Attitude matters. A lot.

If you think you can improve with hard work, you can.

If you believe performance is limited by talent or physical characteristics, it is.

Both are true. Talent matters. Anatomy makes a difference. But with the right attitude, you can overcome the limits of natural ability.

Professional basketball player Muggsy Bogues is only 5 foot 3 inches (160 cm) tall and led his team in career assists and steals.

Sara Blakely hit her stride only after failing to pass the law school entrance exam—twice. She later founded Spanx, turning an initial $5,000 investment into a billion-dollar business.

What do they have in common? The right attitude.

The Growth Mindset

It’s not just about working harder. What’s required is goal-directed effort. Psychologist Carol Dweck calls the attitude for improvement a growth mindset—the belief that you can develop excellence with time and effort. A growth mindset allows you to work smarter by setting goals, trying new approaches, and learning from mistakes.

Making mistakes is a clear signal that you are stretching yourself. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, says “be okay with failure and reward effort, not outcomes.” This creates space for innovation and growth. People naturally want to succeed, and effort will pave the way for improvement over time.

Exercise Your Growth Mindset 

Stretch yourself. Imagine mindset as a “mental muscle” you can train and develop with exercise. What are your stretch goals? What steps can you take towards reaching them? What is stopping you?

Reward effort, not (only) outcomes. Talk about team effort. Thank people for their actions. Congratulate yourself and others for working towards goals.

Seek and learn from feedback. View feedback as input for improvement rather than criticism. Seek feedback from colleagues who have a different point of view or approach.

Set a mistake budget. That’s right. Try to make mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not learning. Avoid making the same mistake twice—make a new one instead 😊.

Share your slip-ups, not just success stories. It is easier to share our success stories than failures. However, we learn more from failure. Create a culture where people feel safe sharing mistakes. The best way to get started is to be a role model and share a mistake you made.

References

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House Publishing Group.

Grant, A. (2023). Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. Viking.

Luna, J. (2022, June 17). Sundar Pichai: “Reward Effort, Not Outcomes” . Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash