The Mindset of Managing Performance

When conducting performance reviews do you consider whether the employee has a Fixed Mindset or a Growth Mindset?

According to Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., in her recent book Mindset, an individual with a Fixed Mindset struggles with failure and, to a degree, anything that presents a challenge and/or possibility of failure. Conversely, an individual with a Growth Mindset tends to enjoy a challenge because they love learning and understand that any failure is the pathway to improvement and ultimately, growth.

Consider the crucial element of feedback and performance management common to most team and organisational situations and how important this is to the growth of your business. As an organisation, are you aware of the type of mindset that will deliver better results over time?

A person with a Fixed Mindset has a “fixed” perception of themselves that they do not want to undermine. This type of person will back away from a challenge or not accept the challenge to improve when they face failure. Because of their underlying belief that their talents and/or skills are “set in stone,” they will switch off when given feedback aimed at helping them change or improve; they only want to know if they performed well, not how to improve.

The person with a Growth Mindset is also interested if they performed well but, significantly, they understand that the hand they’re dealt is just the starting point for development. For these types, the opportunity for growth and improvement means they focus their attention on how they performed. They stay focused on the feedback so they can increase their knowledge and learn.

The move from a Fixed Mindset to a Growth Mindset can be achieved relatively easily if the individual wants to change, and focuses on what this means. As Dr. Dweck asserts, “People may start with different temperaments and different aptitudes, but it is clear that experience, training, and personal effort take them the rest of the way.”

Quite simply, any mindset can change given the desire and tools to do so. This is where the consultants at Mindset Group excel; in helping companies and individuals shift limiting beliefs and behaviours to more productive behaviours and outcomes.

Tim Tucker
Associate