You’ve probably heard a lot of individuals and organizations referring to “growth mindset” in the past few years, but what d they all mean by this phrase? The Harvard Business Review actually talked about the concept back in 2016 and the concept dates back to psychological research done in the 1970s by Carol Dweck which led to a book (Mindset, The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill our Potential) in 2006. The concept migrated from academia, education and psychology into business and personal development circles and has expanded and morphed since then.

I’ve been researching new opportunities at Microsoft recently and was struck by the central place “growth mindset” has in their culture. Which led me to think a little more about what is meant by the concept. In most cases growth mindset is contrasted with a fixed mindset and the need for curiosity, learning, and evolution is stressed. But it seems to me that growth mindset applies differently at different scales.

Organizational – in its simplest (and IMHO incorrect) application, growth mindset for an organization applies to growing the bottom line, growing headcount, and growing profit. But as we get what we measure – organizations that emphasize growth at all costs may see an increase in bottom line but a decrease in margin or profit; an increase in headcount may lead to massive fixed costs and slower execution (reread the Mythical Man Month for reference); and focus on growth over all leads to social and environmental impacts.

More subtly, though, a growth mindset within an organization speaks to an open-ness to learn from history and mistakes, an evolutionary focus that allows for the core mission to change over time to adapt to external forces. In order to facilitate this, there needs to be less of a focus on rigid hierarchies and processes and more focus on clear communication across levels and silos in that organization. This is hard to do in regulated and bureaucratic organizations, but no less necessary despite the challenges.

Team – at the team level, a growth mindset has the same goals, but overlaps with the individual aspirations of each person. I often think of the apocryphal complaint from a manager “what if we train people and they leave?”, to which the response was “what if we *don’t* train people and they stay?”. Team leaders need to encourage growth and evolution in their teams and model individual behavior and personal growth. As with the organizational level, this includes evolution of structures, teams, and processes, and the ability to learn from mistakes and trends and adapt to them.

As a leader, I’ve always felt it vital to coach and encourage colleagues to learn and grow and evolve. And if that leads them to other teams or other careers, that is long term gain for short term pain. It’s always better to lose one person to another team or employer and retain many others who see that they are encouraged to grow and progress.

Individual – I think growth mindset has both personal and professional aspects, but I strongly believe it’s hard to separate the two. I strive to end each day having learned something new, challenged myself in some way, and improved some aspect of my life. That might be as small as completing a crossword, reading articles or fiction (a whole other topic), taking a language lesson, or working out.

Time ticks for all of us, but I don’t think we should stay set in our ways and accept that life and capabilities slow down. You can always improve – whether it’s learning another skill at work, improving your skiing or ocean swimming, or simply challenging your brain through reading, learning, and thinking.

As a geologist, I definitely have issues with the concept of Evolve or Die (looking at you horseshoe crabs, sturgeon, Greenland sharks, and Ginkgo trees), but as a metaphor I like it. Grow. Learn. Improve. Adapt.