It’s Time to Ditch Your Growth Mindset
Since the 1970s, American psychologist Carol Dweck has been spearheading mindset research. Her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success popularized her findings and initiated a seismic shift in management and leadership conversations across the country, so there’s a pretty good chance you were introduced to her ideas earlier in your career!
The crux of her teachings urged professionals to relinquish a fixed mindset and embrace a growth mindset.
Image Credit: FS
For nearly two decades, the growth mindset was touted as the best way to approach work and workplace challenges:
GROWTH MINDSET - A belief or set of beliefs that character, intelligence, and abilities can be continuously improved through dedication, hard work, and perseverance.
“I can always get better, so I should keep trying!”
But from where I sit, I can tell you that a growth mindset is no longer sufficient. Many hard-working business leaders are quietly seeking permission to think differently and use different approaches. They are craving something multidimensional, something supportive, and sustainable…and their teams are craving it, too!
So, what is the next mindset that will help us all ride the rollercoaster that is work this year?
A Performance Mindset
Although the concept of a performance mindset is still relatively new in the modern workplace, it arose from the interplay of several established domains, including positive psychology, behavioral psychology, and sports psychology…and its value lies in its multidimensionality!
Built upon the core tenants of a goal-focused, growth mindset, a performance mindset incorporates bold new beliefs about how you can (and must) take responsibility for the upstream variables that influence your performance :
Your MENTAL game
your self-awareness, discernment, and emotional resilience
Your PHYSICAL game
your level of skill, stamina, and recovery practices
Your SOCIAL game
your relationships, shared goals, and willingness to collaborate
Make no mistake, a performance mindset still requires an unshakable goal focus and a willingness to try-fail-try again, but it also reminds you to focus earlier on the variables you can control and make more personal choices on your path to success so you don’t feel like you’re stuck riding someone else’s rollercoaster!
Work shouldn’t just Be hard. It should also be fun.
If you’re interested in learning how to take responsibility for the variables that will drastically improve your performance and your enjoyment of work, let’s work together.
