Why do organizations need to have a Growth Mindset? Before we find the answer, let’s look back at our workplace or the situations we often see in organizations. What are some of the things that are Fixed Mindset, such as employees not daring to express their opinions or not daring to present good ideas to the team or to the boss?
Or some employees are lethargic, working as if without a goal. Or some employees do not dare to try anything new. They choose to do the same old things that they are familiar with because they are afraid that if they do it, there will be mistakes that will affect their job security.
Or some employees lack creativity, or some employees think that they are not good enough, or have many limitations. The result is that they cannot work with others, or they choose to do just enough to get by, etc.
Symptoms from these examples are the result of the employees themselves lacking a Growth Mindset and the organization itself lacking in promoting a Growth Mindset culture as well.
“The level of happiness and success of people, whether in their careers or personal lives, is influenced by their perspective and attitude.”
We can see that if the employees themselves (whether they are bosses or subordinates) have a negative mindset or a Fixed Mindset, the consequences are as we often find in the workplace. In the long run, if the organization has a large number of employees with a Fixed Mindset, plus a Fixed Mindset culture, this company will definitely not survive.
Another reason is that companies or organizations focus too much on the desired results, rewarding and selecting rewards only for employees or units that succeed, or viewing employees or units that make mistakes as ineffective or incompetent. These actions are truly promoting a Fixed Mindset in the organization.
Therefore, the more emphasis is placed on outcome-based measurement, the faster the culture of the organization or company will become a fixed mindset. As a result, employees will be pressured to work hard, stressed, work with suspicion, not daring to do new things, lacking happiness in their work, and unable to produce good work. Those who have a way to go will choose to leave this kind of company or organization.
“A culture with a growth mindset is one that supports employees in their determination and effort.”
Organizations must give importance to employees’ learning and trying new things, regardless of whether the learning or trying new things may have problems or errors. Doing this will encourage employees to dare to try, dare to think outside the box, and promote a Growth Mindset and creativity because employees will not worry about being criticized if something goes wrong with their work.
For example, a world-class organization like Microsoft has also had internal problems before. Around 2015, many Microsoft departments worked in a competitive manner, quarreled with each other, and lacked unity. This was due to having too much of a Fixed Mindset, from the individual level all the way to the organizational culture. This forced Staya Nadella (Microsft CEO) to cleanse these things by announcing a new organizational culture, to have the same direction throughout, with reference to the organizational culture of Growth Mindset.
“Everyone can develop and grow. Everyone’s potential can be nurtured and developed.”
Staya Nadella started with the belief that encouraging everyone to dare to learn what they don’t know before, dare to make mistakes in things they’ve never done before, and be open to new ideas and approaches from others, whether from colleagues, customers, or business partners, etc. These are the starting points of creating a Growth Mindset to become a strong culture for the organization in the future.
It can be seen that from the foundation of Microsoft’s corporate culture from the idea of Staya Nadella at that time, Microsoft has remained a great and strong company until today.
There is also a study by Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007), on Growth Mindset in the workplace. She found that organizations with a Growth Mindset culture
65% of employees say their company encourages them to try new things and
49% of employees also said that the company atmosphere promotes innovation.
47% of employees feel that the teamwork atmosphere is very good because they have reliable and trustworthy co-workers.
And 34% of employees feel proud to be a part of the organization’s success and are ready to go the extra mile for the organization.
From the survey results, including examples of organizations like Microsoft, we can see how attractive organizations or workplaces with a Growth Mindset are to work for.
So how can we start building a Growth Mindset in our workplace?
“Encourage all employees to have the opportunity to try and make mistakes.”
Imagine an organization with a fixed mindset. Employees probably don’t dare to do new things because they’re afraid of making mistakes or being criticized in a negative way. This makes employees not dare to present new ideas, not dare to think, not dare to try new things. Part of the problem comes from leaders who have a fixed mindset. They don’t like anything new or unfamiliar. They like to give orders more than subordinates presenting. The result is that employees work and live in a way that is inconsistent, depressed, and lacks positive motivation to work.
If leaders open up opportunities and create space for employees to be free from worry about making mistakes, meaning that they can make mistakes, but they must learn from their mistakes and how to do better next time. They should not be afraid of making mistakes and not dare to do anything new again, or encourage employees to have the opportunity to present new ideas, and leaders must also support employees to try out those new ideas and put them into practice. If they can do this, employees will be able to relieve a lot of pressure and stress, and may even get a lot of good ideas that can help the company.
“Encourage all employees to dare to give advice to each other.”
Imagine an organization with a fixed mindset. Employees would not dare to advise or criticize anyone about their work in front of their face because they are afraid that if they do, it will lead to conflicts. That is why we see people secretly gossiping about others behind their backs. The more they gossip, the more they do not fix the problem. How can it get any better?
No matter what level of employees, leaders must encourage everyone to be open-minded, open to opportunities, and listen to advice from each other. By giving advice or criticizing each other, it must be a good intention that truly wants colleagues to improve, not from malicious intent or wanting to expose or slander one party or another. Doing this will give everyone the opportunity to develop, correct, and improve their own shortcomings, and it will also help improve the teamwork atmosphere.
“Promotes the focus on dedication and effort, rather than just success.”
For leaders, in addition to giving advice or criticism, leaders should also show sincerity and encourage their staff in terms of their dedication and effort. Do not focus on or focus on the results, which makes employees feel pressured or stressed too much.
Because don’t forget that the more numerical measurements are used to measure, the more employees will not dare to think or do anything out of the box. This will cause them to remain in a fixed mindset.
At this point, we should have a better understanding and see how Fixed Mindset affects people and organizations. And how having a Growth Mindset can help both employees and organizations.
Therefore, if we want our organization or our department to be a better place to work and be a better place to be, we need to help create a culture of a Great Mindset in the organization.
For more articles on Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset, please visit:
What are Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset? And How Do They Affect Us?
Fixed Mindset is a common problem in work or at work.
9 Ways to Build and Develop a Growth Mindset for Working People
