True potential is bit of a stretch?

As a campus recruiter I have always spoken to the interviewers on how would they decide if a candidate is the right fit for the job. More often than not its not the skills and tools. That's an added differentiator but what I usually hear is "willingness to learn" or "the attitude to grow." Then how is that the moment we are in, everyday is just about looking smart? getting it right? Grasping just enough the fastest, to get the job done. The learning curve has peaked and hit a bare minimum. A small challenge is always fun. Gets the adrenaline going, a reward at the end of the tunnel. What really impacts this streak is that eventually there are mistakes.

I have to admit a showdown in the virtual office, after a slip up can really shake someone. Especially, since it feels like the world has come crashing down and this has never happened to anybody but you. In the home office where its just you, everything is also, just about you. Pushes you to stick to what you know and can do. If everybody is going down that path then how are we moving forward and are we creating a culture against growth or rewarding the wrong achievements? Is it everybody though? Is there a pattern in the past "in-office" life? How can we change what we reward? So many questions and if we answer them all does that mean we can all become Einstein or Tesla or at least employees of the month and the year? Another question.

While its great to look at the big picture, the proof of concept usually starts small, at a micro level. I've been reading this book - Mindset by Carol Dweck to get a better grasp on the concept - growth mindset. I cannot count the number of times I have heard about this before I finally picked up the book on a friend's suggestion. The central belief that "your view of yourself can determine everything" feels great! Especially at a time when everything has been so uncertain for so long. I am still learning on this but here are few things that again are no rocket science but worth keeping in mind -

• Speak to colleagues beyond work
• Sit with someone to help on a task that wasn't on your plate
• Don't obstruct knowledge flow
• Accept feedback
• Allow yourself to fail, not the repetitive mistakes

Will these pointers ensure a continued learning curve and keep us honest with "the willingness to learn"? Not directly, but its a start beyond the essentials of keeping abreast with the domain knowledge and letting yourself imagine a better world. I have always thought isn't it cool that in an era where everybody was travelling on horse back somebody imagined and brought to life a cycle, even the car. What is potential if not the ability to bring about a change and charge towards growth. In the end the successful carry their secrets and its a only a wild guess that we will succeed. To our definition of success. But its a shot. A lot more than an apology to a life that could have been.