Change Nugget: Growth Mindset Versus A Fixed Mindset

What do Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Bad Bunny have in common? 

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Tom Brady was a third-string quarterback at the University of Michigan and was drafted 199th in the sixth round of the NFL draft. Both Jordan and Brady had moments of doubt but neither one gave up. Bad Bunny, the entertainer who headlined the Super Bowl Halftime show, one of the biggest platforms for an artist to perform at, was bagging groceries at a supermarket ten years ago. During the broadcast, he looked into the camera and whispered, “Believe in yourself.” (Cree siempreen ti)

So beyond being extremely talented with incredible work ethics, what do these three have in common? They all embrace a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. Originally coined by psychologist Carol Dweck from Stanford University, the growth mindset has six principles. 

Principles of a Growth Mindset: 

• Embrace Challenges: View obstacles as opportunities to stretch skills.
• Learn from Criticism: Actively seek and use constructive criticism for self-improvement.
• Persistence and Effort
• View Failures as Opportunities
• Resilience: Bounce back from setbacks and adapt to change.
• Continually Learn and Adapt

Change can be hard, but if you apply the principles above, change can be an opportunity versus something to fear. As you go through the next few months, think about PEAK as an opportunity to look at your unit’s internal processes. Be open to using PEAK as an opportunity to reexamine how your unit is doing their current finance and HR processes. 

Learn more about the Growth Mindset.