Book of the Month: Mindset
Carol Dweck, PhD, is a psychologist who helps people get the most out of their mental performance. In her book ‘Mindset’ she talks about what she believes is the number one differentiator between the minds of massively successful people when compared to ‘average performers’.
Throughout the book, Dweck refers to what she calls “growth vs fixed mindset”. Very fundamentally, high performing people score highly on the traits of a growth mindset, whereas people who perform at average levels, or even poor/terrible levels, often
demonstrate traits of a fixed mindset.
People with a fixed mindset tend to believe that their characteristics, talents and abilities were given to them at birth and there’s not a whole lot they can do to change this. For example, fixed mindset people either believe they’re good at maths, or they “just don’t get it”. They believe they were born very good at sport, or without much ability in that area. Whilst fixed mindset people believe they can temporarily increase performance in certain areas with a bit of training, they don’t believe it will have any significant long term effects.
Growth mindset people, however, are the polar opposite. They believe that characteristics, talents and abilities given to them at birth almost don’t matter, as they can always be improved upon. They believe that all skills are fundamentally learnable and if you study hard enough, or practise long enough you can develop any skill that you desire. To a growth mindset person, hard work and not talent, is the secret to success.
Dweck, being a psychologist, backs up all of her theories with solid scientific data. During the book she talks about studies that have been carried out supporting the growth vs fixed mindset theory… In one study, a large group of students were given an exam. The highest scoring students were then collected and split into two groups…
One group was told “Well done! You guys were amongst the top scorers on the exam. You must be really, really smart! This exam tested students’ natural abilities in different areas and you guys are right up there with the best!”
Whereas the second group were told “Well done! You guys were amongst the top scorers on the exam. You must have tried really, really hard. This exam tested students’ ability to focus and put maximum effort in. You guys clearly put lots and lots of effort in so well done! Keep it up!”
The two sets of children were then taught various subjects continuously over a period of weeks, all the time reinforcing their growth or fixed mindsets. After some time, the children were asked if they’d like to repeat the test. 20% of the ‘fixed mindset’ group said yes, whereas 75% of the ‘growth mindset’ group said yes. This showed the fixed mindset children had already started to avoid new challenges out of fear it might expose them for not being talented. The growth mindset group, however, believed that challenges made them more intelligent, so were keen to take another test.
After they all sat the second test, the growth mindset group considerably outscored the fixed mindset group. But what’s more, the fixed mindset group were also found considerably more likely to cheat on the test, or to lie about their score afterwards. They had started to link their identity to being naturally talented and were therefore scared of others finding out their lower test scores.
Dweck claims that children who are instilled with the growth mindset consistently outperform those with a fixed mindset over a medium to long term. Interestingly, when most parents think they’re doing the right thing by telling their child they’re clever or naturally intelligent, Dweck suggests the opposite. Telling a child they’re naturally intelligent can actually put the child into a fixed mindset and stop them from developing in the future. Rather, Dweck says parents should tell children that they can succeed only by working hard and putting effort in.
Dweck goes on to talk about top performers in the world of sport and business, quoting John McEnroe as a fixed mindset sportsman. He regularly blamed circumstances for bad performances. And whilst he was world number one, Dweck claims he massively underachieved thanks to his fixed mindset. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are both examples of an extreme growth mindset. Both are known for their ridiculous work ethics. Jordan in particular was famously cut from his high school basketball team after his coach didn’t believe he had the talent. Jordan was devastated, but thanks to his growth mindset, began to work considerably harder than his teammates…and he never stopped. As we know, he is now considered the greatest basketball player of all time…this is the power of the growth mindset at work.
In business Dweck quotes Lee Iacocca, the CEO of Chrysler motors, as a fixed mindset CEO. He was often guilty of providing his company with ‘short term fixes’ that would temporarily improve the share price, but provide little long term value. Dweck claims that fixed mindset leaders often dampen their employee’s creativity by instilling the fear that their work won’t be good enough.
Jack Welch, however, is a ‘growth mindset’ CEO. During his time as CEO of General Electric, Welch raised the company’s value by over 4000% – an achievement now regarded as legendary in the business world. Dweck claims he did this by inspiring a growth mindset across all his employees and firing anyone not showing a growth mindset or following the company’s cultures. Welch would take the time to visit workers on the factory floor and find out how they felt the business could improve. He’d make everyone feel part of the team and as a result caused creativity to sky rocket.
Here’s a summary of the traits of the fixed vs growth mindset:
Fixed Mindset
Believe natural talent leads to success.
Believe failure signifies you aren’t good enough.
Avoid challenges.
Give up easily.
See effort as fruitless. (or worse… a chance to expose their weaknesses).
Ignore useful negative feedback.
May try to cheat to improve results.
Blame external circumstances to ‘excuse’ poor performance.
Are generally focused on the past and past achievements.
When feeling depressed, tend to do less and avoid challenges.
Feel threatened by the success of others.
Growth Mindset
Believe hard work and effort leads to success.
Believe failure is part of the process of learning and becoming better.
Embrace challenges.
Persist in the face of challenges.
See effort as the path to mastery.
Learn from criticism.
See no point in cheating to improve results.
Blame lack of hard work or poor preparation for poor performance.
Are generally focused on the future and future achievements.
When feeling depressed, tend to work even harder and search for extra challenges.
Find inspiration in the success of others.