{"id":61275,"date":"2021-09-22T17:49:32","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T17:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/explore.local\/2021\/09\/22\/skills-for-the-win-how-to-cultivate-a-growth-mindset\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T19:37:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T19:37:53","slug":"skills-for-the-win-how-to-cultivate-a-growth-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/degreed.com\/experience\/fr\/blog\/skills-for-the-win-how-to-cultivate-a-growth-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"Skills for the Win: How to Cultivate a Growth Mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last year, with professional sports teams quarantined, millions of sports fans tuned in for The Last Dance<\/em>, a documentary series about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Some expected a one-sided basketball success story since that team won six NBA championships. Instead, the series showcased the team\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan, cut from his high school team, became a teenage phenom. Scottie Pippen, the star sidekick, kept trying even when he didn\u2019t make his college squad. Dennis Rodman, the top defender, persevered through poverty and depression. Head coach Phil Jackson almost went back to school before his breakthrough with the Bulls. They all knew failure, but together these cast-offs became champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If psychologist Carol Dweck was watching The Last Dance<\/em>, she would not be surprised. Years ago, Dweck analyzed Jordan in her best-seller Mindset: The New Psychology of Success<\/em><\/a>. \u201cHe was a person who had struggled and grown, not a person who was inherently better than others. He was the hardest-working athlete, perhaps in the history of sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MJ and his teammates had what Dweck calls a growth mindset. They practiced relentlessly to improve their weaknesses, always trying new tricks. Jordan led by example and challenged the others constantly. If you wanted to be like Mike, you needed to cultivate a growth mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a growth mindset, we believe our skills and smarts can develop over time. If we fail at something, that\u2019s okay, because we learn from it and try again, which makes experimentation exciting. With this mindset, we focus on the big picture, stay patient, and reach our potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposite of a growth mindset, according to Dweck, is a fixed mindset. When we feel that our intelligence, talents, or abilities are innate \u2014 that we cannot change what we\u2019re capable of \u2014 then we have a fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a fixed mindset, we\u2019re worried about our performance. Failure and feedback are bad because they expose our inadequacies. When we make a mistake, it feels like proof of our permanent limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Mindset Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These days, cultivating a growth mindset is essential. Disruption demands flexibility from all of us. We might learn one way to work, then some new technology changes everything. To build skills for the future<\/a>, we must believe that we can grow and change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mindset affects your creativity and resilience. Someone with a fixed mindset won\u2019t see fresh perspectives; they\u2019re too busy pushing their own agenda. With a growth mindset, though, you can let go and change your approach. This sparks innovation. You embrace new ideas and explore unique applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan\u2019s Bulls went through this. In 1989, Chicago was a top team and MJ won the MVP. After losing in the playoffs, though, the Bulls switched to an unusual offense called \u201cThe Triangle.\u201d At first, they struggled with it, falling short again in 1990. But the Bulls kept learning, undaunted by failure. The next year, they won their first championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myths About Growth Mindset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since Carol Dweck published Mindset<\/em>, many have tried to follow her advice. But a few folks are stuck with myths about mindsets. Let\u2019s set the record straight by busting a few of these common misconceptions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n