“In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, Oh I am going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, WOW! Here is a chance to grow!”
- Carol S. Dweck-
When your child comes home after school, the first question you would ask is – ‘How was your day?’ If your child says ‘Today my friends didn’t let me play with them…’ what would be your immediate response?For sure it is going to be either ‘Don’t worry, tomorrow they will play with you.’ Or ‘Don’t worry I’ll play with you.’ What exactly are we doing to our kids? -We are dulling their minds with a ‘quick fix’ rather than guiding children to realization and formulating their own solutions.
This rings true in today’s corporate environments too.
Mindset & Emotional Intelligence have a close connection. When we are filled with positive emotions, we tend to show more interest, we are keen to explore new things which means facilitating a growth mindset. When we are filled with negative emotions, we show less or no interest, limiting ourselves in moving forward - these are the characteristics of a fixed mindset.
In the current corporate environment, we must develop a growth mindset as the whole world is experiencing a pandemic. Due to this many businesses and lively hoods are affected. Following are three steps you can practice in developing a growth mindset.
Reflection on the feeling
When you are self-aware of your emotions, you will be able to recognize your strengths and weaknesses to perform certain tasks. This means you will be able to understand your development needs, which in turn is adopting a growth mindset. When you have setbacks in your task or careers, negative emotions of disappointment or demotivation take over, resulting in you thinking you are bad which then turns into a belief. By the way, it is not you who is spewing out these negative thoughts it is your fixed mindset. In these situations, pause for a minute, reflect on the negative feelings, and divert them into development points and start learning from them. For example, the great basketball legend Michael Jordon would have missed many shots, but his focus was to get the shot right.
Adopting change:
We are often disappointed, or harbour the fear of failure because we are in a comfort zone called a fixed mindset. We are particularly good at adopting change in seasons. We self-manage by taking necessary steps like choosing the required outfit or tool for the season. However, in our workplace, taking on new challenges forces us to take a step back perhaps owing to a lack of knowledge or skill. Self-management will help you divert these negative emotions to positives which will facilitate the process of adopting change.When you have reached this step, it is all about adopting the present environment. One present-day example is of COVID 19, haven’t we self-managed our fears and moved forward with the new normal?A good indication of a growth mindset is seeking solutions for challenges.
Considering a situation from multiple perspectives.
When we are erupting with negative feelings (fear of failure) our focus will be limited (Fixed mindset) and making important decisions will be difficult. At the same time when fear of failure occurs, and you reach out to your superior or colleagues, the opportunity to obtain different points of view will help you make better decisions. Which inculcates a Growth mindset as your brain gains a new direction to adopt and manoeuvre. Emotional Reasoning is one of the competencies of Emotional Intelligence, which will help develop such capabilities.
To quote the great entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson:
“When somebody offers you an amazing opportunity, but you are not sure you can do it, say yes- then learn how to do it later”.
There will not be a better example of a growth mindset than this.
For more insights & tips on self awareness, self management and change check out following Video & Podcast Episodes.
About the writer,
Mohamed Azeem Saheerbrings with him over a decade of hands on experience in management both in Sri Lanka and the region. Azeem’s experience in multiple industries offers him the unique ability to offer context and empathetic appreciation for the different programs he runs. Azeem is one of the one of first Genos Certified Emotional Intelligence practitioner and ICF certified coaches in the country. He combines a unique flavor to his programs via Lego Serious Play : bringing the ‘fun’ of our childhood favorite toy Lego and combining it with ‘serious’ topics : enabling an immersion into learning.
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