Heslin’s latest work, again co-authored with VandeWalle and published in the Journal of Management, sheds initial light on how employees react to managers as a function of managers’ mindsets. In short, it shows that when managers hold a growth mindset, employees feel that they receive a more procedurally fair performance appraisal (probably reflecting it being more data-based, accurate and supplemented with coaching). Employees will thus be more committed and willing to go the extra mile for their organisation – outcomes that are well known to have significant business benefits.
Can a growth mindset be grown?
A growth mindset can be systematically developed within individuals and teams, according to Heslin, who has developed and refined a workshop program during the past decade that is now being deployed within leading Australian organisations. The workshops aim to embed within managers the notion that improvement in employee performance is almost always possible, given the plasticity of the human brain and that virtually everyone’s skills can be honed to some extent with suitable guidance, encouragement and deliberative practice.
“The process is key,” Heslin says. “It’s easy to read that change is almost always possible and say, ‘Yeah, I agree with all that’. However, recalling instances of intransigent individuals readily hooks managers right back into the limiting fixed mindset. Thus, managers seem to benefit from experiencing a process of deep immersion in the potentiality of a growth mindset. This involves working through the various workshop exercises, rolling up your sleeves and doing it all chapter and verse.”
Katrina King, from resources giant BHP Billiton, is using Heslin’s work on growth mindsets as a key component of the organisation’s Metallurgical Coal Leadership Program, in partnership with AGSM Executive Education. “It has been wonderful to see managers using this latest thinking back in the business to engage stakeholders more effectively,” King says.
Colleen Durant, head of leadership and talent at banking group Westpac, says: “The focus on objectively assessing employees’ contributions – what they have actually achieved in the past six to 12 months – as opposed to labelling employees as superstars (or not), builds a more inclusive and respectful work environment.”
Naomi Fox, senior manager at AGSM Executive Education, says “a growth mindset is disarmingly simple to grasp and immediately resonates with managers. The art of developing a growth mindset, before translating understanding into behaviours that engage and inspire people, requires deliberate practice. Organisations that embrace growth mindsets as an essential capability for leaders create a platform for competitive advantage.”
Heslin offers three tips for managers seeking to foster a growth mindset:
> Recognise that initial efforts are not necessarily indicative of what a person can ultimately achieve. Ensure adequate time and other resources are devoted to improving individual and team performance (as well as your own), which almost invariably involves some experimentation, risk and failure. What may have enabled success in the past is often inadequate to meet emerging challenges.
> Avoid focusing primarily on stars or declaring brilliance. This creates a fixed mindset within employees, making them risk averse and concerned with not jeopardising their illustrious status.
> Perhaps most importantly, resist routinely diagnosing people. Focus more on what people have done and are doing, as well as how their strengths can be built upon, rather than on the kind of person they are. Declared stars often fall, but people rarely outperform any negative labels assigned to them. It’s more productive to help people appreciate their actual performance and the viable opportunities to proactively fine-tune it.
