When covid hit, the world shut down. From the biggest conglomerates to local shops, everyone faced a downward trajectory in growth. Post-recovery has been difficult too. There are still many organizations and companies that are struggling to grow and expand. However, is there a way out for them? Can growth mindset leadership be the game changer for their companies? 

It is a universal truth that almost all leaders want to achieve growth in their organizations or companies. However, there are very few that can live that dream. This is because most leaders fixate on the wrong ideals. They expect too much from their team and lack communication skills, which hinder their ability to express their expectations clearly. Growth mindset leadership can turn the tides for you, here is how. 

What Is a Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is driven by a constant thrive to take on new challenges and not let failure get in your way. Such leaders tend to focus on constant self-learning and have a knack for growth. They are also averse to stagnation and mundaneness, and thrive for excellence in their life.

What Are the Key Differences Between a Growth and Stagnant Mindset?

Growth Mindset	Stagnant mindset
Led by a resilient and courageous leader	Led by a fearful and insecure leader
Looking for silver linings	Giving up easily when things go south
Diversifying revenue streams	Fixated on ‘one suitable pathway’
Inspire emerging leaders	Not concerned with emerging leaders

The Key Characteristics of a Growth Mindset

1. A Positive Mindset

A positive mindset is optimistic and looks for the silver linings wherever they can. If someone wants to see growth in their organization, they need to be thick-skinned and not let the little things get in their way.

2. Resilience and Perseverance

Another characteristic of all leaders who have a growth mindset is resilience and perseverance. Look at the stories of all the famous leaders of history, and you will notice that they remained steadfast and continued fighting wars even if the chances of winning were sleek at best. 

3. Courage to Take Challenges

Courage is an essential attribute associated with leaders. When followers are afraid of failure and risks, leaders lead the path and inspire everyone to let go of their fears. This is true for most growth-minded feminist leaders as well that showed courage even when the world was against them. 

4. Flexibility

Flexible leaders are not fixated on one particular aspect. Although they want to see exponential growth for their company, they are not primarily concerned with how that growth is achieved. You would have seen most growth minded leaders showing flexibility when covid hit. These were the only leaders who were able to diversify their companies and achieve success. 

5. Conflict Management

You can not expect to grow if you have to manage and give in to petty office conflicts now and then. This is why leaders need to practice conflict management on a priority basis. Most such leaders tend to listen well and articulate things in a comforting way, thus making them a pro at management. 

How to Inculcate a Growth Mindset in Your Leadership Style?

While many people believe that a growth mindset is inherent, research indicates that it comes with conscious effort. One needs to prioritize exponential growth if one wants to grow in their leadership capacity. Here are a couple of ways you can do this. 

1. Increase Collaboration Among Team Members

If you want to see a visible difference in your office environment, you need to create an office environment where team members can collaborate. This requires two things. For starters, team members need to develop healthy and cordial boundaries with each other, so that conflicts can be resolved. Next, team members need to be incentivized to work with each other to enhance collaboration. 

2.  Don’t Let Your Team Give Up Too Easily

Another attribute of growth mindset leadership is that they are resilient themselves and demand their team members to show resilience too. No matter how big or humungous the task is, they do not let their team members lose morale or give up. Where most autocratic leaders or exclusive leaders prioritize their growth, team leaders that prioritize growth ensure that the entire team can grow simultaneously. 

3. Encourage Your Team to Take Up Tough Challenges

In the post covid world, organizations and companies are struggling to make a mark in the industry. Those that have already succeeded are facing stagnancy. In the midst of it all, leaders with a growth mindset are rising to the occasion and encouraging others to take up tough challenges. This helps the company explore new avenues and achieve greater heights. 

4. Reward the Effort of Your Team

Most leaders fail because while they encourage their team members to grow and take on new challenges, they do not reward these efforts in much the same way. They either have no bonuses or incentives to give, or they are not secure in their leadership enough to reward good behaviour. Leaders that want growth are different because they realize that extrinsic motivation can work wonders in the office. They hence use this tool in their favour. 

5. When Things Go Wrong, Show Patience

When you are heading an entire team, it is almost impossible that there will not be any conflicts or that your team members will not fail in achieving a particular goal. When things go south, it is the job of a leader to bring back some normalcy and ensure things do not become chaotic. It is hence important to show patience and to motivate others in their worst of times. 

6. Give Constructive Feedback

While leaders need to be agreeable, they also need to be firm and straightforward. Leaders should not have to manipulate their words or show restraint, so they can be liked by everyone. They need to give constructive feedback, even if their employees or associates do not want to listen to it. However, while showing disdain or giving feedback, make sure you also slide in some words of encouragement. This will make your comments more palatable. 

7. Compel Team Members to Take Appropriate Risks

One of the biggest hindrances to growth is that people only want to walk on smooth waters. Even when opportunities knock on their doors, they will resist taking risks because there is a 50-50 chance of success and failure. Leaders of today need to compel their teams to take the appropriate risks to increase their chances of success. They will fail at some and succeed at others, but they will never be able to grow unless they try. 

8. Build an Environment of Psychological Safety

When people are afraid of being harassed, bullied, or mistreated in office, they are unable to show their full potential. They either show a lot of restraint, or they lash out. Both these behaviours diminish the chances of growth. As leaders, you need to ensure the physical and mental safety of your employees; only then can they flourish and fulfil their potential. Make sure to not just create equitable policies, but also implement them. 

9. Appreciate Emerging Leaders

Secure leaders are not threatened by emerging leaders. On the contrary, they are always on the lookout for people who can hold the mantle when they are gone. But identifying emerging leaders can be a task. You need to create avenues and platforms where emerging leaders can come forward and show their potential. Give them room and freedom to chase projects. This will help diversify growth for your organization. 

10. Keep Improving Yourself

One of the biggest reasons why some offices see more growth than others is because their leaders prioritize self-learning. When leaders fixate all their efforts on others without ensuring self-learning, they fix themselves up for doom. If you want your office to follow a culture of self-improvement, you need to set the bar high for everyone else. Make sure you learn new skills and continue inspiring others to do the same. 

Develop a Growth Mindset Leadership Style With Best Diplomats

All the training courses and conferences at Best Diplomats are designed in a way that encourages constant growth and self-learning. By ensuring self-awareness in the participants, Best Diplomats aims at widening their horizons.

It arranges training programs all over the world and invites young and passionate individuals from more than 80 nations. The plethora of diversity you get to see here is absent in all the other programs. You get to meet people belonging to all kinds of societies and backgrounds. This helps improve your interpersonal and diplomatic skills. 

Conclusion

In today’s world, you can not just do the bare minimum and expect everything to go your way automatically. To grow exponentially and have your organization do the same, you need to improve your skill, hire a diverse group of people and motivate and encourage your employees to take appropriate risks. Additionally, you need to have the right mindset: a mindset that is not afraid of failure, a mind that is always ready to take on new challenges. 

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