Foster a Growth, Not a Fixed Mindset

FOUNDATIONAL Refreshed: 26 September 2017 | Published: 13 May 2016 ID: G00308083

Analyst(s): Elise Olding, Graham Waller

A growth mindset enables an enterprise to thrive on challenge, use failure as

a way to move forward and embrace continuous learning. CIOs must learn
how to develop a growth mindset critical to building an innovative culture
that will thrive in the era of digital business.

FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENT
This research is reviewed periodically for accuracy. Last reviewed on 26 September 2017.

Key Findings
■ The fixed mindset asserts that character, intelligence and creative ability are fixed traits for each
individual. This mistaken belief stymies an enterprise's innovation because employees are not
willing to take on challenges for fear that failure will point out their shortcomings.
■ The growth mindset believes that people can get better over time at what they do and
significantly change their skills and outlook. This mindset stimulates an enterprise's innovation
because of its focus on learning and growing as the way to reach a goal.
■ Everyone is a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets, and that mixture continually evolves with
experience. Mindsets can also be changed to foster a growth mindset that is well-matched for
enterprises navigating the uncertainty associated with digital business transformation.
■ If you treat all employees as high-potential, you may create a self-fulfilling prophesy that
exemplifies the growth mindset. A self-fulfilling prophesy is a belief that comes true because we
act as if it were already true.

Recommendations
CIOs who want to use the growth mindset to navigate the uncertainty of digital business
transformation should:

■ Spot the actions that demonstrate a fixed mindset in their enterprise, and actively encourage
employees to take on challenges.
 ■ Reward the effort, strategies and progress of employees to build the organization's capability to
deal with ambiguity and contribute to digital business transformation success.
■ Demonstrate the leadership actions that set the stage and foster a growth mindset throughout
the enterprise.

Table of Contents

Analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 2
Spot the Signals that Demonstrate a Fixed Mindset and Banish Blame.............................................3
Establish a Growth Mindset.............................................................................................................. 3
Leadership Practices to Foster the Growth Mindset....................................................................4
The Growth Mindset Is Not a Panacea........................................................................................6
Gartner Recommended Reading............................................................................................................ 7

Analysis
Introduction
The journey to digital business is an uncertain one. There are few tried and true practices, and the
path varies for each enterprise. The transformation encompasses process, technology and people.
The enterprises that succeed are experimenting with a keen focus of "learning forward" to apply
insights to subsequent experiments and make continual progress on the road to becoming a digital
business. In digital business, mindset matters.

A mindset is a way of thinking that permeates the way people work and lead their lives. Mindset
also affects people's relationships with success and failure. Carol Dweck, the Lewis and Virginia
Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and expert on mindsets, has identified two
types of mindsets that impact our beliefs and subsequent actions: the fixed mindset and the growth
1
mindset.

■ The fixed mindset is one of absolutes. People with a fixed mindset believe their basic qualities
like character, intelligence and creative ability are fixed traits. They believe that these innate
talents are the reasons for their success, not effort. Those who hold a fixed mindset will avoid
tough challenges that may end in failure, for fear of seeming less intelligent or less talented. This
mindset can support a risk-averse culture.
■ A growth mindset embraces that basic qualities can be developed through hard work, good
strategies and input from others. Intelligence and talent are the starting points, supplemented
by continual learning. Those who embrace this mindset see challenges as opportunities to grow
and learn, and they are resilient, even when faced with failure.

Page 2 of 9 Gartner, Inc. | G00308083

 Given the inherent uncertainty that surrounds digital business transformation, it is critical to
understand how the core beliefs of our mindsets frame attitudes and behaviors toward uncertainty.
The growth mindset is well-matched to uncertainty, as it enables an enterprise to embrace
uncertainty as a challenge that will be tackled with successive learning along the way. The good
news is mindsets can be changed — we have a choice. As Dweck asserts, "Mindsets are just
beliefs. They're powerful beliefs but they're just something in your mind, and you can change your
mind." A fixed mindset is not static. This research examines how to spot the fixed mindset and, as
appropriate, encourage the use of the growth mindset.

Spot the Signals that Demonstrate a Fixed Mindset and Banish Blame
Underlying beliefs that intelligence and talent are fixed permeate many enterprises. Performance
management systems measure success and seldom take into account how much learning has
occurred, or if an employee has the courage to tackle a tough challenge. Promotions are based on
accomplishments, not stretching abilities. Many of these beliefs and behaviors keep hold on an
organization to operate with a fixed mindset.

