Warriors Don‰Ûªt Always Win; They Always Fight
As the new year sets in, almost as a replica of 2021 in terms of the fear of the pandemic, let’s talk about the growth mindset. It is not an old phrase. Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck defined it just six years ago: “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”
Challenges of the kind that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has brought with it need to be overcome with unprecedented resilience. In the face of such adversity, it is easy to buckle under pressure. Individuals and organisations alike need the growth mindset to keep prospering in times of distress. How we can do that, and how we can enable organisational success through those actions, is the limited premise of this article.
While there is an individualism that the phenomenon of working from home has brought with it, I believe collaboration has never been more important. You would ordinarily believe that working on a project individually and succeeding brings greater happiness. Wrong. Collaborating and working in teams brings with it not only swiftness but also raises motivation levels, especially when teams work virtually. You feel more connected and more energised.
Scrub Your Windows, Let The Light In
Collaboration also has this magical consequence of enhancing the capacity of team members, helping them go beyond their respective comfort zones and consequently taking the organisation to new heights. This harks back to one of the oldest aphorisms: united we stand, divided we fall. Unity, and therefore collaboration, is one of the best natures of humanity. No single individual can achieve what a group of people can accomplish together.
Every opinion matters. Yes, often opinions collide but that is not a calamity. Encourage your collaborators to voice their opinions. They are just like you. You believe you deserve to be heard, applauded, even liked for your opinions. Everyone is like that. Go ahead and ask for opinions but impress upon people that in the face of facts to the contrary, holding on fiercely to an opinion is cretinous. As science writer Issac Asimov put it: “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
Focus On Action, Not Consequence
It is also imperative to tell your team that everything you try will not succeed. You will fail and that’s all right. Remember, the master fails more times than the beginner has even tried. Warriors, after all, are not the ones who always win, they are ones who always fight. Take your learnings from the defeat and move on to another fight. You, or your team, cannot be defined by failures.
Also, how many times have you heard the old adage that you should focus on action, not results? When I was young, I was told by my parents about Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita saying do your duty without worrying about results. Doing duty is in your control. Results are not.
In that formulation, which might seem somewhat clichéd to us, lies one of the key ingredients of the growth mindset. If you constantly, unwaveringly, focus on well-thought-out actions, results will take care of themselves.
Risk Lies In The Eye Of The Beholder
Whatever you do without your team, don’t make them risk averse. Tell them there’s risk everywhere. Indeed, risk lies in the eyes of the beholder. There’s risk if you step out of your house—who can totally discount the possibility of a meteorite from space crashing on your head? Or, you can’t not want to wet your toes by the seaside for fear of sharks?
Risk brings reward. It helps us grow in confidence, as we challenge ourselves and that act of daring often translates into innovation. Into creativity. Risk aversion often translates to stagnation. Risk taking, on the other hand, unlocks the imagination and payoffs can be handsome.
Nimble, Flexible, Resilient
What growth mindset means is that we must be prepared to course-correct when we hit a roadblock. If we wait to always making sure that the road ahead is absolutely smooth, we will be waiting forever. Likewise, growth mindset is also about not wanting complete perfection in your plan before you put it into effect. Settle for something that looks reasonably good—say 75 or 80 per cent—and get going. And then course correct when required.
Being nimble, flexible and resilient is the key to a growth mindset. You are a good leader not if you have hordes of followers who blindly tread the same path. You are a good leader if by your actions and deeds you are inspiring your team members to become great leaders in their own right. Mentor your colleagues unreservedly and help those who do not have the wherewithal to advance rapidly.
Growth mindset is about enabling talent to rise and shine, and about creating a culture where excellence thrives.
Results will follow.
