Do any of these thoughts ever cross your mind?
“I can’t afford to hire a person in sales because our profits aren’t high enough to support it.”
“I don’t have any openings in my company right now, so there is no reason to spend my time interviewing people.”
“Company XX will never buy from us, so I’m not going to waste my time prospecting them.”
All of these phrases indicate a person with a fixed mindset.
In the book, Mindset, author Dr. Carol Dweck introduces the concept that every person has either a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset.
Growth mindset people, have the ability to see opportunities, even if there are temporary obstacles. They think of ways they CAN make something happen, in contrast to the fixed mindset people who think of why things can’t happen.
Back in the day, we would talk about a person who sees the glass as “half full” (growth), vs. seeing it as half empty (fixed).
What’s so interesting about Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking research, is that any person can switch between being fixed and being growth. It is not a life sentence. It is truly a mindset. All you have to do is to decide to be open to possibilities. Instead of saying “that’s not possible” – ask yourself, “how could we make that happen”?
In the last few weeks, during my coaching conversations, I’ve noticed some of my clients occasionally have slipped into the fixed mindset. Any time I ask a question that takes them out of their comfort zone or challenges the status quo, I hear some version of the following: “That won’t work.”
Admittedly, all of us have our moments when obstacles get in our way. And it is often tempting to get into the “woe is me” mode. Like when you don’t know how to handle a situation and feel stuck. Or if you’re a leader in your organization, and you are facing a big challenge. Like your industry just got slapped with unexpected tariffs.
You do have options. But the real key is that you have to be willing to find other ways to solve your challenges. Which might be asking for advice or input from others, vs. trying to figure it out on your own. Even if you see yourself as an open-minded “growth mindset” leader, you may find yourself slipping into your own self-limiting beliefs.
Once you recognize this is happening to you, e.g. you hear yourself saying “we’ve always done it that way” or “we tried that a few years ago and it didn’t work then” – stop! Pause, and then reword your reaction. Try saying, “That is such an interesting approach or solution. Tell me more about why you think that will work for us now.”
Soon, you will find yourself naturally having a growth mindset all the time!
Onward and Upward,
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