This week, via that wonderful search engine YouTube, I stumbled across Carol Dweck, pioneering psychologist in the area of growth mindset.
I love how sometimes you start in one place inside Google or YouTube and then by chance, it seems, you end up in a completely different but wonderful place. Yesterday was one of those days.
In this instance, I spent a good 1 ½ hours watching, listening and reading more about her and her work (and of course, buying her book!) I found her work particular relevant for me as both a grad student of psychology, a parent and as a woman in business, particularly because of the fixed mindset that many of us as women in business may bring with us to business.
If you are familiar with her work, bear with me as I outline some the basics as I see them.
- “Brains” and talent are not everything and are not fixed.
- Praising accomplishments in and of themselves does not necessarily lead to improvement or behaviour changes, rather western modern world construct in many ways
- The brain changes over our lifetime and as such our definition of our abilities should be fluid. How we see ourselves and our abilities at 25 will and should be very different to who we will become at, say, 45.
A growth mindset is a belief that regardless of perceived natural talent or starting position, through hard work, determination and persistence, you can achieve your true potential.
One of the reasons I was drawn to a second degree in psychology was my increasing awareness of and interest in the elasticity of the brain. Our brain is not a static tool. Whilst yes, the building blocks of intelligence, talent, sporting ability, etc. are within our DNA at birth and the environment of our upbringing do shape the adults we will become, this is not the end.
Not by a long shot.
Professor Dweck’s groundbreaking work and studies with children and educators to encourage the full potential of ALL children is music to my ears as a parent. Many times, she is quoted referring to the lightbulb moment of listening to children talk to her about problem solving — that no matter how many times they may have got a puzzle wrong, they didn’t see it as failure; they saw it as learning. They just hadn’t figured it out yet.
And this is where the magic is. It is this understanding and application of “not yet” that appeals to me as a businesswoman. This application of the speed, timing or level of our business success or failure through the prism of a growth mindset is incredibly freeing. Rather than feeling trapped in a role, or feeling limited by circumstance or being frightened of failure, Dweck believes that we need to approach these feelings or stumbling blocks from a not yet perspective.
Understanding that we can grow and change at a fundamental level within ourselves is a powerful weapon that allows us to build resilience in the face of disappointments as well as the ability to continue to move forward. Rather than thinking that we are not capable and that is why seed funding didn’t eventuate, or that a partnership failed or my business idea didn’t get off the ground, we see each step as just that – an additional marker on our journey toward our end goal.
Professor Dweck believes that each of us is born with a growth mindset and that it is in the process of growing up that for some of us this changes — it becomes more closed, it becomes a fixed mindset. These 2 mindsets are of great interest to educators and academics looking at gender issues. Why have girls limited themselves in STEM areas? Why do women limit themselves in business? Why do corporations seem to subliminally foster a fixed mindset, especially in the area of women in positions of leadership.
I think for many older women in business, they can appreciate the truth of this thinking not only at play in themselves but also evidenced in treatment they have experienced or seen in the corporate world. Coming from a large multinational background myself, I can identify the two approaches in both managers and mentors.
Whilst it is incredibly freeing to set out on your own business journey, it can also be a rather rude awakening to then come face to face with a fixed mindset within yourself. It would seem that years of corporate conditioning can and does affect how we think.
So how as adults can we break this nexus of self doubt and reach our business potential?
Dweck says it so profoundly and clearly in her famous TEDx talk on believing that we can improve, that we will be able to solve that problem, we just need to realise “not yet”.
Successful entrepreneurs dedicate time each and every day to learning. Each day building denser neurons, each day building new neural pathways in their brain that allow them to be better. They realise that failures and setbacks are part of the process. They have faith in what they are doing and where they are going in spite of roadblocks.
The end goal is in sight.
Just not yet.
