Developing a growth mindset

A growth mindset affects your personal and also professional success. In contrast, a fixed or fixed mindset is a way of thinking that can be limiting. Do you want to know how this positive mindset can contribute to your success and how you can develop it? Then you have come to the right place.

With a growth mindset, you are more resilient and agile as an individual, but also as a leader.

What is a growth mindset?

Someone who possesses a growth mindset is convinced that our intelligence, skills and talents are not static, but can be developed. With effort and perseverance, trial and error, new skills can be learned and one can grow at both personal and professional levels.

Growth mindset vs fixed mindset

The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. Here, people believe that intelligence and talents are fixed and cannot change. These types of individuals often avoid challenges because they fear confirmation that they cannot do something. Criticism and feedback are also seen as threats. A fixed or fixed mindset is usually hindering personal development. In short, we need to get rid of the fixed mindset and develop a growth mindset.

Why do we want to develop a growth mindset?

A growth mindset makes the difference between standing still and growing, but it also positively affects how we communicate and interact with others. It influences how and whether we face challenges, how we deal with feedback and how we grow on a personal and professional level.

Recognising a growth mindset

Having a growth mindset, comes with a number of characteristics. Below, we give you some examples of traits and characteristics that an individual with a growth mindset possesses:

• Believes in constant growth and development

Your mindset is not static, as talents and skills can be developed. If you work hard and are open to learning new things, you can keep growing constantly. This is one of the beliefs of someone who has developed a growth mindset.

• Not afraid of challenges

Someone with a growth mindset is neither afraid of challenges nor of leaving that familiar comfort zone. Challenges are met and seen as opportunities to learn and grow. Should things go wrong, this person sees this as a learning moment rather than a failure moment.

• Actively seeks feedback

You can only get stronger from feedback if you do something with it. Feedback is seen as a way to improve yourself, because you can acknowledge mistakes and see it as a learning moment.

• Setbacks are for learning

Setbacks are not fun, but they are instructive. This way, you can adjust your mindset even when something goes wrong. Ask yourself what you learned instead of harping on about what went wrong and how it could have happened.

How do you develop a growth mindset?

Developing a growth mindset starts by changing your mindset. Above all, try not to think in inadequacies, but try to see all that you can achieve. Be positive and try to learn something from everything. Here are more tips that can help you develop a growth mindset and let go of a fixed mindset.

• Change your perspective and look at possibilities Try to remember that your mindset is not static and that it can change and grow. That by making an effort and constantly learning, you can grow and develop or strengthen talents. Be positive and try to let go of mistakes made, but above all, look closely at what you have learned and how you can apply it next time.
• Don’t be afraid of challenges Challenges, which you think you do not yet have enough knowledge to face, should not be avoided. Seize them and see it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Be proud of yourself for taking on a challenge and learning, rather than disappointed when something doesn’t go the way you hoped.
• Be open to feedback and criticism Listening carefully to feedback from those around you will give you valuable information that can help you in your next step of growth.

Feedback tips

There are different forms of feedback, for example, you can use a 360 degree feedback assessment, which gives you feedback from several people and allows you to form a better picture. Another form of feedback is feedforward. Feedforward involves looking to the future. Positive or negative feedback is displaced by forward-looking solutions.

• Learn from mistakes and persevere Don’t let yourself get upset immediately when you have made a mistake or when goals have not been achieved this time. Develop a growth mindset by seeing mistakes as learning moments, moments of growth. Making a mistake is not a reason to give up, it is a reason to keep going.
• A growth mindset is a positive mindset ‘I can’t do it’ is not common among people with a growth mindset. Try to stop negative thoughts, these only hold you back. Maybe it works well for you if you repeat positive thoughts, that way you make them your own.
• Learn from and with others Look around you to see if you know people with a growth mindset. See success stories and get inspired. If you want to develop a growth mindset for your work, include your colleagues. Actively show them that they can learn from anything, because growing and achieving success are best done together.

By using the tips above, you too can develop a growth mindset. Just know that developing such a positive mindset takes time and does not happen without a struggle. But once you realise that you are more open to challenges and setbacks don’t bother you as much, you will really start to notice the benefits of a growth mindset.