“There’s just not enough time in a day.” “That’s never been done before!” “I’m not sure that’s going to work?!”
With all the pressures of today’s busy world, it is no surprise to hear comments like this reverberate through our workplaces as people contend with the pace of change that is currently occurring. It’s easier to limit activities to a set routine of fixed tasks that are proven to get results, rather than take a risk and go out on a limb for something which may not happen. I call this “the difficulties of yes”.
Looking for a better way to do things and saying “yes” to making a change is not a luxury that most can afford given the recent extraordinary pressures and challenges COVID-19 is presenting to the world.
And yet, the pace of change is entirely correlated to the fact that things are changing all around us because someone decided to “make a difference”. Right now we are hearing about people all around the world that are flinging themselves into unfamiliar territory to test the boundaries, despite fear of the unknown. Saying “yes” and trying is better than not having tried at all. They see things that could be better and say “yes” before discovering the “no”. They are either driven by being disaffected by a paralysing sense of dread for things that don’t function the way they should, or they see a gap and opportunity in something that could happen but just isn’t. They have what is known as a ‘Growth Mindset’.
Over 30 years ago, Dr. Carol Dweck – the pioneering American psychologist who taught at Columbia, Harvard, the University of Illinois and Stanford - became interested in students' attitudes about failure. She noticed that some students rebounded while other students seemed devastated by even the smallest setbacks. After studying the behavior of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms ‘Fixed Mindset’ and ‘Growth Mindset’ to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.
We now know, 30 years on, that a lot of it relies on belief – in yourself, in your ideas, in your goals and objectives, and in your purpose. Many stories have been conveyed over how a “never give up” attitude has overcome the odds. Being willing and able to get back up and have another go – to fail forward – is essential to exhibiting a Growth Mindset. Being able to march to the beat of your own drum can often give you the strength of conviction to continue when others stop putting in effort. Before COVID-19 hit the world unexpectedly, we would have felt compelled to be in the office working hard for our colleagues and clients. As some struggle to operate in the emergency situation, we are not giving up. We say “yes” to new modes of working, collaborating and communicating.
It's hard not to point out people like Walt Disney, Elon Musk, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs as great examples of those exhibiting a ‘Growth Mindset’. Recently someone shared with me an amazing example – that of Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen. Allen was in a horrible car crash in 1984 where he lost control of his Corvette while trying to pass another car at high speed, hit a dry stone wall, and was thrown from the car, causing his left arm to be severed. Doctors initially reattached his arm but, because of an infection, it had to be re-amputated. After leaving hospital, Allen developed a system using four electronic pedals for his left foot to play the pieces he used to play with his left arm. Despite the incident, he was ranked No. 7 in 2008 on the UK website Gigwise in The Greatest Drummers of All Time list.
With much of the workforce around the globe working from home in the wake of COVID-19, we are finding new and innovative ways to connect with our clients and help them continue to move projects along. At GHD Digital and throughout our organisation it has been fundamental to our success to apply a digital mindset. Our digital mindset is certainly a ‘Growth Mindset’, with our behaviours aligned to working together with our clients to explore new ways of doing things that drive better business outcomes. Many of the actions undertaken by the team on a daily basis are taking us outside of our comfort zone, working on new tasks which may never have happened before. The levels of empowerment and commitment from the team has grown exponentially as a result and people feel compelled, now more than ever, to operate “outside the box”.
Let us reflect on our current situation - In a challenging and uncertain time with COVID-19, we see thousands of dedicated medical staff working day and night to help people recover, and we can only imagine that they say “yes”. It is in these trying times that we, as communities, need to say “yes” to help humanity so we have a functioning community to return to when this is all over.
For other interesting considerations on how a ‘Growth Mindset’ can make a difference, take a look at the new “Tomorrow’s thinking. Today’s people.” thoughtbook issued by GHD Digital on World Engineering Day, 4th March 2020.
