Growth Mindset - Failure, an Opportunity to Transform
Are you aware of how many of the staff in your school have a fear of homelessness? Indeed, you, too, may well carry this fear. This is how the fear expresses itself in our minds; imagine you do something ‘wrong’ at work, a failure occurs, you leap to what will happen next.
You will be told off, possibly even disciplined, gosh, what if it leads to competency? What if you lost your job? You couldn’t pay the mortgage, rent; bailiffs. You lose your home. You are homeless!
Where does this fear come from? This autocratic sense of failure being bad and success being good? When did schools become so harsh? The theories that answer this question are myriad, yet fundamentally if we do not change our attitude to failure in schools, we breed fear and curtail risk-taking, closing the door on excellence and wellbeing.
Having a fixed mindset (Dweck 2006), where you believe your gifts and talents are fixed and fundamentally unchangeable leads to paralysis. If you have a fixed mindset about yourself or another person you block compassion and are far less likely to want to elicit feedback, take steps into the ZOUD or believe in your ability to alter your ego-states. “That’s just me” signals a fixed mindset, “I am who I am and that cannot be changed”
Yet a culture that upholds a growth mindset underpins all other preconditions to trust.
This won't be the first time you have heard of Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset. Dweck first published her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success in 2006 and since then it has been bought into schools as a panacea for underachievement.
The biggest issue is that the concept of growth mindset has been focused on and disseminated to pupils and students without ever really exploring the mindset of the teachers purveying it.
Growth mindset is a catalyst to possibility in your school. It will enable staff to see failure as an opportunity to learn. If the majority of staff in a school embrace this, you eradicate another source of fear. Transforming failure into hope and improvement is healthier and more productive, it is fundamentally a kinder approach to others and oneself. It allows us to breathe through difficulties knowing they are a route to transformation, and a culture that enables transformation is where we flourish.
Questions to promote a
growth mindset
In yourself
After a setback:
"What could I have done differently to avoid this mistake?"
"What valuable lessons can I take from this experience?"
After a success:
"What strategies contributed to this achievement?"
"How can I replicate this success in future situations?"
When facing a new challenge:
"What skills do I need to develop to overcome this obstacle?"
"Who can I reach out to for guidance on this new task?"
With others
Embracing challenges:
"What is one challenge you're currently facing that you're excited to tackle?"
"How can you reframe this obstacle as a chance to grow?"
"What strategies can you use to push yourself outside your comfort zone?"
Effort and learning:
"What specific actions can you take to put in more effort on this task?"
"What did you learn from this experience that you can apply to future situations?"
"How can you actively seek feedback to improve your understanding?"
Resilience and setbacks:
"What can you do to bounce back from a setback?"
"How can you analyse your mistakes to prevent them from happening again?"
"What positive aspects can you take away from this challenge, even if it wasn't successful?"
Seeking support and collaboration:
"Who can you ask for advice or guidance on this issue?"
"How can you work with others to overcome this challenge?"
"What are the benefits of collaborating with others on this project?"
What questions or principles help you to embrace the optimism of what is possible rather than the paralysis of limitations?
