Fixed Mindset Characteristics
Alternatively, there are unfortunately plenty of people with a fixed mindset, and they all share the same characteristics.
For example, everyone I’ve met with a fixed mindset tends to put in minimal effort and expect maximum results.
Looking for some other telltale signs of a fixed mindset? Here are five characteristics I often notice.
1. Avoids Challenges
Have you ever managed an employee who has no desire or makes no effort to take on a challenge?
This is one of the most noticeable signs of a fixed mindset employee. If they don’t take initiative at all or take shortcuts rather than coming up with a valid, thorough solution, there’s a large chance that they are stuck in a fixed mindset.
2. Gives Up When Something Is Difficult
Let’s put it plainly: work can be difficult. And some days are intentionally more difficult than others.
How can employees improve if they aren’t challenged from time to time?
As a leader, you know this. But do your employees? Do they understand that you will occasionally assign them to difficult tasks so they can develop their skill set? And when you do this, do they use that time to learn or do they give up?
Or worse, do they reassign the task to someone else?
If you have an employee that comes to mind when I ask, “Do they give up?”, then you likely have a fixed mindset employee on your hands.
3. Is Defensive to Criticism
We talked about how growth mindset employees welcome feedback.
Fixed-mindset employees are the exact opposite.
If they can, they will avoid criticism and feedback. If they can’t avoid it, they’ll go on the defensive. They’ll make excuses, blame others and justify their actions.
Instead of learning from their mistakes, they’ll continue doing what they’re doing with the mindset that it’s not a problem with their performance but your evaluation.
4. Feels Threatened by Others’ Success
It’s important to reward and praise your employees for a job well done.
However, you might occasionally have an employee who feels personally attacked or under appreciated when you reward someone else.
This is a classic example of someone with a fixed mindset.
Where someone with a growth mindset would congratulate a fellow employee for their successes, a fixed mindset employee would feel threatened instead.
5. Thinks Their Abilities Are Set in Stone
An employee with a fixed mindset often believes that their abilities and skills “come as they are.”
This mindset is the mindset of someone unwilling to change for the sake of improvement.
Instead of trying to improve their skill set, they would rather avoid challenges. You’re also likely to notice a lack of motivation and initiative since they won’t have any desire to leave their comfort zone.
Growth vs. Fixed Mindset Examples
Now that I’ve highlighted some of their characteristics, let’s look at these mindsets in action.
Here are five common examples many employees face in their careers and how both mindsets would react to these circumstances.
1. The Employee Review
An employee is undergoing their first review at a new company. While they are doing a great job in their client communications and delivering expected results, management feels the employees could communicate better with their co-workers about project turnaround times.
Growth Mindset
The employee is thankful for the feedback they receive and asks probing questions to better understand what they can do to improve. They also work with their manager to create a game plan to fix the issue.
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. While I didn’t realize this was an issue, I am happy to address it. Could you give me some examples of projects where this was an issue? In the future, I will be more direct about my timelines from the start of the project and leave room for flexibility if we hit a roadblock.”
Fixed Mindset
The employee goes on the defensive and refuses to take responsibility for these mistakes. Instead of thinking of ways they can fix the issue, they blame others for not interpreting their timelines correctly.
“I am clear about the timelines of my projects. If my teammates don’t understand how I communicate this, they should have asked for clarification before the due date.”
2. The Work Setback
The company is undergoing some organizational changes, and the employee finds out they were not considered for a position they think they would thrive in.
Growth Mindset
The employee respectfully lets management know that they would like to be considered for that position in the future and asks what they can do to be an eligible candidate. They continue to work diligently to prove the value that they could bring to the position.
“I’ll admit that I would have loved being considered for the position, but I ultimately understand your decision. If, in the future, a similar position becomes available, I would like to be considered. What can I do now to improve my skills and become the type of candidate that you’re looking for to fill the position?”
Fixed Mindset
The employee is offended and lets management know that they are upset. They do not ask for guidance on what they can do to become a better candidate next time.
“I feel that I would have been a great candidate for the position, and I don’t understand why you chose to overlook me. It’s times like these when I feel undervalued at this company.”
3. The Unfamiliar Task
Your client asks for something that’s outside of your team’s normal scope, but you are confident they can handle it. You assign a task to one of your team members to get the project started.
