Where does ability come from? And what leads to greater success?

In her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck, says individuals can be placed on a continuum according to their implicit views of where ability comes from. 

If you believe that success comes from innate ability you have a “fixed” mindset. If, on the other hand, you believe that success is based on hard work, learning, training, and persistence you have a “growth” mindset.

This is important because individuals with a growth mindset are more likely to work hard despite setbacks. Fixed mindset individuals dread failure because it is seen as a negative statement on their basic abilities, while growth mindset individuals don’t mind or fear failure as much because they realize their performance can be improved and learning comes from failure.

In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.

Great leaders praise effort rather than intelligence.

They will say things like, “good job, you worked very hard,” rather than, “good job, you are very smart.” The former develops a growth mindset, while the latter contributes to a fixed mindset.

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.