A common misconception is that we are born with a finite number of neural cells, which are not
replaced and constitute a fixed capacity. In fact, the brain has the potential to create new neural
pathways as an effect of environmental, behavioral and neural changes — a capacity scientists call
neuroplasticity. New neural pathways are created when one learns something new, and through
practice they enable one to become better at a new skill. It had been thought that the ability to
develop new neural pathways slowed around the age of 20, becoming permanently fixed at around
age 40. Scientists are now proving that people have the capacity for lifelong learning and continued
2
brain development — even the elderly.

In a fixed mindset organization, employees may not want to take on challenges. They may be
worried that if they fail it will make them appear stupid, and since intelligence is "fixed" this could
haunt them for their tenure and affect their career progression. They will worry about not meeting
the expectations of others and see leadership behaviors inadvertently reinforcing fixed mindset
actions. This mindset can negatively impact situations such as digital business transformation
where creativity and innovation enable pilots and experiments that will create a path forward (see
"The Psychology of Serial Innovation").

Another symptom of the fixed mindset is a lack of accountability throughout the organization. When
things go wrong it is because of "another group." Blame becomes the way to save face by
identifying a group or person who did worse or made a mistake. Fortunately, mindsets aren't static.

Establish a Growth Mindset

Leaders who openly recognize and reward people for taking initiatives and coming up with creative
solutions will encourage more of the same. Employees' brains are muscles that needs to be
exercised. This is done by working through tough challenges — getting comfortable with ambiguity
and being able to deal with the confusion that confronts us when we don't know what the next
moves are. Dweck points to this way of working — "stretching the brain" — as creating more
neurons and building capabilities.

Gartner, Inc. | G00308083 Page 3 of 9

 The values that leaders exemplify can set the foundation for an enterprise that embraces the growth
mindset. It is not reasonable to look to banish the fixed mindset completely, but it is important to
significantly shift the focus to the wider adoption of the growth mindset. The following principles can
be used by leaders to identify, encourage, acknowledge and reward behavior that reflects a growth
mindset:

■ We value passion, dedication, growth and learning.

■ We don't expect that you are always an expert; you are here to learn and grow.
■ We expect you to try, stretch and take reasonable risks.
■ We reward teamwork, effort and process — not just success.
■ We learn from failures and apply those lessons to the next time.

It is important to note that these growth mindset principles are not just about praising effort. Results
always matter. Resources wasted on an ill-thought-out idea that doesn't generate learning are never
good in any situation. It is important to encourage and reward the learning and progress, together
with supporting behaviors such as teamwork, the ability to accept criticism, and using critical
thinking. Results will come from deeply engaging in the process and extracting lessons, particularly
when dealing with business transformation and uncertainty.

Training for leaders and managers on the topic is a good investment. In one study, researchers split
students into two groups. The control group was instructed about the stages of memory. The other
group received training covering the growth mindset and how to apply it to tackling their homework.
The results were significant — three times as many students who learned about the growth mindset
displayed an increased effort and engagement than the control group. The control group continued
to show declining grades after the training, while the growth mindset group's grades continued to
3
pick up.

Leadership Practices to Foster the Growth Mindset

Leaders need to recognize that grappling with thorny challenges is a good thing and be clear that
the path to success is a messy one, but one that can be tackled with hard work, progress, good
strategies and input from everyone. When the leadership context is highly uncertain and volatile,
experimentation is a valuable way forward. Failure is a necessary condition for success. The only
failure is a failure to learn, and, as Henry Ford said, "The only real mistake is one from which we
learn nothing."

Creativity and innovation will increase when the stigma of failure and appointing blame is banished.
Astro Teller, "captain of moonshots" for X, Alphabet's "moonshot factory" for building audacious
ideas, takes this a step further. Employees' failures are celebrated, resulting in bonuses and
promotions. X has certainly embraced and embedded the practices of a growth mindset and
4
demonstrated the resultant creativity and innovation.

Another shift is to set the tone that leaders do not have all the answers. The journey to digital
business is a team sport and it is OK to admit that you may be a novice on the journey and need the

Page 4 of 9 Gartner, Inc. | G00308083

 help and input of others — their ideas and insights. Be willing to accept input from anyone — no
matter what their level in the organization. The more you can demonstrate that you are comfortable
with ambiguity, the more approachable the organization will find you and be more open to sharing
ideas. Be generous with your listening skills when others take the risk to share an idea.

