What is growth mindset, and why does it matter at work?

Growth mindset is the belief that people can improve their abilities through learning, effort, feedback, experience and adaptation. This is supported by the concept of neuroplasticity: the scientific fact that the brain is like a muscle that forms new, stronger connections when we embrace challenge and struggle.

The concept is most closely associated with Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, whose work contrasts growth mindset with fixed mindset. A fixed mindset assumes that intelligence, ability or talent are largely set. A growth mindset assumes that people can develop over time.

That does not mean everyone can become exceptional at everything – they can’t. People have different strengths, limitations, interests and starting points. Growth mindset simply means that capability is not viewed as completely fixed or predetermined.

In practice, growth mindset changes how people respond when things become difficult. Instead of seeing challenge as proof that they are incapable, people are more likely to see it as part of learning, development and improvement.

Growth mindset is often misunderstood

Growth mindset is frequently reduced to motivational slogans.

“Try harder.”
“Stay positive.”
“Never give up.”

That is not really what the theory is about. A "False Growth Mindset" occurs when we praise effort alone; if the effort isn't working, a growth mindset involves pausing to pivot and find a new strategy.

A genuine growth mindset is not blind optimism, and it is not pretending that effort alone guarantees success. Simply telling people to “have a growth mindset” rarely creates meaningful change on its own.

A more useful interpretation is practical rather than motivational. Growth mindset affects how people respond to feedback, handle setbacks, approach uncertainty, develop skills, recover from mistakes and continue learning.

It is also important to distinguish between effort and effective effort. Simply repeating the same approach for longer is not growth mindset. Improvement usually depends on reflection, feedback, experimentation, support and adjustment.

Growth mindset vs fixed mindset

Most people will show both growth and fixed mindset tendencies depending on the situation. We all have "fixed mindset triggers" - moments where we feel criticised or overmatched - that cause us to become defensive or retreat into safe behaviours.

Growth mindset and fixed mindset are not personality types. They are ways of thinking and behaving.

A growth mindset often sounds like:

• “What can we learn from this?”

• “What else could we try?”

• “What assumptions are we making?”

• “We have not solved this yet.”

• “What feedback have we had?”

• “Let’s test it before we commit fully.”

A fixed mindset often sounds like:

• “That will never work here.”

• “We tried that before.”

• “I’m just not good at this.”

• “We need to avoid mistakes at all costs.”

• “This is how we’ve always done it.”

• “There’s no point asking for feedback now.”

The difference is not positivity versus negativity, it is whether people treat capability as something that can develop or something that constantly has to be protected.

Why growth mindset matters for individuals

Growth mindset can improve confidence, resilience and performance because it changes how people interpret difficulty. While a fixed mindset feels threatened by the success of others, a growth mindset views peer success as a source of instruction and inspiration.

Someone with a fixed mindset is more likely to experience challenge as exposure. Mistakes feel embarrassing, feedback feels personal and struggle feels like evidence that they are not capable enough.

Someone with a growth mindset is more likely to treat challenge as information. They may still find situations uncomfortable, but they are less likely to see difficulty as proof of failure.

This matters most when people:

• step into leadership roles

• learn new systems or technology

• receive critical feedback

• manage uncertainty

• recover from setbacks

• develop communication skills

• move into unfamiliar environments

• try to improve performance

• adapt to change or lack of visibility

Growth mindset can also help reduce perfectionism. People who feel they must always appear capable often avoid experimentation because failure threatens their identity as experts. Over time, that can limit development far more than lack of talent ever would.

Growth mindset in organisations

In organisations, mindset becomes cultural rather than purely individual.

A growth mindset culture is more likely to encourage learning, surface problems early, support experimentation, develop people internally and adapt more effectively when circumstances change.

A fixed mindset culture tends to produce the opposite behaviours: people become more concerned with avoiding blame, protecting status and appearing competent than with improving outcomes.

That has consequences for innovation, communication, decision making and long term performance.

Many organisations say they value innovation while unintentionally punishing the behaviours innovation depends on. If mistakes are treated harshly, if challenge is unwelcome or if people are rewarded mainly for appearing confident and certain, employees quickly learn to stay safe.

This is why growth mindset cannot simply be demanded from employees. The surrounding environment has to support it.

Leaders are often completely unaware they are supressing growth mindset behaviours – their actions originating from a genuine desire for their team and organisation to succeed, perform and avoid risk or error, but inadvertently causing stagnation and paralysis.

Leadership and growth mindset

Leaders play a major role in shaping whether growth mindset becomes real or remains a slogan.

Managers unintentionally create fixed mindset cultures when they:

• punish mistakes harshly

• react defensively to feedback

• discourage challenge

• expect people to already know everything

• reward image more than improvement

• praise talent more than learning

By contrast, leaders who encourage growth mindset tend to:

• ask questions openly

• admit when they do not know something

• encourage reflection

• seek feedback themselves

• separate mistakes from identity

• support development over time

• review problems without blame

That does not mean lowering standards or avoiding accountability. In strong growth mindset cultures, accountability is often clearer because problems are surfaced earlier and discussed more honestly.

