Mindsets: Developing Talent Through a Growth Mindset Winning Scotland Foundation September 19, 2008.

Mindsets:Developing Talent Through a Growth Mindset

Winning Scotland Foundation

September 19, 2008

“I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures… I divide the world into the learners and nonlearners.”

- Benjamin Barber

Mindsets

• Fixed Mindset: Intelligence/talent is a fixed trait

…Myth of the “natural”

• Growth Mindset: Intelligence is a malleable quality; a potential that can be developed

…Talent is a starting point

Mindsets

• Which mindset is correct?

• Which mindset is most popular?

• Do people hold the same mindsets across different areas?

• Are the mindsets related to people’s ability?

• Can mindsets be changed?

How the Mindsets Work?

The Mindset Rules

Rule #1

Fixed Mindset:

LOOK SMART OR TALENTED AT ALL COSTS

Growth Mindset:

LEARN, LEARN, LEARN

Times of Transition

MindsetsLooking Smart vs. Learning

Fixed Mindset “The main thing I want when I do my

school work is to show how good I am at it.”

Growth Mindset “It’s much more important for me to learn

things in my classes than it is to get the best grades.”

Where Does This Lead?Math Grades

7272.5

7373.5

7474.5

7575.5

7676.5

77

Fall Year1

Spring Year1

Fall Year2

Spring Year2

FixedGrowth

growth

fixed

Pre-Med Study

Pre-Med Chemistry Grades

2.2

2.5

2.8

3.1

Fixed Growth

Hong Kong

University of Hong Kong

Who Chooses to Repair a Crucial Deficiency?

3

4

5

6

7

8

FIXED GROWTH

I

nter

est i

n E

nglis

h C

ours

e

Scott Forstall & The iPhone

Tiger Woods

• Youngest Masters winner

• Lowest score ever• Took apart his game

and restructured it.

Rule #2

Fixed: DON’T WORK TOO HARD“To tell the truth, when I work hard at my school

work it makes me feel like I’m not very smart.”

Growth: WORK HARD, EFFORT IS KEY “The harder you work at something, the better

you’ll be at it.”

• High effort=low ability: Worst belief anyone can have

• This is why many gifted athletes fail

Effort Beliefs Predict Performance in College Soccer

Measures

• Athletic ability is ____% natural talent and ____% effort/practice

• Players were assigned 2 points for each goal scored and 1 point for each assist that resulted in a goal

• None of the participants were goalkeepers.

Correlation BetweenEffort Beliefs and Points Earned

Belief in Effort Predicts Higher Performance Over the Season

Rule #3

IN THE FACE OF SETBACKS…

Fixed Mindset:CONCEAL MISTAKES OR DEFICIENCIES

Growth Mindset:EMBRACE MISTAKES, CONFRONT

DEFICIENCIES

Mistakes = Lack of Ability

After a failure…

Fixed Mindset: “I’d spend less time on this subject from now on.”“I would try not to take this subject ever again.”“I would try to cheat on the next test.”

Growth Mindset:“I would work harder in this class from now on.” “I would spend more time studying for the tests.”

REPAIRING SELF-ESTEEMComparing Ourselves to Those

Below Us or Above Us?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

FIXED GROWTH

Lev

el o

f S

trat

egie

s

Exa

min

ed

Practicing Your Strength or WeaknessPercentage Selecting Tutorial on the Topic They Failed

0

20

40

60

80

100

FIXED 52% GROWTH 90%

Per

cent

age

CHRIS HOYIN 2005, HIS SPECIALTY WAS ELIMINATED FROM THE OLYMPICS; HE HAD TO REINVENT HIMSELF.

Chris HoyWhy he surpassed the “talented” kids

“Maybe because they were so gifted and won so easily, they didn’t really have the desire to work hard when they had to, and they also didn’t like the feeling of losing when it happened.”

From Orr & Kemp, “Be a Winner”

Deflecting the Blame

• Sergio Garcia

• John McEnroe

• Colin Montgomerie

COLIN MONTGOMERIEPutting is not a strong feature of his game.

He is noted for his lack of focus, and quite often becomes distracted by seemingly very minor incidents.

When not playing well, tantrums and blaming others.

Mindset and Flow

Racing Car Drivers

MindsetIs Athletic Ability Fixed?

• 1. You have a certain level of athletic ability, and you cannot really do much to change that.

• 2. Your core athletic ability cannot really be changed.

• 3. You can learn new things, but you can't really change your basic athletic ability.

Mindset and FlowGrowth Mindset Predicts More In-the-Zone Races

Correlation BetweenMindset and Flow

Mindset Predicts Loss of Self-Consciousness

Where Do Mindsets Come From?

Messages We Send

Praise Sends A Message

Intelligence Praise: “That’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.”

Effort/Process Praise: “That’s a really good score. You must have tried really hard.”

Effects of Intelligence vs. Effort Praise

• Mindset: Fixed vs. Growth

• Goals: Looking smart vs. Learning

After Difficult Trial:

• Motivation: Low vs. High

• Performance: Decreased vs. Increased

Number of problems solved on Trial 1 (before failure) and

Trial 3 (after failure).

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

Trial 1 Trial 3

Effort PraiseControl PraiseIntelligence Praise

Num

ber

of P

robl

ems

Solv

ed

Lying Students who misrepresented their scores

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Intelligence Control Effort

Type of Praise Given

College Coaches Asks…

Where are the coachable athletes?

Can Mindsets Be Changed?

How Intelligence (Talent) is Portrayed

Change in Math Grades Blackwell, Dweck, & Trzesniewski, 2007

2.22.32.42.52.62.72.82.9

3T

ime

1

Tim

e 2

(Pre

-In

terv

enti

on)

Tim

e 3

(Pos

t-In

terv

enti

on)

ControlGrowth

Percent Identified as Increasing in Motivation

9

27

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Control Growth

Brainology

Visit to Brain Lab

Mad Scientist

Brain Experiments

The Learning Brain

Have you changed your mind about anything?

• Yes … I imagine neurons making connections in my brain and I feel like I am learning something. (biggie)

• My favorite thing from Brainology is the neurons part where when u learn something there are connections and they keep growing. I always picture them when I’m in school (khadija)

On a personal level the belief in growth allows us to:

• Embrace learning.

• Welcome challenges, mistakes, and feedback

• Understand the role of effort in creating talent

At the team level, a growth mindset staff:

• Portrays skills as acquirable

• Values passion, effort, improvement (and teamwork), not just natural talent

• Presents staff as mentors vs. judges

Thank you!

ANDY MURRAY“When you’re playing against guys who are really consistent, you have to find three or four ways to win points, and not just with your serve,” says Murray of his multi-dimensional arsenal.

Brother, Jamie, was the “natural.”

Changing

Mindsets

in

Organizations(Peter Heslin & colleagues)

Before Workshop

• Fixed mindset managers don’t notice improvement--first impressions last

• Fixed mindset managers don’t mentor their employees as much--people can’t change

• Fixed mindset managers can’t take criticism

Mindset Workshop for Managers

• Scientific article and video on how the brain grows with learning throughout life

• Exercises to instill a growth mindset

After

After receiving a growth mindset workshop, managers showed greater:

• Openness to employee change• Willingness to mentor and higher quality of

mentoring• Openness to critical feedback