Be careful what you believe. For years now they have been teaching our youngest kids to have a “growth mindset”.
It’s become something leaders aspire to practice as well.
A lot of that work was done on faith, and because the concept ‘made sense’.
Turns out it doesn’t work like people had hoped.
Well, a recent large-scale study found a weak relationship between “growth mindset” and academic achievement. That weak effect was stronger for younger kids than adolescents and adults.
They also found that programs designed to enhance growth mindset for kids had a very small effect on academic achievement. But perhaps it has other, unmeasured, benefits?
Okay, possibly…but does that “maybe” make it worth the time and resource (and potential opportunity cost) required to expose our children to it across the nation? …or the leaders in our organization?
What does that mean for the world of work and leadership? The data are still not in for those, unfortunately. But I will say that any programs or findings in leadership will have limited value unless they link into the actions of the leader…what we say and do each day is what drives business results…and personal results too.
It’s interesting to me that people are always on the lookout for something new, even when there are highly effective solutions already available.
If you want to learn stuff that truly works for leaders, kids, coworkers, and even pets…as confirmed since the 1960’s…comment below or email me.
Stop wasting your time on fads.
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*This originally appeared on LinkedIn. If you’d like to join the conversation, click here:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/reachingresults_leadership-behavioranalysis-reachingresults-activity-6627547442843828224-QyKl
