Innovation is an active mindset. It allows us to reach beyond the perceived barriers of change and gives us permission to take risk and even fail. The gift of thinking innovatively is two-fold: it provides fresh thoughts and actionable creativity to solutions that have gone stale; and it also boosts employee engagement and morale. It’s an invitation for people to think for themselves, to be limitless and optimistic in their quest of a vision. An innovative mindset is the secret element in engaging performance within the walls of certainty and safety.
But how do we gain such mindset when our normal day-to-day is to maintain the status quo? As companies develop, they invest in the technical expertise to innovate. However, their employees may not have the mental reflexes to accommodate change, much less spark it. Growth Mindset work is the answer. It’s a body of research, conceived by Carol Dweck and colleagues, that focuses on the belief that a person’s capacities and talents can be improved over time. This belief system generates opportunities and an openness in individuals required for change. Dweck tells us, “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through effort, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset” while those with a fixed mindset “believe their talents are innate gifts.”
Adopting this mindset helps us not only be creative,but also to achieve our goals. First, we must find our Inner Mentor, the voice that says, “You can do it, keep going.” Our Inner Mentor helps us be open to possibilities, the main ingredient in a Growth Mindset. However, this voice may often be covered up by a louder voice, that of the Inner Critic, “You always make this mistake, you’re not good enough, no reason to try.” This voice almost immediately moves us into a Fixed Mindset. Developing a muscle for observing when you’re in a Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset is key. Catching it and pivoting is the access door to innovation and performance. Neurological research on brain plasticity shows us that we are able to make this change through experiences and practice. Hence, the danger of maintaining the status quo.
Winston Churchill said, “Only change in mindsets can extend the frontiers of the possible.”
We might say Churchill was ahead of his time. The personal development space has expanded exponentially in the last fifteen years, providing opportunities for us to get to know ourselves. The relationship we have with ourselves is the most critical relationship of our lifetime. Innovation is an invitation to think about the future and the possibilities ahead. When we think of the future, we are actually thinking of ourselves in the future. But what do we truly think of ourselves? Is the answer rooted in growth and opportunity or in stale, old patterns sending you the message you need to try harder? This “try-hard” mentality blocks creativity and, ultimately, innovation and evolvement. Ideas aren’t generated while we are on the hamster wheel trying to make ourselves better. They are generated when we are in full acceptance of what we do well and when we are looking toward what’s possible. Personal development is the gift of self-knowledge. It is the work of getting to know how our thoughts, our mindset, generate feelings which contribute to our results.
At Whole Point, we believe that all organizations have a mindset. We foster a Growth Mindset culture through our individual and team development strategies. Our methods are built specifically for disrupting patterns of thought in order to allow for agility, innovation and increased performance. With a focus on leadership development and employee engagement, Whole Point taps into the potential of what is possible.
