As a leader in an organization, your mindset is directly related to your ability to make an impact. You may be hitting the company revenue goals but you have a problem retaining staff. Perhaps you are delivering products that meet the requirements, but customers are still choosing other offerings from competitors. When you are not able to achieve your goals, you might want to check your mindset.

“Mindset” is a term coined by Stanford professor Carol Dweck¹, who identified two broad categories labeled “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset.” Most people have at least a little of both, and many people lean more into one than the other. Being a leader often means having the power to make decisions about products, strategies, and people. Depending on which way you lean on the mindset spectrum, you can be more or less successful in leading impact.

For instance, if you have a fixed mindset, you are more likely to be risk-averse and extra conservative in your decision-making. You are also more likely to be self-protective, and your decisions are more often made to protect yourself out of fear of making the wrong decision. 

Fixed mindsets are inherently limiting when it comes to decision-making in general, with one exception. If you are a deep subject matter expert whose knowledge is critical to making certain kinds of decisions about strategy, your fixed mindset might be a benefit because you are confident you know the right answer.

You’ve probably seen this in employees who are hired for certain expertise and may act as if theirs is the only way to do something. They may have the expertise, but not being able to listen to alternative viewpoints is the downfall of a fixed-mindset expert.

I had a direct report once who was a brilliant analyst and researcher. She had a Ph.D. and published work in several academic journals along her career path, and her confidence in her domain was very high. She was put in charge of a project overseeing a few data engineers, and within less than a week, I was receiving complaints from the engineers. 

This person was micromanaging the engineers right out of the gate. She had started them off with some direction on how she thought a research problem should be solved but had not provided any specifications. When the engineers tried to get clarity and make suggestions, she shut them down and told them to do it her way. 

I talked with her about the situation, and I tried to provide some coaching. I encouraged her to make space for the engineers’ ideas and listen with curiosity. I told her she might see angles she hadn’t thought of and suggested she take some time to do some planning together with the team. She quietly absorbed what I said with a furrowed brow and promised she’d consider it.

Within two weeks, the project was at a full stop, and the engineers were asking for a different assignment. I had to remove her as a project leader because her fixed mindset would not allow for a collaborative approach to the problem. Instead, it caused a massive delay, lost productivity, and a slight decrease in morale. 

When I tried to explain why she was being removed, all she decided to hear was that she was being demoted. Trying to reach her by asking reflective questions about her approach merely brought out fear in her of not living up to her high standards. She blamed everyone but herself. It was such a dent in her ego that she resigned shortly thereafter. Her fixed mindset sabotaged both her success and the success of her team.

On the other side of the spectrum, a growth-mindset leader leads with curiosity and will always strive to understand before making critical decisions. They are also more apt to put the decision-making power into more appropriate hands if they feel someone else is better qualified. These kinds of leaders are inherent trust-builders and tend to make an extra effort to be inclusive. 

Growth mindset leaders often harbor a passion for learning and development that they extend to their direct reports. When you encourage learning and experimentation for your reports and your products, you are more likely to achieve better outcomes because you will always be discovering along the way. This can lead to a stronger impact, both for the company and for the people doing the work. 

If you are not sure which way you lean on the mindset spectrum, try to be more aware of your interactions with others. Notice your attitude when challenged: do you bridle against someone else’s ideas and become defensive, or do you ask questions and encourage deeper exploration? The former is a fixed mindset response that stops any possibility for learning, and the latter provides a path to broader possibility. Which do you think leads to a more substantial impact?

Changing your mindset is very hard, according to Dweck, especially when you have been unconsciously reinforcing it for a lifetime. With practice and intention, you can learn to catch when your mindset may be limiting your impact.

When a colleague triggers defensiveness in you, recognize that. Be curious about what is making you defensive, and try on a different kind of response. It’s OK to backpedal, just be honest with yourself and your colleague and admit that you jumped to a conclusion too fast.  

When your immediate defensive response is to say “No,” try asking a question to learn more before making a snap decision. Open your mind to the suggestions offered by others. Be willing to experiment and open the door to possibility and learning.

These are just a few simple ways to strengthen your growth mindset. Regardless of whether you are naturally growth-minded or fixed-minded, cultivating an awareness of your mindset creates opportunities that can lead to learning, growth, and better outcomes for the company and your staff.

1. Dweck, Carol S., Mindset, New York, NY: Random House; 2006.