Three things leaders can do to create Cultures of Growth

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

In a previous post, I offered tips to Culture Creators for leaning into a growth mindset culture, and one of them was to be intentional about your role in creating the culture you want to see. I shared a few ways leaders can embody a growth mindset and drive cultural change. Here, I want to follow up with some low-lift examples you can start to incorporate into your daily and weekly activities.

1. Commit to doing one growth minded behavior each week: One of my favorite growth-minded behaviors is called “My Favorite Mistake.” With “My Favorite Mistake,” you can introduce one thing you learned from something that didn’t go right in the last week, month, or quarter. I like to leave time at the beginning or end of team meetings to share mine and also leave space for others to share things they have learned in the course of their work.

2. Gather feedback from those that you lead on a regular basis: Transparency is a key component of managing culture change and it’s important to share why you want your teams to embody a growth mindset. Share your expectations and plans for support for your team and make time for your team to share expectations and plans for support for one another. Also, solicit feedback at a regular cadence to ensure that you and your team are holding each other accountable to achieving a growth mindset.

3. Celebrate wins, large and small: Learning is an essential component of a Culture of Growth. A great way to create space for learning is to find moments to celebrate team and individual successes. Praise, much like feedback, is most effective when you are aware of the way people like to receive it. For example, public praise can be effective, because it helps illuminate the contributions of all team members. Yet, some may feel embarrassed if they aren’t used to or comfortable with being praised in public. Share with your teams that you would like to start creating spaces where you can share praise and congratulations with one another and ask for them to share their level of comfort with public praise in your 1-on-1 meetings. Having this information will get you the best results when looking to reward people for their contributions to your culture.

What are some strategies and tactics that you have found effectively demonstrate you’re embodying a growth mindset? Please share in the comments below.