Honesty: A mindset to learn!

This tweet by Adam Grant struck a chord.

Often, in our corporate roles, we are in a position where our teams and stakeholders may rely on us for crucial decisions. Once we are in that place, admitting that we do not know “something” involves showing vulnerability and opening ourselves to judgment. We might be hesitant to do that and decide based on a guess of what that “something” can approximately mean.

When we pretend to know everything, to not be judged and place ourselves as a know-it-all, it can have the opposite effect. People can recognise inauthentic body language naturally. This can lead to them not trusting our decisions. Not just that, but we also stand to lose out on opportunities to learn something new and the possibilities it may open up.?

I have seen leaders who openly admit when they don’t know something, but ensure that they figure it out with the right team/person’s help. This creates a sense of confidence in others that the leader is showing some vulnerability and is honest. This also creates an environment of teams putting their heads together to “figure it out” and that becomes the norm.

A fixed mindset is our belief that we either have certain abilities or we don’t. A fixed mindset supports the belief that we have innate talents and that these talents are set in stone. For example, I am not good at maths.

A growth mindset is the belief that our intelligence and skills are largely the results of learning and effort and if we don’t know something today, we can learn and get better at it. For example, I do not understand this concept in maths now. If I put in some effort and also get my doubts clarified, I will become good at it.?

Personally, we can achieve a growth mindset only when we admit that we do not know something and then put in the effort to learn it. This also encourages others to do the same and people around us are more willing to admit their challenges and clarify matters with others when needed, instead of pretending and covering up.

At Vedantu, we do a lot of experiments to test various hypotheses continually. Some experiments work and some do not. Vedans have learnt continuously from what has worked and scaled those while also learning from those that haven’t. During the pandemic, we figured out new ways of working and scaled that to get Vedantu to where it is today. This is a strong example of how we create a culture of learning with growth mindsets.

Having a growth mindset means diving into opportunities for learning and it can get uncomfortable. There’s no perfect way to learn. What works for someone else may not work for you. Enjoy the learning process. Make mistakes and correct them on your learning journey. All you need to do is be consistent.?

And there are ways you can make the most of your learning experience. More on how to learn efficiently coming soon, so stay tuned!

Curious to know more about the growth mindset? Here are a few resources from Stanford professor Carol Dweck to get you going:

Keep learning, Keep inspiring!