Companies want to grow, that is clear. Entrepreneurs and business professionals are always looking for improvement and will try to achieve this by optimizing processes, reducing costs, etc. It is not always possible to solve problems that hinder growth. This often has to do with the mindset of the people within your company. Have you found a way to ensure that your employees are ready for growth?

Do you respond positively or negatively to a growth challenge?

American psychologist Carol Dweck conducted an interesting experiment on 10-year-olds. She presented them with a problem that they should not yet be able to solve given their age. A division emerged. Some children responded very positively: “I like a challenge!”, or “I hope I would learn something from this” were their reactions. Other children thought it was a catastrophe. They thought their intelligence was being judged, and that is not pleasant for anyone, of course.

The children with a negative reaction indicated that they would, for example, copy or look for someone who had performed even worse. In other words, they showed avoidant behavior. During processes in a negative or avoidant mindset, little activity is measured in the brain. Logically, a lot of activity is measured with a positive challenging response.

How do you get a positive fighting mentality in your company?

It works the same way within your company. As a manager you want your organization to grow. Not only in financial terms, but also in areas such as professionalism, culture, quality, etc. To achieve this, your employees must of course also participate in that process. You really can't use avoiders and negative thinkers! How do you create such a positive fighting mentality? Not by praising intelligence and talent or judging people on their intelligence, but by praising effort, strategies, focus and perseverance.

Carol Dweck applied this approach during the same experiment mentioned earlier in this article. As a result, underperforming children with a negative mindset, who had been taught a growth mindset through a positive approach, shot to the top of their district in performance within a year!

Never let fear of failure rule!

Research by Dweck and three of her colleagues showed that this is exactly what happens in companies. Employees in a company with a stagnant, rigid mindset often felt that only a handful of “star” employees were appreciated for their efforts. These employees are less engaged than those who work at a growth mindset company, and even had the impression that their company did not have their back. They were afraid of failure, were less innovative, kept more secrets and cut corners more often.

How do you, as a manager, manage to get such a growth mindset into the company? According to Dweck, this can only be achieved with dedication and hard work. Make sure that you as a manager are the example and reward effort among your employees. Are you ready to motivate your employees so that your company can grow? At Kenneth Smit we offer Business Improvement who can ensure that the right ingredients are available within your company.