Let’s start this week’s lesson with a quiz. Don’t worry, there are only three questions.
As you can see from your quiz results, you fall into one of two categories:
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Fixed-Minded people feel that basic qualities – like intelligence or talent – are set at birth, or fixed. You’re born with all the intelligence you’ll ever have and talent alone determines your success.
Growth-Minded people feel that basic qualities are developed through practice, learning, and hard work. Intelligence and talent are just a foundation upon which to build proficiency and mastery that will then lead to success.
Now, let’s go back to your results. If you’re of a Fixed Mindset, I’ve got some bad news for you: The way you view intelligence is wrong – and it may be harming your success as a leader.
I recently attended a conference with a session led by Dr. Ryan Bisel, an associate professor of communication at the University of Oklahoma. In his presentation, Bisel highlighted a study in which three groups of children were given a puzzle to solve. Upon completion of the puzzle, researchers praised the participants in slightly different ways.
Group A, was told “You did a great job. You must have worked really hard to solve it.” (Growth-Minded Praise).
Group B, was told “You did a great job. You must be really smart.” (Fixed-Minded Praise).
And Group C, was simply told “You did a great job.” (Control Group)
Now, here’s where things get interesting. When asked if they’d like to try the puzzle again:
Group A overwhelmingly decided to try again.
Group C was more or less neutral.
Group B overwhelmingly decided not to try again.
Why? Even among children, it all comes down to ego. Group A decided to try again because their first attempt was just a baseline and they felt that the only way to do better is to practice. Group B felt no reason to try harder because their ability to complete the puzzle had become part of their identities and they feared that not doing well on subsequent attempts would change the researcher’s opinion about their intelligence.
Now, think about how you interact with your employees. Have you ever told someone that they’re a natural salesman? A gifted builder? A born communicator? That’s a Fixed-Minded compliment. Yeah, it feels nice to the person receiving the compliment, but you’re essentially discouraging that employee from trying harder.
Don’t feel so down on yourselves, Fixed-Mindsetters. Change is possible.
Just think of it this way: Are you where you are today because you emerged from the womb ready for your current job as a manager, business owner, or whatever the case may be? Or did you work hard, acquire skills, and learn from mistakes to get to where you are today – and plan on continuing to learn and work to get to where you want to be?
By acknowledging your mindset and how it can affect the effort your employees demonstrate, you can actively become more mindful of how you compliment your employees. With a few simple language tweaks, you can turn a compliment into a catalyst for improvement.
Instead of saying “You’re a natural salesman.”, try saying “You’re a motivated salesman.” Instead of “You’re a gifted builder.”, you can say “You’re a dedicated builder.” Instead of “You’re a born communicator.”, how about “You’re a passionate communicator.” See the difference? You’re feeding your employee’s egos with genuine compliments while encouraging effort and continuous improvement.
Did you learn anything surprising about your mindset? Will knowing your mindset affect how you praise your employees? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.
Besides being an gifted astute marketer, our Jill of All Trades is passionate about employee engagement and is a firm believer in building a corporate culture based on open, honest communication.
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