Growth mindset, pressure and change

Growth mindset becomes particularly important during periods of uncertainty, pressure and organisational change.

When people feel under threat, they often become more cautious, defensive and risk averse. Resistance does not always come from negativity or unwillingness. Sometimes people are trying to protect quality, stability, professional identity or experience they have worked hard to build.

A growth mindset approach does not dismiss those concerns - it explores them properly.

Questions such as these are usually more productive than simply telling people to “embrace change”:

• What do we know for certain?

• What still feels unclear?

• What risks should we take seriously?

• What support do people need?

• What can we test safely?

• What would realistic progress look like?

That tends to produce better learning, stronger engagement and more realistic decision making.

Why psychological safety matters

Growth mindset depends heavily on psychological safety.

People are far more likely to ask questions, challenge ideas, admit uncertainty and discuss mistakes when they believe they will not be humiliated or punished for doing so.

Without psychological safety:

• feedback becomes filtered

• problems stay hidden

• innovation slows down

• difficult conversations are avoided

• people focus on self protection

At the same time, psychological safety does not mean avoiding standards or accountability. Healthy teams combine openness with responsibility.

People need to feel safe enough to learn while still being expected to contribute, improve and perform.

How to encourage growth mindset at work

Growth mindset is built through repeated behaviours and systems, not inspirational messaging.

1. Focus on real work, not theory

Growth mindset discussions are far more effective when connected directly to real pressures, real decisions and real challenges rather than abstract theory.

Use live examples, current projects and genuine barriers people are facing so the conversation feels practical rather than motivational.

2. Make it safe to air concerns

Resistance often contains useful information. People may see risks, pressures or operational realities that others have missed.

Rather than shutting concerns down, bring them into the open early and explore them properly. People are more likely to engage with change when they feel listened to rather than managed.

3. Replace blame with learning

When something goes wrong, the goal should be understanding rather than simply assigning fault.

Ask:

• What happened?

• What did we expect?

• What did we learn?

• What should we change next time?

Accountability still matters, but accountability becomes more useful when mistakes are examined properly rather than hidden or personalised.

4. Use “yet” carefully

The word “yet” can help people see improvement as possible rather than fixed.

• “We have not solved this yet.”

• “We have not built confidence with this yet.”

• “We do not fully understand this yet.”

But this should not become forced positivity or minimise difficulty. The point is to keep progress open, not pretend progress is easy.

5. Praise strategies, not just effort

Effort matters, but effort without reflection rarely improves performance.

Growth mindset is not simply “try harder”. It is “learn, adapt and improve”.

Praise behaviours such as:

• seeking feedback

• adjusting strategy

• experimenting thoughtfully

• supporting others

• reflecting honestly

• improving over time

6. Build feedback into normal work

Feedback should not only appear during formal reviews or after problems.

Teams improve faster when feedback becomes part of normal day to day work and people see it as a practical tool for improving judgement, communication and performance rather than a threat to competence.

7. Make experimentation normal

Small experiments help teams learn quickly, reduce risk and test ideas before committing heavily to them.

This encourages curiosity and adaptability, but experimentation still needs structure, judgement and evaluation. Not every new idea is automatically a good one.

8. Bring us along!

Our growth mindset programme can be applied to anywhere from a session at your annual conference to an individual learning masterclass or an SMT programme that includes a survey, a workshop and a follow-up session.

Our associate trainer Simon Phillips is an internationally recognised expert in this area, and we can help you bring about real and practical behavioural change that will transform your group, team or organisation’s culture. Sometimes teams benefit from external facilitation because people speak more openly, challenge assumptions more honestly and step outside familiar routines.

Growth mindset and long term adaptability

One reason growth mindset matters so much now is because workplaces continue to change rapidly.

Technology, AI, shifting customer expectations, economic pressure and organisational change all require people to continue learning throughout their careers.

In many industries, long term employability increasingly depends on adaptability rather than static expertise alone.

People and organisations that continue learning are generally better placed to respond to change than those focused mainly on protecting familiar ways of working.

Final thought

Growth mindset is not about pretending everything is possible or encouraging endless positivity.

It is a practical way of approaching learning, challenge, feedback, uncertainty and improvement.

At its best, growth mindset helps individuals become more resilient, reflective and adaptable, while helping organisations create cultures where people can learn, improve, challenge ideas and develop capability over time.

But none of that happens through slogans alone.

People become more open to learning when the environment around them makes it safe and worthwhile to think honestly, ask questions, test ideas, discuss mistakes and keep improving.

Teamshaper’s team-based applied programme on Growth Mindset is here.