Growth mindset isn’t a personality trait you claim.
It’s a system your culture and team can see.
Build it with radical kindness, visible practices, and 30 days of simple rituals.
I hear it constantly in executive coaching sessions: “We have a growth mindset here.”
Then I hear that in the next team meeting and watch dissent get shut down, risk-taking quietly punished, and learning framed as rework.
Leaders aren’t lying. They believe they’re fostering growth. Their teams just aren’t experiencing it.
The point: You don’t “have” a growth mindset.
Your team can either see it in your practices, or they can’t.
The Litmus Test
Ask your team: “How would you know I’m a growth-minded leader?”
If the room stalls, you’ve got a visibility problem—not a values problem.
Indicators you’re close:
People volunteer dissent without bracing.
“What we learned” shows up in agendas, docs, and retros.
Recognition includes smart risks and clean recoveries—not just wins.
Shift #1 — Personal Achievement → Collective Learning
What’s happening now: Development is a solo sport. Stars collect badges; the system doesn’t evolve.
Make it visible (today):
Language swap: “I need you to succeed” → “I need us to learn.”
Cadence: Add a 10-minute Learning Loop to your weekly staff.
Artifact: A living Decision Log: hypothesis → bet → outcome → lesson → next move.
Leader script:
“Two minutes each: What did we try? What surprised us? What do we change next week?”
Metric: Time-to-insight — days from action to lesson. Shorter is better.
Shift #2 — Praising Outcomes → Honoring Process
What’s happening now: Perfect results get applause; struggle goes underground.
Make it visible (today):
Recognition rule: Celebrate smart risk + clean recovery.
Post-mortems: Replace “Who messed up?” with “Which assumption failed us?”
Growth stack: Each goal includes a skill you’re building, not just a number.
Leader script:
“Name one skill you’re actively improving this quarter. I’ll go first: I’m asking one more question before advice.”
Metrics: Intelligent experiments per quarter and experiments shipped by ICs.
“Perfection is a terrible teacher. Process is a generous one.”
Shift #3 — Inclusion Programs → Inclusive Practices
What’s happening now: Belonging is a side project; decisions still come from the same three voices.
Make it visible (today):
Default question: “Whose voice is missing?” Ask it before decisions.
Red/Blue team: Rotate who stress-tests assumptions.
Meeting mechanics: Two-minute silent write-up before discussion to level the floor.
Why it matters: This unlocks the folks who’ve felt pressure to compartmentalize—LGBTQ+ pros included. When leaders normalize different lenses, talent stops armoring up and starts contributing.
Metrics: Speak-up rate (unique contributors per meeting) and decision durability (how often decisions hold without rewrite).
“Inclusion isn’t a program. It’s how decisions get made.”
Rituals You Can Borrow
Monday – Hypothesis Board (10 min): Three bets for the week. Owners, signals, checkpoint.
Wednesday – Learning Stand-Up (10 min): What changed in our model since Monday?
Friday – Receipt Run (10 min): Screenshots, clips, quotes—evidence we learned. No slides.
Two Meeting Rules:
No solutioning for five minutes. Questions only.
Leader speaks last. Gravity > volume.
A 30-Day Sprint Suggestion
Week 1 – See it: Shadow two recurring meetings; tally who speaks and when dissent shows. Share the data.
Week 2 – Signal it: Add the Learning Loop and “Who’s missing?” to every decision. Model it yourself.
Week 3 – Systemize it: Launch the Decision Log; add growth goals to performance plans; set the risk+recovery recognition rule.
Week 4 – Scale it: Pick two managers to pilot. Pair them as peer coaches. Review metrics together.
By Day 30: more voices, more experiments, less performative certainty, faster iteration.
Common Pushbacks to Consider
“We don’t have time.” You’re already spending it—on cleanup. Learning faster is the only schedule relief that compounds.
“People should know this.” If it isn’t in the system, it isn’t real.
“What if experiments fail?” They will. Aim for cheap failure, rich learning, quick recovery—on purpose.
If You Remember One Thing
You don’t declare a growth mindset.
You operationalize it—so everyone can see it.
Book a Consultation with Me!
Planning your 2026 culture and performance roadmap? I’m booking a limited number of coaching, advisory, and group training engagements for Q1–Q2. Hit reply or use the button above.
Bonus Gift
Free one-pager : Growth Mindset → System Checklist
Print it, post it, practice it.
Jim Fielding — Author of All Pride, No Ego, executive coach, and host of Jim Fielding & Friends.
I help leaders build cultures of kindness, clarity, and courage that actually perform.
As always, I am so grateful for your time, interest, and support.
In Community and Conversation,
Jim