I’m in a class this semester called Leading Change, and one of our first assignments was to read an article by Mary Murphy and Carol Dweck called, “Mindsets Shape Consumer Behavior” (2016). The authors discuss the connection and distinction between consumer behavior and people who either have a fixed or growth mindset.
The Difference Between A Fixed and Growth Mindset
The authors explain a fixed mindset is the belief the traits you are born with (intelligence, personality, morality, etc.) are fixed; they cannot be fundamentally improved or changed.
A person who has a growth mindset believes experience and learning can foster development in any area, leading to a significant change in a person and their behavior.
Research shows the affect of the two different mindsets leads to significant differences in people’s motivations and performance. Although the article primarily focuses on implications regarding consumer behavior, as a Manager of Performance, my main point of interest piqued when they discussed how a fixed or growth mindset affects organizational behavior.
Implications of the Two Mindsets
The implications and the different outcomes of the two mindsets are huge. People with growth mindsets work through challenges and difficult situations differently than people with fixed mindsets.
Growth mindset individuals are energized by challenges, aren’t afraid to make mistakes, and are engaged in the process of learning. They aren’t intimidated by what they don’t know–yet. Conversely, fixed mindset individuals focus on outcomes, not process. They believe high effort is equivalent to weakness, because if you were really [smart, healthy, compassionate…fill in the blank], you wouldn’t need effort.
Affects on Organizational Behavior
The mindsets transcend into organizational behavior and culture as well. Organizations that believe in a fixed mindset tend to cover up mistakes because mistakes demonstrate weakness and organizationally a fixed mindset culture doesn’t engage in the process of learning. You either get it right the first time…or else. Trust is harder to rebuild in a fixed mindset culture, because once a mistake happens, there is little or no room to learn, grow, and try again. Fixed mindset organizations are punishment and retribution oriented. In other words, it sucks to work there.
Growth mindset organizations, conversely, are transparent with their mistakes, as they engage their employees in the process of learning, changing, and improving. They favor openness, honesty, and engaging and praising the process of work, not just outcomes. They view errors and mistakes as gifts to propel them into a better version of themselves.
Apply it
I’d like to say I am always a growth mindset individual, but in all honesty there are plenty of areas in my life where I have, if not subconsciously, come to the conclusion, “This is just the way I am.” The fixed mindset easily bleeds over into professional situations at work, how I parent, how I engage in school, and even in my marriage. I’m thankful for the reminder that there is another way to engage, a way that acknowledges our unending human capacity for growth and change.
What type of mindset will you have today?
Watch Carol Dweck’s TEDx talk here.
Danae Lear 
