First coined by Carol S. Dweck more than 30 years ago, growth mindset is one of two mindsets that Dweck believes drives people’s lives, the other one being the fixed mindset. Having a growth mindset means embracing challenges, and persisting in the face of setbacks, qualities that can help you in various areas of life. One such area is business leadership. Here’s a couple of reasons why a growth mindset can benefit those in business.
Faster Growth
Business leaders who possess a growth mindset are hard workers. They see effort as the pathway to progress and success, unlike people in the fixed mindset who see effort as less impactful on overall success. Individuals who hold a fixed mindset believe that you either have it or you don’t.
Better Management Skills
Business leaders exhibiting a growth mindset are also able to manage groups of people more effectively. Because they believe that every person can improve, they invest more of their time and effort in making sure employees are continually improving their work performance and also getting more out of work than just the bi-weekly paychecks and perks.
Shorter Learning Curve
People with a growth mindset love to learn new things. Rather than avoid criticism, they welcome it as an opportunity to learn something new from more experienced peers. Business leaders who can swallow their pride and admit that they don’t know something will learn faster than their fixed mindset counterparts.
Lower Employee Turnover Rate
People with a growth mindset tend to listen to their peers and value their opinions and feedback. As a leader, this translates to happier employees who feel that their voices and concerns are being heard. This ultimately leads to lower employee turnover as employees are happy and content to work with you for the long haul.
Creative Approach to Problems
Business leaders with a growth mindset can approach problems uniquely and creatively. Fixed mindset leaders, on the other hand, try to stay with the same low-risk solutions out of fear of making errors and the judgment that follows said errors.
A growth mindset isn’t something you’re born with or something that you learn overnight. If you want to be a business leader with a growth mindset, you’ll have to work towards it consciously.