Hey gang,
This week, I’ve been deep in the topic of growth mindset.
On Wednesday, I ran a session for one of the agencies we work with looking at what it actually means in fast-paced environments like crisis work, new business and pitches.
The idea of growth mindset comes from Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who explored how people respond to challenge, feedback and mistakes.
If you haven’t watched her talk, it’s well worth a look. An oldie but a goodie.
Her research showed that people tend to sit somewhere between two mindsets.
A fixed mindset assumes ability is static. You either have it or you don’t.
A growth mindset assumes ability develops through learning, effort, feedback and experimentation.
Most of us agree with the second one in theory.
But when pressure rises, something interesting happens.
Our thinking narrows.
When the stakes feel high, the brain moves into protection mode. The focus becomes avoiding mistakes and protecting reputation.
You start to see behaviours like:
• rushing to solutions
• playing safe with ideas
• holding ideas back until they feel perfect
• defending a position rather than exploring alternatives
None of this is intentional.
It is simply how the brain responds to pressure.
Which means the real work of growth mindset is not when things are calm. It is when things feel high stakes.
A few practical things that help teams stay curious under pressure:
• share thinking earlier than feels comfortable
• ask “what might we be missing?” before finalising a decision
• treat feedback as part of the work, not a sign something went wrong
• reward learning, not just the final result
And if you are leading others, one simple shift helps.
Instead of asking
“is this finished?”
Try asking
“what would make this stronger?”
That small shift opens the door to learning rather than judgement.
That’s it, friends.
Have a great weekend.
Cate
Hey gang,
This week, I’ve been deep in the topic of growth mindset.
On Wednesday, I ran a session for one of the agencies we work with looking at what it actually means in fast-paced environments like crisis work, new business and pitches.
The idea of growth mindset comes from Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who explored how people respond to challenge, feedback and mistakes.
If you haven’t watched her talk, it’s well worth a look. An oldie but a goodie.
Her research showed that people tend to sit somewhere between two mindsets.
A fixed mindset assumes ability is static. You either have it or you don’t.
A growth mindset assumes ability develops through learning, effort, feedback and experimentation.
Most of us agree with the second one in theory.
But when pressure rises, something interesting happens.
Our thinking narrows.
When the stakes feel high, the brain moves into protection mode. The focus becomes avoiding mistakes and protecting reputation.
You start to see behaviours like:
• rushing to solutions
• playing safe with ideas
• holding ideas back until they feel perfect
• defending a position rather than exploring alternatives
None of this is intentional.
It is simply how the brain responds to pressure.
Which means the real work of growth mindset is not when things are calm. It is when things feel high stakes.
A few practical things that help teams stay curious under pressure:
• share thinking earlier than feels comfortable
• ask “what might we be missing?” before finalising a decision
• treat feedback as part of the work, not a sign something went wrong
• reward learning, not just the final result
And if you are leading others, one simple shift helps.
Instead of asking
“is this finished?”
Try asking
“what would make this stronger?”
That small shift opens the door to learning rather than judgement.
That’s it, friends.
Have a great weekend.
Cate
