Growth Mindset Plan
Carol Dweck presents the concept of the growth mindset that is essential in both personal and organizational settings. In adopting the mindset, individuals learn to view setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than to see them as barriers to their learning (Dweck, 2006). This promotes continuous learning which is crucial in the workplace and to the success of my innovation plan to implement automation in Banner for financial aid staff. This plan is designed to develop a growth mindset culture to all staff in higher education and create a path of learning and improvement over time.
Why the Growth Mindset is Essential
A growth mindset promotes resilience, adaptability, and a sense of ownership over personal and professional development. It allows for individuals to take on challenges, view setbacks as learning experiences, and reflect to be able to grow as person. In our organization, promoting a growth mindset is beneficial as we implement automated processes that will require to learn new skills and adjustments to manual workflows.
The Four Steps and Implementation
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Acknowledge and Embrace Challenges
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Strategy: Organize training sessions in which staff share feedback on challenges, how they perceived them, and how they solved them. This will reinforce the concept that taking on challenges is a part of the growth process.
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Resources: Research real-life cases and articles on growth mindset successes. This can help you understand the benefits of embracing challenges.
2. Learn from Mistakes and Failures
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Strategy: Organize Q&A meetings where staff can discuss mistakes and challenges openly. Open discussions will aim to shift the focus of failure and promote an environment where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities.
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Resources: Grant access to resources such as Dweck’s TED Talk the Power of Believing That you Can Improve and similar articles on learning from setbacks.
3. Use the word “Yet”
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Strategy: Encourage the use of “yet” across all forms of communication. If an individual states, “I can’t use this automation tool”, then shift their thinking and rephrase it to “I can’t use this automation tool yet.” This shift in language will strengthen the mindset that skills can be developed over time (Dweck, 2015).
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Resources: Provide visual reminders across the department such as posters, weekly emails, and training sessions that focus on the power of “yet”.
4. Take action on Feedback
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Strategy: Implement an environment where feedback is given positively and constructively. Having feedback sessions can allow staff to learn to receive feedback as a tool for growth rather than disapproval.
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Resources: Grant access to articles and videos on positive feedback. Creating workshops on giving and receiving feedback can be beneficial to staff within the department.
Communicating the message of “Yet”
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To help push the concept of “yet” throughout my organization, I will implement it into our trainings and development sessions. Providing visual aids that feature quotes or staff testimonials can help push the concept of “yet”. Training leaders to reinforce this language can help normalize everyday interactions with staff in the department.
Timeline and Promotion
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The growth mindset will be showcased consistently in an initial training where this concept will be introduced to everyone and promote the purpose. To further push this concept, weekly meetings that contain brief moments of growth can reinforce this mindset with individuals who are reluctant to change. Having continuous forms of communication such as emails, team building events, and one-on-one sessions will continue to evolve the vision of the growth mindset.
Impact of Growth Mindset on Program Engagement
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The growth mindset will be the foundation of innovating technology in the workplace. This will promote an environment where new ideas can be created, provide different methods to push through challenges, and focus on continuous learning. In exploring these strategies and implementing these new tools, this will guide me to push through setbacks and stay focused on the end goal.
References
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Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Dweck, C. (2015, September 22). Carol Dweck revisits the “growth mindset” (opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09