Core’s team of facilitators and coaches talk a lot about growth mindset with the emerging and executive leaders we work with. Heavily researched by Stanford University psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, and in the recent decade popularized in her 2007 book titled, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, the term growth mindset has become a staple in the education, organizational leadership and athletics industries.

So what exactly is a growth mindset? Very simply stated, growth mindset is the belief in the development of talents and abilities through hard work and commitment. This is in contrast to a fixed mindset, which is the belief that one’s talents and abilities are fixed – you’re either good or bad at things.

Let me give you an example. I struggled with math in school. When I was preparing to take the GRE, I remember being overwhelmed with the amount of high school math I needed to re-learn. I could have told myself, “I’m horrible at math. This is never going to fly. Why even try?” Lucky for me, my sister is GREAT at math and worked as an accountant. Ding! Ding! Ding! I was able to tap into her expertise, and she helped me learn equations and concepts that made near to zero sense to me. In the end, I received scores high enough to get me into my dream graduate program at the University of Southern California.

I learned math. I did well on the exam. I might have had to work harder than the average candidate, but I did it. It was a result of three critical factors:

  1. Choosing to adopt the mindset that I could do it
  2. Working with someone who believed in me and served as my coach
  3. Dedicating many hours toward preparation

There is one word that will help you adopt a growth mindset for yourself, as well as help you foster it in others. That word is YET. Three simple letters that carry a powerful message. You’re not good at it YET, but what can we do to get you there? Because with a growth mindset, anything is possible, and people and teams flourish.

Believe in people’s potential.