Leaders should be careful of labeling specific employees as "high-potential employees." If you treat
all employees as high-potential, you may create a "self-fulfilling prophecy" that exemplifies the
growth mindset and allows all employees to be high-potential employees. A self-fulfilling prophecy
is a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it were already true. Our expectation that we
will see a particular outcome changes our behavior, which shapes the way others see us. In turn,
others provide the feedback we've set ourselves up to get, which serves to reinforce the original
belief. Finding ways to visibly reward those that demonstrate the growth mindset can be a catalyst
5
to growing the mindset within the organization as a whole.

The Pygmalion Effect demonstrated that when teachers expected enhanced performance from
children, the children's performance improved. Twenty percent of the students were assigned at
random to a high-achiever group, the other 80% were the control group. Teachers were told that
specific students were high achievers and had greater intelligence. These students were given more
attention, feedback and learning opportunities by the teachers. At the end of the school year, this
6
group exhibited significantly improved IQ scores than the control group.

This is often the case in the enterprise setting and the treatment that employees labeled as high-
potential receive. Be aware of these biases and how they can impact an employee's potential. Does
your leadership team hold perceptions of employees' abilities that are actually at the root of poor
performance? This is a question worth exploring and tracking the results.

Leaders who build a growth mindset also relinquish control over the process and are willing to stray
from the original plan in order to achieve excellence. As Ed Catmull, president of Pixar, states:
"Rather than thinking, 'OK, my job is to prevent or avoid all the messes,' I just try to say, 'Well, let's
make sure it doesn't get too messy.'" This leadership style reflects much of the growth mindset and
has kept Pixar creative and successful — deviating from plan, striving to improve and having the
willingness to respond to errors in the first attempt and then the second, etc.

"My own belief is that you should be running experiments, many of which will not lead anywhere. If
we knew how this was going to end up, we'd just go ahead and do it. This is a tricky issue —
people don't want to fail. They put a greater burden on themselves than we intend to put on them. I
think it's natural because they never want to fail. One of the things about failure is that it's
asymmetrical with respect to time. When you look back and see failure, you say, 'It made me what I
am!' But looking forward, you think, 'I don't know what is going to happen and I don't want to fail.'
The difficulty is that when you're running an experiment, it's forward-looking. We have to try extra
7
hard to make it safe to fail."

Recommendations:

■ Explicitly communicate how you value a growth versus a fixed mindset and how you believe
everyone can exhibit a growth mindset. Dweck emphasizes that when people understand the

Gartner, Inc. | G00308083 Page 5 of 9

 neuroscience of the growth mindset, we have the power to change our brains through learning
and can start to change.
■ Have high expectations of all employees. Keep an open mind and challenge your own
assumptions. Don't complain or make limiting assertions about employees' performances in
team meetings.
■ Be mindful when assigning employees to work projects. Thoughtfully mix teams of differing
abilities and avoid the impulse to tap trusted "go to" employees for critical assignments.
Gartner suggests, in nonemergency situations, identifying your top three "go to" employees,
then move on to selecting the fourth. Watch for the results with a focus on improvement, not
perfection. This will raise the abilities of your overall organization.
■ Be willing to let go of control and be open to changing direction to encourage risk-taking. A
leadership mindset will set the tone for the enterprise culture. Examine if the scale is tipped
toward fixed or growth, and apply the right thinking to the right situation.
■ Solicit ideas from everyone. Be generous with your listening skills when others take the risk to
share an idea. Ask a lot questions that probe the process of tackling a challenge and avoid
being quick to give feedback.
■ Avoid the tendency to jump to a solution, which is one of the traits of the fixed mindset. Start
meetings by asking, "What are we struggling with and what are some next steps and ways
forward?" to encourage the mindset that sees challenges as opportunities and seeks input from
others to move forward.
■ Add these questions to your repertoire and make them part of your meetings: "What are you
learning? What have you tried? Who else can you ask for help?" and "What will you try next?"
to bolster the growth mindset.
■ Steer clear of praise that points to innate talent or intelligence as the reason for success. Praise
the willingness to try and fail, the thought process to overcome obstacles, teamwork, the
amount of learning that has happened, and strategies used. Be very specific. Cascade this
method throughout the organization and seek examples that demonstrate the willingness to
experiment despite uncertainty, rather than just focusing on a solution.
■ Make the meaning of tackling a difficult challenge synonymous with learning and getting
smarter, and translate this into value for the organization. Promote employees who demonstrate
initiative, work hard, seek feedback and input from others, and continue to learn and grow.

