When psychologist Carol Dweck came up with the concept of growth mindset, she might never have expected it to redefine Singapore’s workplace. The concept popularized in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success now shapes the fast-changing modern workplace with employees required to adapt fast to change. With a growth mindset, managers and employees easily adapt to change and are ready to embrace new skills. On the other hand, people with a fixed mindset in an organisation face lots of frustration in the fluid workplace setup.
As the workplace changes dramatically in the backdrop of new technologies, a growth mindset becomes a great asset for employees. Whatever your position in an organisation a growth mindset can improve your situation in multiple ways. This post looks at the top 10 benefits of a growth mindset in an organisation.
- Maximizing Opportunities
If you have a growth mindset, you are always ready for the next step in your career. There’s nothing static in your life, which means you are always on the lookout for new opportunities to grow. In a modern workplace where competition is stiffer than ever before, keep your options open. Your growth mindset prepares you to embrace opportunities whenever they emerge, which puts you ahead of other employees.
- Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Everyone comes up against challenges in their career. Life is never smooth, and this is something an employee with a growth mindset appreciates. But rather than mourn about such challenges, employees with a growth mindset look for a silver lining in such challenges.
For instance, if your industry goes through rapid change, you can sit back and wait for the inevitable sack. Alternatively, you can enrol for a new course to make you relevant. Employees with a fixed mindset never see such opportunities in challenges. This is an opportunity for self-improvement through skill development.
- Appreciating Imperfections
Life is a never-ending learning opportunity. If you want to grow in your career, embrace imperfections and get ready to learn new stuff. A growth mindset prepares you to accept imperfections and set out to improve them. You identify your weaknesses and work hard to improve. This attitude distinguishes you from other employees and sets you up for progress.
- Handling Workplace Stress
The modern workplace is stressful. Employees are under more pressure to meet deadlines than ever before. In a globalized business environment, your company has to get more out of you. If you have a growth mindset, it’s easier to handle such stressful working conditions. While other employees crumble under the pressure, you can remain calm and persevere. You view such setbacks as temporary or just part of the journey to the top. You never let your eyes off the ball.
- Flexibility in Handling Change
Change is the only constant in life. If you can’t handle change in any aspect of your life, it’s easy to get stressed or to miss out on great opportunities. A growth mindset allows you to embrace disruption in your industry. Now that most workplaces have to contend with change, you are in a great position to progress with the right attitude. You know how to navigate even the most intense disruptions. Your growth mindset helps you prepare early for change and fit in comfortably into the new dispensation.
- Willing to Learn New Skills
If there’s one thing that can empower an employee in the workplace, it has to be readiness to learn. Whether you love learning or not, always be open to new skills. Such skills put you ahead of everyone else when opportunities emerge. Employees with a fixed mindset believe in their innate skills and this makes them vulnerable when the organisation changes.
- Accepting Any Feedback
How do you react to feedback from the managers or other employees? This can easily tell you whether you have a growth mindset or not. A growth mindset helps you embrace any feedback however critical it is. You can use such feedback to improve yourself and grow beyond your imagination.
- Building Resilience
Are things tough at the workplace? Do you feel you have been overlooked for a position you wanted? A growth mindset helps you cultivate some grit. You become more resilient and persevering even amidst failure. By challenging yourself rather than seeking approval you overcome such setbacks.
- Working on Your Self-Esteem
Many employees miss out on opportunities because they fear taking the initiative. If you cultivate a growth mindset, you can finally showcase your skills in front of others. Building your self-esteem is at the heart of a growth mindset. You don’t fear failure or dwell on failure but rather you build confidence to keep trying.
- Building a Clear Vision
What are you aiming for? Most employees work their shift and hope to progress. However, with a growth mindset, you have a vision of where you want to be and work toward it actively. Your vision guides your progress at the workplace.
Final Thoughts
A growth mindset can help you attain the highest levels of excellence at work. Now that you have to compete to grow at work, a flexible mindset prepares you to embrace change, prepares you for challenges, helps you build a vision and most importantly, you’re always ready to grab opportunities.
