Does your team fear failure? Do they struggle to navigate setbacks, disruptions, and plateaus in their progress? Do they talk openly about what’s not working without blaming or shaming each other?
Most of us learn at an early age that failure feels bad. As a result, we tend to do everything we can to avoid making mistakes. For example, Professor Amy Edmondson’s research has found that even workplaces that have invested significant money and effort in becoming learning organizations, still struggle with the day-to-day mindset and activities of learning from failure.
Here’s the simple truth about failure: It’s sometimes good, sometimes bad, and rarely straightforward. Unfortunately, the word “failure” carries both psychological weight and social stigma, so we prefer to avoid it at all costs. The truth, however, is that our brains are wired to be perfectly imperfect to trigger creativity, learning, and growth, and this makes moments of failure inevitable, completely normal and part of the path to success for each of us.
Professor Carol Dweck’s research has found that when teams cultivate a growth mindset culture that is focused on learning goals, rather than just performance goals, we’re more willing to collaborate with others, innovate and learn from shared successes and failures, and behave ethically. Most importantly, we’re psychologically and socially equipped to deal with setbacks and seek out opportunities for growth and innovation.
As a result, Carol’s research has found that employees in growth mindset teams are:
- 47% likelier to say that their colleagues are trustworthy.
- 34% likelier to feel a strong sense of ownership and commitment to the company.
- 65% likelier to say that the company supports risktaking.
- 49% likelier to say that the company fosters innovation.
Leaders and teams with a growth mindset see people’s talent and capabilities as the promise of what is possible and invest their energy and resources into cultivating people’s effort and willingness to learn to realize their true potential. So how can you build a growth mindset culture in your team?
Mindset Explanations:
Professor Carol Dweck’s research suggests that when we believe we each come into this world with a certain amount of intelligence, talent or ability and there’s not a lot we can do to improve it, this creates a fixed mindset. This mindset causes us to judge ourselves, and others, by the outcomes we achieve.
You’re born clever or dumb, good at sports or clumsy, musical or tone-deaf, and that’s just your lot in life. And this has some interesting consequences for how we do our jobs.
For example, studies have found that generally:
- We’re less willing to take on new challenges for fear they might expose our weaknesses; what will it say about us if we can’t pull that off?
- Negative feedback and criticism are painful because we don’t think we can do any better.
- Failure feels fatal, so when we make a mistake, we try to rush past it, sweep it under the rug or blame something or someone else.
- And if you’ve ever heard yourself, say, “It’s quicker to do it myself,” you can say hello to your fixed mindset because if we believe the results achieved are the true measure of someone’s worth, we don’t want to leave this to chance or have someone else stuff it up.
And while Dweck has found people with fixed mindsets are often highly driven, Type A personalities whose fear often pushes them to achieve many great things, her studies have found that eventually they tend to plateau and achieve less than they’re capable of. This is because not only do the stress and anxiety of keeping up become overwhelming, but they’re also not working in the way their brains are wired to learn best.
So, what’s the alternative? Dweck has also found that when we believe that we each come into this world with a certain amount of intelligence, talent or ability, but with learning and practice we can always improve, we have a growth mindset. This mindset results in us judging ourselves — and others — by the effort we make and the growth we achieve. And neurologically, we now know that this belief is completely accurate.
Let us be clear: This doesn’t mean we don’t still value or go after good outcomes. We do. It just means we focus on what is within our control and what is not.
When we believe that effort and growth are the true measure of what we’re worth, it also has some interesting consequences for how we do our jobs.
For example, studies have found that generally:
- We’re more willing to take on new challenges even if we may not be good enough yet, in the hope they’ll provide opportunities for growth.
- While not always loving negative feedback and criticism, we appreciate it as a gift towards our development.
- We see failure as a teachable moment, rather than a statement of our self-worth.
- Rather than micro-managing situations or people, we believe that what matters is giving things our best effort and being open and willing to learn as we go.
As a result, Dweck’s research has found that in every domain of life from work to health, to relationships and parenting, people in this mindset continue to experience more success because they are working with the way our brains are wired to perform at their best.
Not only does a growth mindset leave us feeling more confident, it makes it easier to set stretch goals, to ask for help and to feel motivated to achieve the things that matter to us most. It sparks hope by helping us feel like we have nothing to lose and everything to gain, if we step outside our comfort zone, to move beyond our present limitations and achieve our true potential.
Now if by chance, you’re sitting there thinking, it’s okay I’ve got this one all figured out, I’m pure growth mindset–I’m going to respectfully suggest that that is actually not a growth mindset. The truth is we’re rarely all one mindset or the other. Instead, these mindsets exist along a continuum, and we tend to lean a little more in one direction, although some situations and some people will trigger us more one way than the other.
Dweck’s work has also found that we can nudge each other more towards a fixed or growth mindset based on how we work together and this shapes our feelings of psychological safety, our ability to be creative and innovative, and what we are able to achieve together.
About the Authors
Michelle McQuaid | PhD, MAPP
With more than twenty-five years of senior leadership experience in organizations of all sizes, Michelle is sought around the world for her playful approach to translating cutting-edge research into practical strategies to help people care for wellbeing, supercharge psychosocial safety, and co-create change. Michelle’s unique ability to inspire, energize, and support people to create sustainable strengths-based changes is why her clients include Deloitte’s, IBM, NAB, LendLease, Treasury Wine Estate, Harley Davidson, the Dubai Government, and schools and universities around the world. An Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Wellbeing Science, she blogs for Psychology Today, and has been featured in Forbes, the Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and more. Recognized as one of LinkedIn’s top 10 mental health experts, she hosted the top-rated podcast, Making Positive Psychology Work, and is the co-creator of The PERMAH Wellbeing Survey which has been taken by more than 100,000 people around the globe. Michelle holds a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and completed her PhD in Systems Change.
Philip Richmond | DVM, CAPP, CPHSA, CCFP
Dr. Richmond is a practicing veterinarian and the Founder | CEO of Flourishing Phoenix Veterinary Consultants, LLC. He advocates and consults for positive culture and individual, team, and organizational psychological health, safety, and wellbeing in veterinary workplaces. Dr. Richmond leads and is involved in state, national, and international projects for advancing workplace wellbeing and culture in veterinary medicine. He has served as Chief Medical Officer for Veterinary United. Dr. Richmond currently serves as the chair of the FVMA Professional Wellbeing Committee. He is also a member/advisor for several national committees and boards for workplace suicide prevention, psychological health & safety, and veterinary wellbeing, including those sponsored by the CDC/NIOSH, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Veterinary Visionaries, MentorVet, and Appalachian State University. Dr. Richmond is a speaker and published writer, including having coauthored “Psychological Health and Safety Guidelines” from Veterinary Visionaries. He is a frequent veterinary podcast guest and holds multiple certifications in applied positive psychology, appreciative inquiry, workplace wellbeing, psychological health & safety, trauma informed workplaces, resilience training, behavior change, and suicide prevention. He has been awarded the FVMA Gold Star, FVMA Veterinarian of the Year, Uncharted Veterinary Community Founder’s Award, Blue Buffalo Together for Pets Award, and a finalist for the US Bright Minds Veterinary Wellness Champion Award.