WHY A GROWTH MINDSET IS VITAL FOR EVERY BOSS
Having a growth mindset is not just a buzzword; it's a game-changer.
A growth mindset is all about the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and a willingness to learn. It is about embracing challenges, persisting in the face of setbacks, and seeing failures as opportunities for growth.
Stereotypically, bosses have it all together. They’re the leaders because they have all the necessary skills, experience, and knowledge. But this is where many bosses fail to make an impact on their team and progress personally.
Keep reading for why a growth mindset impacts how you manage, deal with tough situations, and develop your perspective on work and success.
THE PERSONAL IMPACT A GROWTH MINDSET MAKES
Developing your management usually has to do with how you manage others, but a huge part (potentially the biggest) is how you manage yourself.
There’s no good in pretending that leadership isn’t stressful and it can be easy to fall into negativity and pessimism. But a growth mindset helps you to manage this stress effectively because you’re viewing it as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a threat. It enhances:
Your resilience
Your ability to bounce back from setbacks
Your positive outlook
Your self-talk and self-compassion
If you can’t manage your own outlook, it’ll be difficult to manage your employees.
THE IMPACT A GROWTH MINDSET HAS ON YOUR TEAM
As a boss, your mindset sets the tone for your team.
If you’re constantly negative, beating yourself up, or expecting the worse, don’t be surprised if your team begins to emulate that.
But if you have a growth mindset, you create an environment that promotes learning, development, and innovation.
Your team will be far more likely to embrace and solve challenges with motivation, as well as collaborate and be creative. A fixed mindset leads to stagnation. You’ll have team members work with you for years with little to no progression in their skills. And before you’re quick to assume it’s them, it’s important to assess whether you’re creating an
A growth-oriented leader values effort and improvement, something that every employee needs to stay ambitious and driven to not just their personal goals, but the goals of the company.
THE IMPACT A GROWTH MINDSET HAS ON COMMUNICATION
Communication is one of the key pillars for every boss.
Your interactions are dictated by your thoughts, and your thoughts are dictated by your mindset.
Feeling like nothing is going right at the moment? Your catch-up with your team about a project that is falling behind will make people feel even worse.
Worried that a certain employee isn’t doing well with adapting a certain skill? The conversation you have with them will reduce their confidence to a point where they don’t even bother trying.
But a growth mindset changes everything. A leader with a growth mindset actively listens to their team, encourages open dialogue, and provides constructive, motivating feedback.
So when you have your 1-1s, you don’t view them as a chance to complain and express your feelings of impending doom, you view it as an opportunity to talk about how they can grow from this point.
A GROWTH MINDSET HELPS YOU GET THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES
Difficult times are inevitable as a boss. Whether it’s cashflow issues, or you’re behind on a crucial project. Some things are completely out of your control.
But what is in your control is you process it.
Having a mindset where regardless of what comes you’re way, you’re going to work for a good outcome, you’re going to develop resilience. And not just a resilience that is filled with bitterness, but a resilience that remembers your ‘why’.
Your why for managing, your why for setting up the business you’re your why for working in the industry that you’re in.
This type of resilience allows you to see your weaknesses in a different light where you strive to improve and lean on others for support, rather than accept it as something that will never get better and remain isolated from help.
And how you do this will come across with how you motivate your team too. They’ll know that you believe that rather than dwelling on failures, they need to analyse and learn from mistakes, adapt strategies, and find new solutions – and it’s something you’ll be there to support them with.
- Written by Oliver Howson
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