Most people want to be successful at their workplace and do their best to achieve the results they or their boss expect. Thankfully, there is a trick to how each of us can be better at our work. If we develop ourselves and focus on having a growth mindset, we can be more adaptable, resilient, and productive. Also, these are all necessary skills in the 21st century's modern work environment. Besides, a growth mindset enables us to grow as people while having professional success. This blog post explores how a growth mindset benefits us and how we can apply it in real life.
What is a growth mindset?
A growth mindset is a belief that taking action and being determined helps us to gain new knowledge and learn new skills. Besides, it allies us to learn from our mistakes and take failures as important steps that help us improve at what we do. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. This mindset has a belief that our skills and abilities are unchangeable. Additionally, a fixed mindset limits our potential by making us avoid risks and challenges. For example, we can imagine two twins who have the same financial capacity and education. One of them has a fixed mindset and might find an easy job that doesn't require learning new skills but has a low salary. In two years he might still be working in the same position because he thinks that he isn't able to evolve. The other twin with a growth mindset might find a challenging job that helps him to develop new skills. And in two years he might already be working in higher positions thanks to his knowledge and skills. Therefore, having a growth mindset in the workplace and life overall can be beneficial for us.
What are the benefits of having a growth mindset in the workplace?
Having a growth mindset has several benefits in the workplace.
Improved Resilience: A growth mindset helps employees to face challenges and have a positive mindset even in difficult situations.
Adaptability: Workers who have a growth mindset are more flexible and adaptable in constantly changing work environments.
Increased productivity: Having a growth mindset helps employees to focus on their improvement and be more productive in accomplishing their tasks.
Higher job satisfaction: When workers have better results and can finish their tasks in less time thanks to their productivity, it helps to increase their job satisfaction.
Developing leadership: Having leaders with a growth mindset can inspire the other workers and help to grow a new generation of growth mindset leaders.
How to develop a Growth Mindset?
All of us can develop a growth mindset. But how can we do it? Firstly, it would be highly beneficial to have a safe environment for learning. That is something that everyone can do in their personal life by surrounding themselves with open-minded people who support and believe in them. In companies, it is usually connected with their values and the way the employees are treated. If they are supported and employees can feel that it's safe to try new things and learn from their mistakes, there is a higher possibility that the workers are developing a growth mindset. Secondly, practising lifelong learning to learn new skills and gain knowledge helps to develop a growth mindset. For example, nowadays many people go to university in their 40s or 50s. This is already proof that it's possible to learn new things at all ages. Thirdly, using self-reflection to notice and overcome limiting beliefs that are holding us back helps us to grow as a person.
How to overcome challenges?
There can be a few challenges we can experience while developing a growth mindset. For instance, we might feel a resistance to change. To overcome this, it is suggested to share the experience with our close ones to feel supported and celebrate small wins. Furthermore, we may feel a fear of failure that can be conquered by having a safe environment where experimentation is encouraged. Lastly, we may experience limitations in our time or resources. To overcome this, it is recommended to combine learning with our daily habits. For example, we can imagine that there is a youngster who wants to learn the Italian language, but she doesn't have much spare time in the day. Thus, every day when she does her morning routine, she starts to listen to Italian music, and on a school bus, she uses a language-learning app. Besides, in her spare time, she starts to watch series in Italian, instead of English and uses English subtitles. Therefore, she is improving her Italian but in a way that doesn't require a lot of extra time.
Conclusion
A growth mindset is a belief system that uses learning, determination and adaptability to enhance people's personal and professional growth. Besides, a growth mindset is highly beneficial in a workplace because it boosts: resilience, adaptability, productivity, job satisfaction and leadership development. Therefore, it is suggested that employers create a safe environment for employees, where experimenting and learning are encouraged. Thus, this way they can support both the personal and professional growth of the employees and promote workplace success.
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