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Are you a growth mindset company? Why does it matter? There are a plethora of business trailblazers including Microsoft, Spotify, Quest and Google actively developing a growth mindset culture within their organisations and with good reason. We’re working with some of them to embed growth mindset but what makes them want to develop growth mindset employees? And what makes a growth mindset such an important component of a successful business? We take a look at the answer to these questions and more. Join us to find out if you are a growth mindset company.

1. Are you a growth mindset company? Employees working in growth mindset business create and innovate more readily than those in fixed mindset organisations

It may seem strange to think organisational mindset can dictate creativity and innovation, creativity is an ability we can all develop right? But scratch beneath the surface of a fixed mindset organisation and you’ll discover a huge fear of failure threading through the entire hierarchy of the organisation. If you’re in one you’ll see it, you’ll probably feel that fixed mindset every day, especially when it comes to making mistakes. A fixed mindset has the same characteristics for companies as it does for individuals, the belief that you’re either good at a task or you’re not, talented or not, capable or not. Because there’s no such thing as regarding failures as part of the learning curve on the road to success (think James Dyson’s 5000+ prototypes of his revolutionary vacuum cleaner before he achieved success) people in fixed mindset organisations become fearful to experiment and try new ideas for fear of failure. This stifles creativity and innovation and has an obviously negative impact on the progress that a company is able to achieve. It’s the opposite of a growth mindset business. For creativity to happen you need to embrace a growth mindset.

2. Are you a growth mindset company? We are more likely to trust each other in a growth mindset business

Research shows us that people who work in a growth mindset organisation are more likely to trust their colleagues. There are number of possible reasons for this, the first may be related to the fact that in a fixed mindset organisation employees are guarded about their expertise and knowledge, making them reluctant to share their smarts with others for fear of diluting their reputation as the person with superior, specialist ability. Fixed mindset employees are not for sharing. Secondly, current research also reveals that those working in a fixed mindset organisation are more likely to cut corners and keep secrets in their quest to promote their virtuosity in a company where talent rather than effort is paramount. Not a great recipe for trust and who wants to work like that? Growth mindset employees trust and support one another.

3. Are you a growth mindset company? A growth mindset in the workplace encourages and capitalises on failure

Leaders in truly growth mindset businesses recognise that their people’s approach to failure is the key to success. The growth mindset business encourages new ideas and growth by framing failure as the route to mastery. Growth mindset leaders recognise that growth mindset in business is key, asking crucial questions such as what can we learn from this situation? How can this help us with future projects? What do we need to change, tweak or strengthen here? By contrast, when failures occur in a fixed mindset organisation blame is attributed, individuals are measured and found wanting and a failure to learn from mistakes is a precious but missed opportunity. The resulting culture of blame and avoidance further stunts progress and the opportunity for growth on every level.

Here at Planet Positive Change we love to talk about all things growth mindset. Check out our free growth mindset resources https://planetpositivechange.com/growth-mindset-toolkit/

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