Harness the Power of Skill Sets and Mindsets
"I have a PhD in Chemistry, but I failed my chem quiz."
"My English class got an A on the last test and all I did was read the essay assignment for science."
"I can do it myself; why should I hire someone who's good?"
These are some of the common excuses people use to not learn something new. But what you don't know is that skill sets and mindsets change. It's never too late or too early to improve your knowledge base. Some people learn these psychological skills naturally, and others don't. Many of the most successful people in your industry were not born with these skills, but they learned them over time. The good news is that you too can learn these effective psychological skills on your own and become more valuable to yourself and to the organization you work for.
The goal of this article is to show you how to learn certain aspects of life via skill sets and mindsets so that you can be more successful in your efforts as a professional. An "ideal" PhD chemist may not be capable of learning how to write an essay well; however, she can learn important life lessons that we will detail below.
Skill Sets vs. Mindsets
Skill sets are the actions you take. They describe what you do to perform tasks at work, school, or at home. Skill sets represent what you "can do".
Mindsets are the attitudes that you carry with you as a person and that affect your behavior in all situations. They describe what "you are". Mindsets represent who "you are".
The concept of mindsets is similar to the idea of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset , which was popularized by Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success . While an individual may have knowledge of certain skills, his or her mindset is the most important component of success.
The growth mindset means that you think of your skills as something you can develop, build upon, and learn more about. Individuals who believe in the growth mindset tend to also believe that their talent can be improved with effort and succeed more in life. The fixed mindset says that you are a product of your genetics and should not waste time by thinking about what skill sets to improve.
"A mind-set is simply an attitude toward yourself or to others. The fixed mindset is when you believe your basic qualities, like your intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. You believe that you have a certain amount and that's that, end of story. But the growth mindset is when you believe that the basic qualities you have can be developed through your work –- whether it's as simple as memorizing a string of numbers or learning to be more patient."
- Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success p.19
As individuals with a growth mindset mature and resolve challenges in life, they tend to become more successful than their peers who were not afforded similar opportunities.
We will look at six mindsets in this article, which are all derived from Dweck's work. They have been grouped into two categories: the performance mindset (which is about what you "can do") and the learning mindset (which is about what you "can learn").
1. The performance mindset
a) Boasting mindset
b) Unrelenting mindset
c) Unwillingness to change mindset
d) Non-learning mindest (also known as the "I got it" mentality)
2. The learning mindset
a) Historically minded mind-set
b) Implicit learning mindset (also known as "instinctual learning")
c) Servant-leadership learning mindset (also known as "servant-leader" or "empowerment" mindset)
d) Empathic mind-set (also known as the "I can learn" attitude)
e) Cooperative mind-set (also known as the "we can learn together" mindset, or the "we are all in this together" mentality)
f. Inclusive mindset (also referred to as the "we are in this together" mentality, or sometimes called a cooperative commitment to excellence )
g. Collective mindset (also referred to as a cooperative commitment to excellence)
3. The performance mindset
a) The "not my job" mindset
b) The "I don't have time" mindset
c) The "I'm not good enough" mentality
d) The "I'm on my own" mindset
e) The "it's not worth it" mentality
f. The "why bother" mentality (also called the "why would I waste my time?" mentality)
4. The learning mindset
a) The "I can learn" mindset
b) The "I'm willing to learn" mindset
c) The "I want to learn" mentality
d) The "we have time" mentality (also called the "we have time to learn together")
e. The "let's do it together" mentality (sometimes called the "let's build our skill set together" or collective commitment to excellence )
f. The "let's all learn something new together and excel at it" mentality (often referred to as the cooperative commitment to excellence )
5. The performance mindset
a) The "I've got to do it myself" mindset
b) The "I'll show them" mentality (also called the "you'll see what I can do" mentality)
c) The "I'm the expert" mentality (also called the "I know best" attitude, or the "you should listen to me because I know it best")
d) The "I don't need them" or "they are stupid" mentality (also called the condescending attitude and you think they are stupid or shouldn't be trusted; also referred to as being overconfident )
e. The "I'm the best" mentality (also called the "centralized" mindset)
6. The learning mindset
a) The "we can learn together" or servant leadership learning mindset (also referred to as the empowerment or servant leadership mind-set )
b) The "we are all in this together attitude" (also known as a cooperative commitment to excellence )
c) The "we can learn together and excel at it" mentality (also referred to as a cooperative commitment to excellence )
d) The "let's do it together attitude" or inclusive mindset (sometimes called the collaborative commitment to excellence)
e.
Conclusion
The mindset is the most important part of our lives. Even if you have great skills, without a growth mindset, you are not likely to be successful.
Not only can people with a growth mindset achieve their goals and dreams but they can help others achieve their goals and dreams as well.
Not everyone will have the opportunity to develop a growth mindset; however, all individuals can learn from their experiences and mature their mindsets over time.
You can take control of your own mindset by asking yourself these four questions: 1) What do I believe? 2) How am I acting? 3) What is my attitude? 4) Where am I going?
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