Dare to Succeed! Developing a Growth Mindset Habit

When I was in sales for a laptop manufacturer back in the 1990s, I was regularly given sales targets to reach. Set by the Sales Director, these targets were also considered my performance targets. But I was never offered any development!

No one ever asked me what I’d like to do to improve, what my aspirations were, and what the company could do to help support me in that improvement. So typical of the times.

Nowadays, companies recognise that staff value professional development for their future career. Companies who nurture their people to help them learn both for their own benefits and to perform well in their roles also tend to have better staff retention.

Certifiable courses provide credentials that your staff can add to their CVs and helps them achieve their development targets, proving that you’re an employer of choice.

Discussing Personal Development

If you don’t already, find time at least once a month, ideally weekly, to connect with every individual in your team. Check in on how they’re progressing with their goals and ambitions. Let them take the lead in discussing what their career path is; resist the urge to jump in with your thoughts! Initially, at least. And provide them with opportunities to work towards.

Regular connection not only helps them to develop their learning and progress within their career, but it makes them feel supported and motivated. In turn, you should find their performance and loyalty improving.

Sending your team on courses and workshops to help them improve their presentation or project management skills, for instance, increases their experience and benefits your organisation. It’s a win-win situation!

Not forgetting yourself, of course! Wherever you are in your organisation’s hierarchy, talk to your boss about becoming a better, more knowledgeable version of you.

Motivating Techniques

The GROW model:

One powerful, but simple to implement, technique to help with development is my GROW model. Successfully used in goal setting and many other growth and learning scenarios, it helps you to create new habits and keep focused.

Setting achievable tasks and goals is crucial. Don’t expect someone to learn how to do programming in a month – that would be too overwhelming, demotivating that person. To keep their confidence growing, allow them more time to achieve goals in bite-sized chunks.

Plan, Do, Review:

When you or your team have performed a task, instead of thinking: ‘Great, done that. It went quite well,’ say: ‘That was good, but how can I/we be better?’

This is a perfect opportunity to study the process taken. Break it down into smaller chunks to see where improvements can be made. Then, make a new plan for the next time, reviewing it again after the event to refine the process even further.

During my Judo career, we would always have a discussion after the fight, watching videos if available, to see what small changes we could make. Even if I’d won. Because next time, through practising using the changes noted, I could be even better. Especially when I really listened to my coach!

Practise Makes Progression:

I often say the phrase ‘Practise Makes Progression’ during my workshops and talks. I love this phrase; both because it’s so true, and because my wife, Debbie, came up with it when she was a teacher.

Regular practise is the only way to master those essential skills in your chosen profession, ultimately leading to success. This is true for athletes as well as leaders in industry – I did hours of training to compete in past Paralympic Games.

Positive Feedback:

There are times when you need to give a team member some advice about doing things a better way. Rather than simply saying, ‘Don’t do it this way, do it that way,’ which can leave them feeling demotivated, try using the Praise Sandwich approach (there is a more vulgar name, but we’ll stick to this one!). This is where you make two positive statements before and after a negative one.

Many people don’t agree with the Praise Sandwich, usually because it’s not carried out very well. Or when it’s used for firing purposes! ‘You’re good at your job. But we don’t like the way you do it. Another company would appreciate your skills. Bye!’ Yeah, that works well, doesn’t it?!

The Praise Sandwich can really add value when giving developmental feedback. Choose your words carefully to praise someone for their improvement in a specific task, then mention an area where you know they can improve and advise on how they can do that. Finish with more praise for another aspect of their performance.

As a leader, giving your team the recognition that they need helps them to feel valued. Regularly congratulating them, letting them know that they’ve done well and achieved their targets, boosts morale, improves relationships and builds trust. Then, during tougher times when performance, conduct or return to work conversations need to be had, your ‘trust bank account’ is full. Then it’s easier to have those tricky conversations.

Invest to Success

When you invest in people, it motivates your team and improves your reputation as a leader. Developing a L&D strategy to do that helps. Because when you look after the wellbeing of your people, it has a beneficial effect on your organisation too.

So, consider what training, courses and other wellbeing support you can offer your team. You could start with some of my workshops to help improve skills, motivation and resilience.