How to grow your growth mindset superpower

Editor's Notes

• #2 I’m going to talk about how to grow your growth mindset superpower
• #3 The hidden superpower is a main stay of stories, comics and films From seemingly normal looking mutants with special powers in the X-Men comics and films
• #4 To Cheer leaders with unsuspecting healing powers in the Heroes TV show
• #5 And of course Peter Parker gaining spider powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider
• #6 Deep down we all harbour dreams of being a super hero Even if it's a really shit superhero
• #7 But what if I told you that that whilst sadly gaining super powers is never going to happen We all have the power to gain new abilities I’d like to tell the story of someone who did just that In 2008 Malcolm Gladwell publish Outliers In the book Gladwell looks at what is behind highly successful individuals in the world of business, sport, music and politics He identified a number of important factors behind success, but the one that he say is most important is the concept of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice
• #8 Gladwell argues that if you look at successful sports men and women, musicians, artists and professionals Most have spent at least 10,000 hours learning their craft For example the Beatles famously spent years honing their craft in Liverpool and Hamburg prior to making it big
• #9 And Bill Gates spent years as a youth writing computer code before founding Microsoft with Paul Allen
• #10 Inspired by this idea Dan McLaughlin, a 30 year old photographer decided to see if he could gain a new power He decided to give up his day taking photos to become a full time golfer This is despite having barely picked up a golf club in those 30 years
• #11 Working with a team of coaches he wanted to see if he could make it to the PGA tour McLaughlin wanted to find out whether through determination and hard work he could gain a new golfing superpower More than that, McLaughlin wanted to show that success is not just down to talent
• #12 If this was a fictional story it would end with McLauglin making to the PGA and miraculously winning a famous golf tournament Of course fact is not the same as fiction Sadly McLauglin never did make it to the PGA tour A chronic back injury prevented him from continuing his experiment after 5 years, But he did lower his handicap to an impressive 2.6, putting him in the top 95% of golfers However, McLauglin is a great example of what you can set out to do if you have a growth mindset If you believe that everyone is capable of growing and developing themself So what is a growth mindset?
• #13 The term comes from research undertaken by Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Standford University in the US Her research in the 2000s, primarily in the education sector identified two prevailing mindsets when it comes to learning A fixed mindset, and a growth mindset
• #14 Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that traits and abilities such as intelligence, talent and personality are fixed (hence the name). Therefore, there is little that can be done to improve these traits and failure is intimidating because it suggests limitations that cannot be easily overcome. Individuals with a growth mindset on the other hand believe that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work In other words, like Dan McLaughlin they believe that brains and talent are just the starting point. Carol Dweck found that someone's mindset can have a big impact on a student's level of success
• #16 Research has also shown that a growth mindset is not only great for learning, it’s also great for overall wellbeing Individuals with a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset are less likely to have mental health issues and stress due to life events. They have greater resilience and are less likely to be negatively impacted by stress.
• #17 So, how can you grow your own growth mindset Here are some tips for doing this
• #18 Firstly, it’s vital that you are prepared to get outside your comfort zone Outsize of your comfort zone are your learning and growth zones This is where you acquire new skills and learnings Think about challenges that you can take on outside of your comfort zone For example, learning a new skill, taking on a new role, or taking on a new challenge
• #19 One way to get outside your comfort zone might be to talk at a conference for the first time Not only is a great way of getting a free tickets to events, it's a great way to improve your presentation and communication skills
• #20 To help focus your challenges you should create a learning and development plan Start by thinking about what you want to achieve in the next 12 months and what skills and traits you’ll need to be able to do that. You can then identify weaknesses to develop, and strengths to build on. This will help you to identify your key development areas. You can then outline 3, 6 and 12 month goals and development activities to work towards those goals for each area
• #21 It’s also worth considering the 70-20-10 model of learning This model recommends that you aim for mostly on the job learning, supplemented with collaboration and some formal training Think about how you can incorporate learning and development goals into your day to day work Identify people you can learn with or from, and formal training to help complement your learning
• #22 Expanding your learning network is a great way to help turbo charge your learning and development There are lots of online communities covering design and UX, along with face-to-face communities Communities can be great way to find a mentor or to simply get advice from fellow design professionals
• #23 Another important component of having a growth mindset is to seek out feedback Without feedback you are learning blind In the same way that Dan McLauglin worked with coaches to determine what he is doing well, and what he could be doing better you should be continually reaching out to colleagues to get feedback If you’ve just run a workshop, reach out to some participants to find out if they have any feedback If you’ve been working with someone, don’t be afraid to reach out to seek feedback If you’re not comfortable doing it yourself, you can ask your manager to get feedback on your behalf
• #24 Having a growth mindset is not something you can achieve on an adhoc basis, it requires daily focus I’ve found it to be useful to spend 5 mins at the start and end of the day capturing my goals, achievements and learnings This not only helps to open and then close your working day It also helps to remind you of what you’ve achieved, what you’ve learnt and how you can make tomorrow even better
• #25 There is a great checklist available from the Career Psychologist website with some good questions to ask yourself both at the beginning and end of the day
• #26 Not only is a good idea to plan your day It's also a great idea to regularly reflect on your day and your week This again helps to identify what you’ve accomplished, what you've learnt and how you learn can and grow even more
• #27 I have a end of week Mural that I’ll fill out on a Friday afternoon This includes what went well that week What could have been better What I accomplished What I learnt What next week’s priority is How I can make next week a success This also has the added bonus of making 1-2-1s easier to prepare for as I can go back to my weekly reflections and remind myself of what has happened
• #28 Finally, and most importantly you should always stay curious A growth mindset is not just for Christmas, or for your time at Redgate, it’s for life And like any muscle, the more you utilise your growth mindset, the better you get at using it and at learning and developing
• #29 So to summarise….