Growth Mindset
Growth mindset is the belief that abilities, including leadership skills, can be developed through effort, good strategies and help from others. Psychologist Carol Dweck coined the term after decades of research into how people respond to challenge and failure. For leaders, it shapes how you handle feedback, setbacks and stretch roles, and how willing your team is to learn in front of you.
Carol Dweck defined growth mindset in contrast to a fixed mindset
Growth mindset comes from the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, popularised in her book Mindset. She contrasts two beliefs about ability. In a fixed mindset, talent is a set amount you either have or lack, so every test feels like a verdict. In a growth mindset, talent is a starting point, so a test is information about what to work on next.
Dweck is clear that nobody has a pure growth mindset. Everyone is a mixture, and a particular trigger, such as criticism from a senior person, can pull a capable leader straight back into fixed-mindset thinking. She sets out this nuance in her Harvard Business Review article on what a growth mindset actually means.
At work, a growth mindset shows up in how leaders respond to pressure
The difference is easiest to see in the moments that sting. The same situation can produce two very different reflexes.
| Situation | Fixed-mindset reflex | Growth-mindset response |
|---|---|---|
| Critical feedback | Defend, explain, discount the source | Ask what is useful in it and test it |
| A stretch assignment | Decline it or hide early gaps | Take it and name what you need to learn |
| A team member's mistake | Judge their ability | Look at the method, the support and the next attempt |
| A peer's success | Feel diminished by comparison | Ask what they did that you could learn from |
A hypothetical example: the director who stopped performing competence
Imagine a newly promoted operations director in a family-owned group in the Gulf. She inherits a finance-heavy portfolio she has never run, and for months she avoids questions in executive meetings so nobody sees the gap. Her team copies her: problems surface late, if at all.
The shift comes when she starts saying, out loud, "I am still learning this part of the business, so walk me through it." Her credibility rises rather than falls, and her team begins raising issues earlier. The guide on how to lead when you are not the expert covers this situation in depth.
Growth mindset is often misread as positivity or effort alone
Dweck has warned about what she calls a false growth mindset, and the misreadings are common in organisations.
- Praising effort that is not working. Effort matters only when it is paired with new strategies and honest feedback.
- Treating it as an identity. Saying "I have a growth mindset" is not the same as noticing your fixed-mindset triggers.
- Declaring it while punishing mistakes. A team will not learn in public without psychological safety.
- Ignoring real differences. It does not claim anyone can become anything; it claims everyone can improve from where they are.
Rula Husseini is an Executive Leadership & Mindset Coach (ICF PCC) based in Manama, Bahrain, with 26+ years in leadership, HR and talent development and 4,500+ coaching hours. She coaches executives, emerging leaders and teams in Arabic and English, in person and online.
Credentials and training →Frequently asked questions
Is a growth mindset the same as positive thinking?
No. Positive thinking is about expecting a good outcome. A growth mindset is about how you interpret ability and failure, and it often means facing uncomfortable feedback rather than looking on the bright side.
Can coaching help me develop a growth mindset?
Yes, because coaching works on the specific triggers that pull you into fixed-mindset thinking, such as criticism or comparison. In mindset coaching for leaders we notice those triggers in real situations and practise a different response, rather than adopting a slogan.
How does growth mindset relate to self-efficacy?
They support each other. A growth mindset is a belief that ability can grow; self-efficacy is your confidence that you can handle a specific task now. Small wins feed both.
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