Developing a Growth Mindset for Leadership, Life, and Beyond
4 Organizational Benefits
In my early twenties, I was recently married and my in-laws wanted to take a family vacation before we moved out of country for my work. The family trip was to backcountry ski the Canadian Rockies outside Banff.
Backcountry skiing is a combination of hiking and downhill skiing. There are no ski lifts. You ski down the mountain on skis with special bindings that detach at the heel and straps that attach to the bottom of your skis, called skins, that help you hike back up the mountain and do it all over again.
The vacation was led by a family friend who was a former guide on Mount Everest and a group of other Canadian professional backcountry guides. The vacation literature said this trip was for expert skiers. This I was not.
When I met my wife, my mother-in-law who was a former skier on the U.S. ski team, asked if I ski. I replied yes, I snowboard. My mother-in-law replied, "No, do you ski? If you want to be in this family, then you have to ski." And so, I learned to ski and spent a mere five days learning to ski over the previous 3 years before this trip. My experience was demoralizing during the moment, but I look back on it now as one of the most pivotal to my growth as man, husband, father, and leader.
In the snowy backcountry of the Canadian Rockies in waist deep snow, having lost my skis again, with the rest of the group waiting on me; and avalanches roaring down the canyons on either side, I thought I would not make it home alive. And it was there, digging myself out of a tree well, frustrated, cold and tired; that I suddenly had a shift in my mindset.
I realized I could not magically divine myself with any more experience than what I had in that moment. It was not a matter of willpower or focus or attitude. I simply had to accept my current skill level as a beginner in the best bad-situation possible. It was the best because I was surrounded by so much expertise and experience to learn from. It was a bad situation because the environment and weather conditions required greater skill than I presently had. In that moment I realized to be better, I just had to keep moving forward and make incremental progress.
I reflect on this moment often when I think about how it applies to not just skiing, but to every life endeavor.
Consistent progress over time in a broad multi-disciplinary fashion will provide you the skills and mental models you need to adapt and thrive in the world ahead.
You have to have some experience–to have some experience.
What is a Growth Mindset?
Mindsets are on a spectrum. The dynamism of humans means most things are differentiated based on degree and not in a binary fashion. At the extremes are two types of mindsets.
- A growth mindset is one where intelligence and abilities can be learned and developed over time
- A fixed mindset is one where intelligence and abilities are endowed and unchangeable
A growth mindset revolves around a desire for continuous improvement, learning, and a disposition to excellence.
However, before we discuss why a growth mindset is important to be a better leader, I need to reemphasize that most things in life are not binary but gradations. Therefore, there is no such thing as a person who has a pure growth mindset. Instead, we all have areas where we are disposed toward growth and fixed mindsets.
So, the key is awareness of our inner (and external) monologues that provide early warning where our thinking may not be where we want it to be.
Why a Growth Mindset is Important to be a Better Leader
A growth mindset is crucial for becoming a better leader because it is foundational for long term success. According to Carol Dweck, the American Psychologist who highlighted this distinction,
"When entire companies embrace a growth mindset, their employees report feeling far more empowered and committed; they also receive greater organizational support for collaboration and innovation. In contrast, people at primarily fixed-mindset companies report more cheating and deception among employees, presumably to gain an advantage in the talent race."
Leaders with a growth mindset view challenges as opportunities for growth, embrace failure as feedback for improvement, and inspire their teams to strive for excellence. Below are several key reasons why a growth mindset is important for effective leadership:
1. Life-Long Learning and Development
A growth mindset encourages leaders to continuously seek new knowledge and skills. As we highlighted in our previous post about the key leadership quality being curiosity that manifests itself in life-long learning, we are apt to get in our own way if we do not have a growth mindset. This was my problem until my moment of clarity in the snow. Josh Waitzkin's book The Art of Learning written in 2008 highlights the key to rapid learning comes from our failure and not our successes and leads to greater resilience. This commitment to lifelong learning helps leaders stay relevant and effective in their roles.
2. Better Adaptability
Leaders with a growth mindset are better equipped to handle setbacks and challenges. They see failures not as insurmountable obstacles but as opportunities to learn and improve. This resilience is critical in leadership, where unexpected challenges and rapid changes are common. According to Dweck's research, individuals with a growth mindset are more likely to persevere through difficulties and find innovative solutions to problems.
3. Fosters a Positive Organizational Culture
Leaders with a growth mindset create a culture that values outcomes, but the leaders have the patience and long term perspective to value the non-linear nature of progress, learning, and improvement. Research published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found this positive environment motivates employees to take initiative, be innovative, and collaborate effectively.
4. Encourages Innovation and Risk-Taking
A growth mindset reduces the fear of failure, which is often a significant barrier to innovation. Leaders who embrace this mindset are more likely to encourage their teams to experiment and take calculated risks, leading to greater innovation.
Perhaps the best real-world example of these four reasons in action comes from SpaceX's first rocket test flight last April resulting in an explosion minutes after takeoff. As the rocket self-destructed, the engineers cheered, embracing the opportunity to learn. They did not view the test as a failure but an opportunity to learn as fast as possible in order to make the rocket, which is slated to be the most powerful rocket ever built, better.
What's Holding You Back?
Go experiment. Live life. The world needs you. I always admired those who could try something new, fail, and laugh. I was not this person growing up. I was doggedly focused on perfection. Still am. But it was this skiing experience in the middle of the backcountry that changed my mindset to the feedback of imperfection and pursue the learning process as the most critical part in getting the outcomes you want.
It seems a silly thing to write all these years later. But upon reflection, I know I was so focused on the end result, thinking failure was the enemy, and viewing progress as a linear highway to achievement, that I sucked the joy out of the journey and likely slowed my own progress by focusing on perfection instead of improvement.
Conclusion
A growth mindset is essential for effective leadership as it promotes resilience, continuous learning, innovation, and a positive organizational culture. Leaders who embrace a growth mindset not only improve their own capabilities but also inspire their teams to achieve higher levels of performance and engagement. By fostering an environment that values growth and development, these leaders drive long-term success and adaptability in their organizations.
Final Thoughts
I found this quote yesterday and it resonated with me in my own pursuit of having more of a growth mindset.
We suffer more in imagination than in reality.
-Seneca
My inability to get out of my own way limits my own potential. This is why I wrote about the foundation of leadership is in leading yourself first. Often, I am living in my imagination thinking that other people care more than they do, or running potential problems in my head and anticipating what I will say and do about them. As Seneca alludes, I am holding myself back more from what I think will happen than from what actually is or will happen.
What's holding you back?
If you are enjoying The Gryphon don't miss an update!
Additional References
The poem below is attributed to Nadine Stair and can serve as an action plan for suffering less in our own minds.
You see, I'm one of those people who lived sensibly and sanely, hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.
If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds, I would contemplate more evenings and I would play with more children. If I could have another life ahead.
But I am 85 years old you see, and I know that I am dying.
Member discussion