I’m sitting in my car at 6:45 a.m., repeatedly counting to four while focused on my breathing, slowly in, 2, 3, 4…and out, 2, 3, 4. It’s Tuesday morning and I am about to enter my doctor’s office to discuss my test results.
Just breathe, I tell myself. And then after a minute or two, I feel my anxiety lessen as I’m able to relax my body and begin to think differently about my situation. Thank goodness I was actually early for this appointment (which is downright amazing at that hour!) so I had time to shift and be more open to what I was about to hear.
Upon reflection of my anxious behavior, I realized I had a fixed mindset regarding this appointment. I just knew the news would be bad based on prior experiences. And by repeating that story in my head for the days leading up to the appointment, I had created a fixed mindset.
Mindset Magic: How Culture Shapes Success
The way we frame what’s happening around us impacts how we respond, and that response impacts our health, relationships, and well-being. It also impacts how we work; organizational culture is a direct result of the mindset the organization holds.
Take a look around. Is your workplace mindset supporting the desired culture?
Let’s say your organization has a stated preference to promote from within, so you post promotional opportunities internally and encourage team members to apply. However, making mistakes is seen as a sign of weakness or lack of effort, meaning if you tried new things that inevitably weren’t perfect from the get-go, you’re not a strong candidate for promotion. This creates a disconnect and results in the organization hiring from the outside - where they don’t know about the candidate’s prior mistakes (and they could be much worse!).
To address this disconnect, consider how you can:
- Embrace continuous learning: Offer mentoring, coaching and skills development opportunities to work collaboratively across teams.
- Set growth-oriented goals: Focus on progress and adaptability with development-focused feedback.
- Provide Psychological Safety: Encourage open discussions and normalize failure as part of learning.
Your mindset plays a crucial role in your overall well-being, so it’s kind of a big deal for you personally and in the workplace.
Organizations that normalize and encourage growth mindsets will shape their success.
As for me, the test results weren’t nearly as bad as what I had created in my head. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.