Growth Mindset
The employee feels like this is a new challenge and they’re going to need some support, but they’re eager to learn. They ask you for examples of what the client wants and speak to their teammates for advice.
“I am unfamiliar with this type of task, but if you’re willing to provide me with the support I need, I am happy to take on a new challenge. Can you send me examples of what the client wants? I think co-worker X has some experience in this, so I’ll ask their advice and see if they have any words of wisdom for me.”
Fixed Mindset
The employee shuts down and lets you know they are unwilling to take on this task. They make excuses and offer the names of other co-workers to whom you should assign this task instead.
“I am unfamiliar with what the client wants, so I’m not the best person to take on this project. Plus, my time is already being taken up with project X. Why don’t you consider XYZ for the project instead?”
4. The New Hire
You introduce a new member to the team who needs some training to catch them up to speed. You let one of your team members know they are in charge of showing them the ropes.
Growth Mindset
They take this task as a complement to their skills and are happy to share their knowledge with someone new. They are excited to have a new team member to help support their efforts. They seek your advice on effective training techniques.
“Of course, I’d be happy to train the new hire. I am excited to have another set of hands on the team since we’ve been so busy. Are there any areas of training that I should start with?”
Fixed Mindset
The employee doesn’t want to train someone else and feels like it’s a waste of their valuable time. They ask you if you could assign the training to someone else. When you say no, they put minimal effort into training the new hire.
“I am too busy to train someone else right now. I am sure they can figure it out on their own, like I did. Or what if you have X train them instead? I suppose I can put together a quick process document for them to read through, but that’s all I have time for.”
5. The Leadership Change
The company’s CEO decides to retire, and the succession plan requires leadership to adjust and fill the role. As a result, the new leadership implements a new requirement asking employees and their managers to have a one-on-one each month.
Growth Mindset
The employee sees the leadership change as a healthy shift in the company culture and is excited to get more face-to-face time with their manager. They intend to use these new one-on-ones to seek feedback and learn from their manager.
“I am excited about the culture shift, and I think it’s great that there’s a push to invest more of management’s time in their employees. Since I value your feedback, I would like it if we could spend these one-on-one sessions going over my individual development plan and how I can achieve my goals.”
Fixed Mindset
The employee feels that the company was doing just fine without the shift in leadership and culture. They think frequent one-on-ones are a waste of time, and they continue to come unprepared to the meetings.
“I don’t have anything to discuss in this one-on-one. I am not sure what the point of these meetings is since I rarely need support from you or anyone else on the team. Unless you want to talk to me about something, I should really be getting back to work.”
How Leaders Can Cultivate a Culture of Growth Mindsets
Before moving on, I want to clarify something. The growth and fixed mindsets are just that. They’re mindsets, not ways of life.
This means that you can effectively encourage your employees to change.
If I am being honest, it takes work to do this, and it doesn’t work on every employee.
However, if you and your company’s leadership are willing to invest the time and resources, you can create a culture where employees want to grow.
Here are my five recommendations for improving your employee’s mindset:
- Offer valuable feedback to employees: Be specific and timely with your feedback. You should always use examples, set clear expectations and follow up.
- Give employees the tools they need to succeed: If you want your employees to grow, you need to offer them resources. Examples of these tools might include online training, sending them to conventions or simply giving them time to learn from other departments.
- Empower employees through new challenges: Your employees can’t learn new skills without a challenge every now and then. Be willing to present them with problems so they can hone their problem-solving skills and become better leaders.
- Provide employees with the space to grow: An employee won’t grow if they feel like they can’t grow. Create clear expectations and paths for promotions and new opportunities within the company.
- Set a positive example for them: If you don’t have a growth mindset, you can’t expect your employees to have one. If you possess any of the fixed mindset characteristics, now is the time to change.
Work Where You’ll Grow
If you need a place where you can harness the power of the growth mindset and succeed in all that you do, look no further than Awesome Motive. We’re always looking for future industry leaders, and we have the tools to help you. From great benefits to extensive training programs, we want you to grow with us.
Whatever success looks like to you, you can succeed at Awesome Motive in one of our current job openings.
To embracing new challenges with the right mindset,
Thomas
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