Instilling a Growth Mindset

?? Answering questions I am frequently asked regarding: How I work as part of a greater team.

Q1. How do you instil a growth mindset in others?

I was being interviewed for a job, but the tone in which this question was delivered gave me a sense that the person (and company) was struggling with this. That changed the dynamic of my response completely. I was able to come from a place of genuinity and ease in that... I was responding to an appeal for help in a me-to-you kind of way, if that makes sense.?

The answer is, I went through a growth spurt some years back. In it, I went from existing in a place of fear and running from or avoiding my uncertainties to proactively seeking them out and intentionally diving into them. A real game changer!

This and working at a startup gave me first-hand experience that it's okay to not know things, to make mistakes as you go, and to reflect on and document learnings so you come out of it better, stronger, greater. It made running towards my uncertainties an exciting affair, because it was essentially: a HACK on boosting confidence ?? You come out the other side that much more knowledgeable and confident about what you are doing, how you are approaching what you are doing and what you should do next.?

So here’s how I would go about this when leading teams.

1. Gain certainty. If you have any doubt or uncertainty about the course of action you’re promoting or what you’re preaching, pause and sort that out first.?

Pay attention to your instincts because if you can’t fully get behind it and sell it confidently, there’s probably something off about it that’s causing your hesitation.

Don’t ignore that nagging feeling. Dig deeper and address whatever is making you uncertain.

At the end of the day, if you don’t genuinely believe in what you’re saying, you’re going to seem insincere or half-hearted. And your team will absolutely sense that, so get to the root of your doubts and resolve them.?

Bonus ?? I have a little framework for this, and that is to tell myself: 

"Okay, I’m uncertain. Uncertainty means I’m lacking information. So what information am I lacking exactly?" 

Discover that to unravel doubts and proceed confidently.         

Then you can come from a place of both conviction and authenticity.?

2. Acknowledge barriers. Validate foreseen worries, fears, concerns and mental blocks. You know your team, so you know the possible rejections you might encounter. Don’t try and glide past them. That will only make your team feel you are so disconnected from reality that anything you say is uncredible. Get those legitimate objections and concerns out into the open.??

Example:

“We most likely won’t get it right the first time. I expect mistakes to be made and learnings to come from them, but we will do our best and be sure to record takeaways so we can do better. You’re more than welcome to consult me or your teammates for help; we learn faster when we are open about what we’re unsure of.”?

3. Inspire passionately. I have a bias for action, and whilst I’m excited to imbue that in my team, it’s important we first address any mental blocks so we remain empathetic to our team and their valid concerns. We sure as heck don’t want to become captains of toxic positivity.

Now that we’ve handled that, we can proceed to inspire our team to dive into the unknown!?

I introduce our approach as that of scientific pioneers exploring uncharted territory, enthused to discover whatever we may. The good with the bad. So we can learn. And be better for it. The more data we have, the more confidently we can move forward and advance. So actually, any data is good data. Even when it says that what we’ve been doing (or something about what we’ve been doing) is “wrong”, because now we’ve eliminated another variable and gotten that much closer to our answer.

This message needs to be conveyed with passion.

Again, if you don’t have that, go back to step 1 and reflect on the ask you’re making of your team.

?? S U M M A R Y ??

How do I instil a growth mindset in others?

1. Gain certainty
2. Acknowledge barriers
3. Inspire passionately

Thank you for reading!

My name is Alejandra ?? I scale businesses by engaging audiences. I’m sharing more posts with answers to your most frequently asked questions.?

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#leadingteams #growthmindset #startupculture?