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Why Potential is more Important By Gemma Leigh Roberts - Mindset Matters than Talent According to Jeff Bezos, we shouldn't fall into the trap of taking pride in our natural talents. In an interview discussing his management style and philosophy, the Amazon founder explained that although he believes we should celebrate natural talents, we can't be proud of them because they were given to us; we were born with them. We can and should be proud of our choices, such as studying hard, practicing repeatedly, and working to hone our skills and use them well. Relying on talent to reach our goals is a trap that is easy to fall into, especially if we're naturally good at certain activities. We've all likely come across highly talented people - whether that be athletically, academically, musically, or artistically - but haven't achieved their potential. On the flip side, some people have moderate amounts of talent yet work relentlessly to turn that into achievement. However, as I delve into in my new book, Mindset Matters, those who excel combine talent with hard work and focus. Practice is often a higher predictor of outcome than talent alone - and this is where our potential lies - where we learn what works and what doesn't, figure out how to adjust our approach based on mistakes, and gain knowledge that we need to perform in the long run.
Using a Growth Mindset to Flourish So how do we make sure we don't fall into this trap? I believe the answer lies in nurturing a growth mindset, which is all about believing that you can develop skills and abilities over time - if you're committed to making this happen. This is the opposite of a fixed mindset, where you believe abilities and skills are either present (you have them) or not present (you don't have them), and are shaped entirely by the level of talent you were born with. If you have a fixed mindset, you believe your skills and abilities are unlikely to change significantly, even if you try to make this happen. Nurturing a growth mindset doesn't eliminate the talent factor - there's no doubt that talent is a brilliant launchpad for achievement. If we're lucky enough to have a talent that's also a passion, developing skills associated with that talent is usually easier and can
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foster a great sense of fulfilment. However, a growth mindset does help us understand that no matter what challenges, changes or complexity is thrown our way, we can move forward by focusing on learning and testing new ways of doing things - an approach that will help us thrive in an increasingly complicated and uncertain working world. You can use many strategies to help you nurture a growth mindset. I've chosen three simple coaching exercises from my new book Mindset Matters, which can help you shift how you think about your talents and abilities. Strategy #1: Embrace Continual and Incremental Improvement If we want to succeed in today's workplace, we have no choice but to embrace learning. The world is changing so quickly that we must adapt as we go. Leaders and professionals across all fields can no longer rely on experience alone to forge new paths forward - the skills they've honed may become ineffective or obsolete as the world of work evolves. Those who are performing well and have a fixed mindset can become complacent, assuming their talent will keep them at the top of their game, which is risky. According to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, a learn-it-all is a more successful and valuable employee than a know-it-all. He encourages Microsoft employees to think of themselves as students rather than experts. To focus on small ways to keep moving forward in your career, you can apply principles based on the 'kaizen' methodology - a Japanese process that refers to continuous improvement across all business functions in the workplace. As I shared in a coaching video on Instagram earlier today, a simple technique you can use to develop a growth mindset and boost your performance is the 'review, refine, repeat' exercise, which I often share with coaching clients. The idea is you review your week -consider what has gone well, and not so well, then refine your approach by making small tweaks to how you do things the following week. Finally, you repeat this process weekly. Strategy #2: Add 'Yet' to your Story This is an incredibly simple technique and is about
understanding that you're on a learning journey, and just because you haven't achieved what you set out to, it doesn't mean you never will. This exercise involves adding the word 'yet' to the end of a sentence when thinking or talking about progress towards your goals. For example, if you think 'I didn't get funding for my project', change it to 'I haven't managed to secure funding yet.' You can do this with any situation that may feel disappointing - I haven't found a solution yet; I haven't secured that promotion yet. When you begin to frame events as works in progress, you can start to view your current situation as the middle of your story - you haven't reached the finale yet, but you're on the journey. Strategy #3: Appreciate all the Failures Growth always entails entry into uncharted territory. As you take on novel challenges, attempt to find new solutions, or focus on broadening your understanding, you won't always be successful in achieving what you set out to do right away. In fact, you may feel like you've failed, which can be uncomfortable. However, learning to fail is critical in today's workplace and the workplace of the future - it's often the big pushes into the unknown that can create tremendous results. If you can shift your perspective to view adverse events as part of the process of reaching an effective and positive solution, mistakes and challenges can be used to your advantage. One way to turn failures into learning experiences is to create a failure wall. Document all your efforts that haven't been fruitful or produced the results you wanted, and display them somewhere. Maybe your interview didn't go as planned, you didn't get that promotion, or you didn't achieve the reaction you wanted after delivering a presentation. These are potentially painful experiences, but looking at the work you've put in will help you appreciate the effort you've made so far and see that many failures pave the road to successful outcomes.
Your Mindset... What are your tips for developing a growth mindset? Are there any exercises or strategies you use to nurture a growth mindset?