The Growth Mindset Is Not a Panacea

8
The growth mindset is not without its critics. Trying harder does not itself generate improved
outcomes or learning. It should not be used as an excuse for poor judgment or lazy thinking — a
dumb idea is still a dumb idea in any context.

Gartner realizes applying the growth to the enterprise is still in its early days. We do strongly believe
a growth mindset lends itself well to dealing with the uncertainty that is inherent in digital business
transformation (see "Reframing Your Mindset to Match Digital-Era Reality"). The growth mindset is a

Page 6 of 9 Gartner, Inc. | G00308083

 useful concept to add to your portfolio of leadership skills. Take advantage of situations that lend
themselves to the growth mindset and continue to build skills in this area — with your leadership
team and within the organization. To guide adoption, be culturally aware, sensitive to the situation
and its urgency, and to the long-term outcome.

The environment of our enterprises can be hostile to the growth mindset. Generations of metrics,
performance management systems, leadership practices and culture can thwart and even punish
the use of a growth mindset. Gartner believes that leading organizations will thoughtfully consider
these challenges and define the situations and methods for their respective context. Patience,
consistent application by leadership, and persistence can turn the tide.

Gartner Recommended Reading

Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription.

"A Growth Mindset Can Help CIOs Reboot Leadership and Culture for the Digital Era"

"Five Steps for CIOs to Cultivate Digital Leadership Mindsets and Behaviors"

"ESCAPE the Past: Six Steps to Successful Change Leadership"

"Leadership in the Digital Age: A Gartner Trend Insight Report"

"From Push to Passion: Using Inspiration as a Management Approach"

"Igniting Creativity Everywhere: Easy Techniques for Exceptional Outcomes"

"The Psychology of Serial Innovation"

Evidence
1 C. Dweck. "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success." Random House. 2006. The foundation of
this research note is based on the findings of Dweck.

2Michael Merzenich, is a professor emeritus neuroscientist at the University of California, San

Francisco. "Growing Evidence of Brain Plasticity." TED Talk with Merzenich. February 2004
"What is Brain Plasticity?" BrainHQ.

3 "The Science: The Growth Mindset." Mindset Works.

4 "The Unexpected Benefit of Celebrating Failure." TED Talk with Astro Teller. February 2016.

5Kaufman, C. "Using Self-Fulfilling Prophecies to Your Advantage." Psychology Today. 11 October

2012.

6 J.S. Livingston. "Pygmalion in Management." Harvard Business Review. January 2003.

Gartner, Inc. | G00308083 Page 7 of 9

 7"Staying One Step Ahead at Pixar: An Interview With Ed Catmull." McKinsey Quarterly. March
2016.

8C. Dweck. "What Having a 'Growth Mindset' Actually Means." Harvard Business Review. January
2016.

More on This Topic

This is part of two in-depth collections of research. See the collections:

■ Leading Into the Learning Curve as Your Digital Business Matures

■ Change Leadership Research Index

Page 8 of 9 Gartner, Inc. | G00308083

 GARTNER HEADQUARTERS

Corporate Headquarters
56 Top Gallant Road
Stamford, CT 06902-7700
USA
+1 203 964 0096

Regional Headquarters
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
JAPAN
UNITED KINGDOM

For a complete list of worldwide locations,

visit http://www.gartner.com/technology/about.jsp

© 2016 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and its affiliates. This
publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner's prior written permission. It consists of the opinions of
Gartner's research organization, which should not be construed as statements of fact. While the information contained in this publication
has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of
such information. Although Gartner research may address legal and financial issues, Gartner does not provide legal or investment advice
and its research should not be construed or used as such. Your access and use of this publication are governed by Gartner Usage Policy.
Gartner prides itself on its reputation for independence and objectivity. Its research is produced independently by its research
organization without input or influence from any third party. For further information, see "Guiding Principles on Independence and
Objectivity."

Gartner, Inc. | G00308083 Page 9 of 9