Growth Mindset
Have you been faced with great opportunities or impossible situations?
Try this revealing end of week exercise to find out!
Amidst this new way of being and working, we find ourselves navigating new territory. Our work environment is different (maybe there are less people around or you’re working from home), the way we work is different (you’re dealing with many more emails because instant face to face with the person usually sitting next to you isn’t an option) and how we manage our day is different (you may have children at home while you’re working). There are so many variables and dozens more not listed here – but the sentiment remains true – we find ourselves navigating new territory. And that can be uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable is ok. Resisting it is where we run into problems.
Understanding and acknowledging how uncomfortable this new way of being and working is, is the key to continuing growth and productivity. Acknowledging this for yourself and for the people that work with you is a worthwhile and valuable exercise. All will unfold by the end of this article. For some there will be an ‘a-ha’ moment, and for others there will be a surprising realisation and a calming long breath out.
Reflecting on what you, your business and your people have achieved over the last few weeks, how amazed can you be on your collective ability to evolve? In what we can sometimes consider to be ‘a mess’, Charles Swindoll reminds us:
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities, brilliantly disguised as impossible situations”
Writing down our thoughts helps us to separate ourselves from the ocean of thoughts swirling around in our minds (what do I need to do next, what am I having for lunch, did I remember to send that email, what time is my Zoom meeting today, I need to get to the end of this article to tick it off my to do list…..) to focusing on one thing. This is the essence of productivity.
In knowing that, you have the permission to take a breath and the next 2 minutes to be productive by getting one important thing done.
Reflect on and understand what you have personally achieved in a short period of time and therefore the capacity you have to continue to move forward. Take a minute now to write down a couple of things you’ve achieved over the last couple of weeks that you’re proud of. If you have writers block, take another breath and ask yourself the question “what have I achieved at work during this transition?”
And wait. An answer will come.
It may be leading people in online collaboration, or something that’s surprised you in a shift in your environment such as developing creativity skills you never knew you had. Also know, you don’t need to list successful ‘outcomes’ to goals you may have had. Remember to acknowledge what you’ve courageously tried and may not have worked, so you applied a different process to achieve the same thing ie. you didn’t ‘give up’.
Over to you – set a timer on your phone for sixty seconds of scribing about your achievements.
Now do the same for the people that work with you. What are you happy with? What are you grateful for? What has surprised you? Take the next 60 seconds to understand what they have achieved in this transitional period. Have they used the initiative to consciously set up a productive work environment at home? Have they shown new capacity to take the lead in collaborating with their team in their new working world? Do you have coaches you didn’t know about helping other employees that are struggling with a new way of working?
Over to you – set a timer on your phone for sixty seconds of scribing about your people’s achievements.
So when we go back to the original question of: “Reflecting on what you, your business and your people have achieved over the last few weeks, how amazed can you be on your collective ability to evolve?”, you’ll now fully understand the power of taking just a couple of minutes to answer that.
Reflection and acknowledgement of what we’ve achieved can give us a relieving sense of control when we feel like the situation is out of control. We understand it’s not out of control, it’s actually just a situation that’s new. And when situations are new, we feel uncomfortable.
Now you have two lists. One that represents what you’ve achieved and feel great about. A second that represents what your people have achieved and you feel grateful for. Don’t stop there or underestimate what you’ve created in the last two minutes. Here are two tips on the next steps to take in building on that captured productivity:
- Acknowledge it: Put your list somewhere visible to you and acknowledge what you’ve achieved. Give yourself a moment to feel a bit chuffed about it. Do the same with the list you have for the people working with you. Share it with them and acknowledge them. Share a moment with them to be chuffed about it and allow them to understand their contribution is worthwhile.
- Add to it: Continue to add to both lists to create a process of celebrating (which can be as simple as sharing and acknowledging) achievement.
Once we take the time to notice what we’ve achieved, including the mistakes we made or the obstacles we overcame, no matter how small the step, it’s much easier to continue taking the next step.
Uncomfortable? That’s great! Take the next step – it can be as small as you like.
Our Growth Mindset workshop participants have so far reported and enjoyed a 92% improvement in “gather tips and ideas in dealing with inevitable challenges in developing growth mindset behaviours”. Some of the direct participant feedback we’ve had in our most recent workshop includes:
- “This workshop was so motivating”
- “I’d like another day of training on this to find out even more”
Sound great? Unpack more around developing Growth Mindset behaviours in your team by clicking here to view a short video sneak peak into our Growth Mindset workshop with our expert facilitator and qualified teacher Kaylene Ball.
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