WomanAt every age, people with flexible mind-sets continue to learn new skills. In contrast, people with fixed mind-sets tend to see their own talents and abilities as limited and are often threatened by fresh thinking that challenges their beliefs. You can see how these mind-sets relate to optimism and pessimism and how a flexible, growth mind-set fuels dynamic leadership.
Good things and bad things happen to everyone. What makes the difference is how you work with this raw material of life. Over and over, the women leaders we've spoken to talked about opportunities and how they didn't hesitate to take them.
As we dug deeper, we discovered a recurring theme: These women approached new situations for their possibilities. When they had job offers in new fields, they leapt, believing that they could learn and grow.
Are you daunted by risk?
And just as interesting, these successful women were not daunted by the risk-indeed, they found it exciting. When they were deciding on a new path, they would ask themselves, "What's the worst that could happen? Getting fired!" And when that happened to some, they bounced back, feeling lucky about their next opportunity. More than a few mused, "When one door closes, another opens." Their examples prove the point.
Now, consider how you typically think about things: Are you fixed in your thinking, or are you flexible? Are you happy to stick to your routine and uneasy when circumstances force you to change? Do you explicitly or implicitly limit what you are capable of? Or are you always open to new ways of doing things?
To test your mind-set, fill in the blank in the following statement: I could be an amazing architect if...
Fixed fixed mind-set vs. growth mind-set
If your answer was something like "if I could visualise spaces" or "if I could do math," you are showing a fixed mind-set, hyperaware of your limitations (real and imagined) - the reasons you can't do something. Typically, this is the response of someone who won't push herself to improve and, as a consequence, her ability to grow diminishes. She's judgmental about herself and probably about others.
If, by contrast, you filled in the blank with "if I wanted to" or "if I put my mind to it," you may have what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a growth mind-set. People with a growth mind-set believe that nothing is predestined; their own work determines their success. These are people who shape their futures by pursuing opportunities to learn and grow, absorbing the shocks along the way and turning feedback into blueprints for progress.
Look around you. The connection to success is clear - the happiest and most successful people are those with a growth mind-set.
Look failures in the face
Wouldn't you rather have a growth mind-set that leads to a psychological resilience that can help you handle adversity? As Dweck writes, people with growth mind-sets can "look failures in the face, even their own, while maintaining faith that they [will] succeed in the end."
That's what we want for you. If you're starting out with a fixed mind-set, you can change it through conscious effort. Take a moment now to reflect on the career choices you've made and would like to make.
Complete this sentence: What I would love to be doing is...
Are you doing what you love?
Are you already doing what you love? If you aren't, what is in your way? People with fixed mind-sets can give a long litany of reasons not to try: It's not practical, there's too much risk, I don't have the skills, everyone will laugh - we could go on. Optimists don't waste their time and energy when they could be moving forward.
So let's stop right here and right now and be more like them: Choose to see reality without the distortions that chip away at your self-confidence and self-regard. Choose to feel in control, able to learn and fix almost anything with help from others. Choose to recover quickly from a mistake or even a colossal failure. If you look at your choices and don't like what you see, you can choose to change your mind-set.
Make adaptability your skill
There's framing and then there's reframing in the moment, a related skill all leaders need. Today's pace of change, organisational complexity, and increasing specialisation make adaptability essential for you. Given our multiple roles, women are masters of adaptability at home.
Apply this capability in your work, letting go of the agenda when circumstances change. When the route you've chosen is not working, zoom out to see the bigger picture; you might just find a better way around the problem.
A matter of framing
Emma was adaptable from the start, when she found herself at a new school, freezing in a light dress. She drew on adaptability when she entered the white male environment of investment banking. Leaving a venerable bank to be an entrepreneur once again required her to adapt.
We can all learn to reframe what we see in a more realistic, productive, and positive light. We know it's hard work, but you've already taken the first step in your journey by getting to know yourself better. And you know, the first step is often the hardest one. You are on your way.
Good things and bad things happen to everyone. What makes the difference is how you work with this raw material of life. Over and over, the women leaders we've spoken to talked about opportunities and how they didn't hesitate to take them.
As we dug deeper, we discovered a recurring theme: These women approached new situations for their possibilities. When they had job offers in new fields, they leapt, believing that they could learn and grow.
Are you daunted by risk?
And just as interesting, these successful women were not daunted by the risk-indeed, they found it exciting. When they were deciding on a new path, they would ask themselves, "What's the worst that could happen? Getting fired!" And when that happened to some, they bounced back, feeling lucky about their next opportunity. More than a few mused, "When one door closes, another opens." Their examples prove the point.
Now, consider how you typically think about things: Are you fixed in your thinking, or are you flexible? Are you happy to stick to your routine and uneasy when circumstances force you to change? Do you explicitly or implicitly limit what you are capable of? Or are you always open to new ways of doing things?
To test your mind-set, fill in the blank in the following statement: I could be an amazing architect if...
Fixed fixed mind-set vs. growth mind-set
If your answer was something like "if I could visualise spaces" or "if I could do math," you are showing a fixed mind-set, hyperaware of your limitations (real and imagined) - the reasons you can't do something. Typically, this is the response of someone who won't push herself to improve and, as a consequence, her ability to grow diminishes. She's judgmental about herself and probably about others.
If, by contrast, you filled in the blank with "if I wanted to" or "if I put my mind to it," you may have what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a growth mind-set. People with a growth mind-set believe that nothing is predestined; their own work determines their success. These are people who shape their futures by pursuing opportunities to learn and grow, absorbing the shocks along the way and turning feedback into blueprints for progress.
Look around you. The connection to success is clear - the happiest and most successful people are those with a growth mind-set.
Look failures in the face
Wouldn't you rather have a growth mind-set that leads to a psychological resilience that can help you handle adversity? As Dweck writes, people with growth mind-sets can "look failures in the face, even their own, while maintaining faith that they [will] succeed in the end."
That's what we want for you. If you're starting out with a fixed mind-set, you can change it through conscious effort. Take a moment now to reflect on the career choices you've made and would like to make.
Complete this sentence: What I would love to be doing is...
Are you doing what you love?
Are you already doing what you love? If you aren't, what is in your way? People with fixed mind-sets can give a long litany of reasons not to try: It's not practical, there's too much risk, I don't have the skills, everyone will laugh - we could go on. Optimists don't waste their time and energy when they could be moving forward.
So let's stop right here and right now and be more like them: Choose to see reality without the distortions that chip away at your self-confidence and self-regard. Choose to feel in control, able to learn and fix almost anything with help from others. Choose to recover quickly from a mistake or even a colossal failure. If you look at your choices and don't like what you see, you can choose to change your mind-set.
Make adaptability your skill
There's framing and then there's reframing in the moment, a related skill all leaders need. Today's pace of change, organisational complexity, and increasing specialisation make adaptability essential for you. Given our multiple roles, women are masters of adaptability at home.
Apply this capability in your work, letting go of the agenda when circumstances change. When the route you've chosen is not working, zoom out to see the bigger picture; you might just find a better way around the problem.
A matter of framing
Emma was adaptable from the start, when she found herself at a new school, freezing in a light dress. She drew on adaptability when she entered the white male environment of investment banking. Leaving a venerable bank to be an entrepreneur once again required her to adapt.
We can all learn to reframe what we see in a more realistic, productive, and positive light. We know it's hard work, but you've already taken the first step in your journey by getting to know yourself better. And you know, the first step is often the hardest one. You are on your way.
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