Before we start talking about how to equip your team with a growth mindset then we should probably start with the question: what is a growth mindset and why does it matter?
Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research distinguishes between a fixed mindset, which treats abilities as unchangeable, and a growth mindset, which recognises they can develop through practice, feedback and support.
The word ‘yet’ captures the difference: ‘I can’t do this’ becomes ‘I can’t do this yet.’ It shifts attention from judging current ability to asking what could help someone improve.
For teams, that means making room for questions, learning from setbacks and recognising that different people need different support. It’s not about effort alone, but creating the conditions for growth.
Here are eight ways to put this into practice.
1) Champion learning and development
The foundation of a growth mindset is really that anything can be learned… as long as you’re prepared to put in the time and the work. It pushes back on those fixed mindset beliefs around talent or ability which instruct that you’re either good at something or not, end of story.
This takes on particular relevance for teams when we look at it through the lens of learning and development in 2026. As we previously discussed, 94% of employees said they would stay longer at an organisation that invested in their development. Personal development is a huge priority for employees and one way you can enable a growth mindset in your teams is by making it clear that anything can be learned – and mastered.
2) Reposition how you think about failure
If someone fails at something in your team you may think the easiest thing is to get someone else to do that particular task in future. However, that’s showing all the hallmarks of a fixed mindset, right? You’re effectively saying ‘they’re not good at that’ rather that ‘they’re not good at that… yet.’
A better way to approach it would be to ask that colleague how you could support them in that task next time. What do they need? Additional training, support from the team, something else? It’s only when employees are able to push through failures that overall teams become stronger and more resilient, but for that to happen you need to create those opportunities for development.
3) Stretch beyond comfort zones
When you have a fixed mindset you may avoid challenges. However, as the past few months have made particularly clear, even if we don’t want to find challenges, they usually manage to find us! We all need to be braced for change because we never really know when we’ll next need to flex out of our comfort zone. That’s why it’s so important for teams to feel like they’re being stretched.
In short, if you want to equip your team with a growth mindset, you need to push them a little bit beyond what they think they’re capable of. Because a great team is one that exists in that sweet spot, where they’re being challenged into growth through the work they do each day.
4) Create a feedback culture
Leaders probably think feedback culture is great… but possibly only when they’re the ones dishing out the feedback, right? However, it’s only when we create a real culture of dialogue – top down, down-up, peer-to-peer, frontline to FD, that we can really unlock a growth mindset in our teams.
Forbes put it like this: “When leaders normalize a thirst for input, feedback and guidance from multiple sources, it signals that the focus is on learning and growing (versus judging or being judged) and on valuing diversity (not just relying on the usual “experts”). It sends the clear message that we’re all learning and working on ourselves all the time, and that’s key to a growth mindset.
5) Show them you care
How can you expect your employees to focus on growth when their focus is on getting rid of stress? As a leader, you need to provide them with the support they need to minimise stress and develop a growth mindset. After all, how can any of us focus on growth if all we can think about is right now?
As leaders there are numerous things you can do for your team. Keeping checking in. Ask them where the pain points are. As per our first point, champion learning and development – and actively support employees to incorporate that into their week. It’s up to leaders to stay closely plugged into their team so they can anticipate problems and respond quickly, especially right now.
6) Ask the ‘stupid’ questions
A team with a fixed mindset may not want to ask a ‘stupid’ question in front of their peers in case they’re judged negatively for it. With a fixed mindset, you believe you have a fixed amount of intelligence or expertise, and you continually want to prove it. When you instil a growth mindset in your team, however, you create that questioning culture where everyone feels like they’re able to challenge or question certain things. What that does is empower your team to work smarter.
It may be calling out clunky processes that take too much time or asking why we always do something that way – rather than trying this way. The great news is when you create that open dialogue that you’re then able to really mine the talents of your team – a win-win, right?
7) Welcome criticism
If you believe that your intelligence or talents are fixed and can’t be improved, as you do with a fixed mindset, then criticism may cause you to get defensive. However, you’re much less likely to take criticism personally with a growth mindset, because you recognize its inherent value. Which is this: feedback is a brilliant l tool that can enable you to continually improve and become better.
If you’re able to instil this way of thinking in your team then feedback becomes a positive experience – something to learn from rather than something to make you feel attacked or as if entire self has been questioned. Do it right and you can enhance the performance of the whole team.
8) Consider whether you’ve changed
With a growth mindset, we recognise that we’re all learning, growing, and evolving all the time. And we can also connect that conversation to the four-color model and the language of color. At Insights, we recognize that due to the power of adaptability, we are constantly changing; dialling up different color energies to power through challenging times like the pandemic. This ability to adapt and step up is what makes us resilient, showing that we as individuals, like the world, are not fixed – and need to tap into a growth mindset now more than ever.
We may have jumped into the pandemic leaning on our Cool Blue energy, for example, because budgets had been cut and we needed to really rely on data to make sure we were making the right decisions. However, now we might be dialling up more Fiery Red energy in order to get things done.
If your team already have Insights Discovery Personal Profiles it’s worth asking whether it still sounds like them – and if they don’t have one then you may want them to take one. The world has changed over the past few months and it’s not too much of a leap to think your team may have, too!
