Having the right mindset is important for any individual working in any field and it is essential with regards to activities underpinning personal development, coaching, learning, training and performance. 

But, what do we mean by the term ‘Mindset’? 

Our mindset is made up of the foundational awareness, beliefs and experiences that combine to influence our attitude, behaviour, emotions and thoughts. It helps us to determine how we communicate with other people and how we solve problems and make decisions. It helps our understanding of and response to opportunities, challenges, successes and failures. Our mindset is intrinsic to how we develop, learn and reflect on experiences. 

It can help us form an holistic view of our growth. Indeed, the ‘Growth Mindset’ is now commonly viewed within the learning and development landscape as one of the most important tools for an individual to have at his or her disposal when mapping out their learning and development journey. 

Stanford University Professor, Carol Dweck, has researched the subject of mindset for many years and has developed the theory of ‘Growth and Fixed Mindsets’. 

She proposes that people with a ‘Growth Mindset’ believe their abilities can be developed through sustained effort, continuous learning and great perseverance. Such people embrace challenges, look at failure as a learning opportunity and see setbacks as a step on the path to improvement. This perspective significantly impacts their perception and understanding of motivation, achievement and resilience. 

On the other hand, people with a ‘Fixed Mindset’ believe their abilities, intelligence and talents have reached a natural level and that they cannot be taken any further, and they see their qualities as traits that cannot be changed. They tend to avoid challenges, fear failure and, when faced with obstacles or setbacks, may give up easily based on their assumed belief that increased effort will not make any difference! 

Dweck stated that an effective approach to developing a ‘Growth Mindset’ was based on the following foundations: 

1. That you believe your intelligence and potential can be developed. 
2. That you embrace challenges and see them as opportunities to grow. 
3. That you persevere to overcome obstacles and learn from failure. 
4. That you view effort as the essential component to improvement. 
5. That you do not take feedback to heart and learn from criticism. 

Anyone can develop a ‘Growth Mindset’ and it is interesting to look at a diverse range of perspectives to see how individuals view the concept: 

• Author and thinker Simon Sinek, talks about its importance within leadership and organisational development, and encourages individuals to adopt a mindset that leads to purposeful change and sustainable success. 
• NBA legend Kobe Bryant, named his approach the ‘Mamba Mentality’, based on turning up to do the work, being better today than you were yesterday, obsessive practice, embracing failure, unyielding work ethic and the desire to dominate. 
• Brené Brown, academic and speaker, has a couple of key aspects to her approach...Embracing Vulnerability, thus creating an environment for growth and collaboration...Learner Mindset that encourages the shift in perspective from ‘Knower’ to ‘Learner’ that encourages growth and improvement. 
• Steve Jobs, co-Founder of Apple, had an approach built on several elements...having a vision, being innovative, attention to detail, being a perfectionist, charismatic leadership, inspirational engagement, simplicity over complexity, taking risks and being resilient. 
• Tennis great, Roger Federer, used an approach that not only complemented his skills, but also underpinned his physical and mental dominance over his opponents. The key aspects are...a strategic focus on the strengths of his opponent that led to self-belief in his own skills...the acceptance of difficult thoughts and emotions that underpin his focus and mental process...a balanced view of failure that leads to learning and improvement. 

Though all different in their approaches to and perspectives on growth, they are all focused on the common themes of continual learning, reflecting on experience and making sustainable improvement. 

We currently live in a time where we are told we need a mindset for everything...the ‘Leadership Mindset’, the ‘Inclusion Mindset’, the ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset’, the’ Sustainability Mindset’, and so on...however, I feel that all an individua needs is the ‘Growth Mindset’, mindful of the nuances of the area in which they are operating...we wouldn’t want a surgeon to perform surgery with the mindset of a demolition expert! 

Essentially, the ‘Growth Mindset’ is not a final destination, but a continuous journey of learning and improvement. The ‘Fixed Mindset’ can evolve into a ‘Growth Mindset’ with self-awareness, self-belief, self-confidence, a change in perspective, a shift in thinking and lots of effort. 

To help you further develop your mindset, I recommend the following books: 

• Mindset by Carol Dweck 
• Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant 
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek 
• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown 

Just saying...until the next time!