By now, we're all accustomed to hearing about the "growth mindset" in business, but the term actually had its origins in education, thanks to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Coined in the late 1970s to describe student belief that intelligence and ability can grow with effort, it has come to be associated in business with creating a culture that seeks our challenges and learns from failure.
All of this is great, and certainly, it has had a significant impact on how businesses are run and cultures are nurtured. And yet, in today's environment, it's starting to feel....dare we say it, inadequate?
Businesses today can’t afford to rely on the old ingredients for success. Quite simply, the world is too complex and ever-changing to simply learn and meet challenges head on. In order to create new avenues and pathways to successful growth, we must reach farther, push harder, and leap from our comfort zones. We must move beyond yesterday’s set beliefs and perceived barriers and into an Uninhibited Mindset.
In this space, the leaders of tomorrow can build steadfast belief and trust in their abilities and teams, and turn strategy into real, ownable and sustainable implementation. The Uninhibited Mindset is the environment we create, in our own minds and in the minds of our people and teams, that enables us to win personally and professionally. It allows us to go beyond conventional strategy and implementation to embrace thinking and take action, free of internal and external constraints.
It’s audacious. With an Uninhibited Mindset, we dream bigger and further. We challenge long-held assumptions, set big goals, and drive toward a future beyond the “possible.”
It’s playful/fun/enjoyable. An Uninhibited Mindset holds long-held beliefs and fresh limitations lightly, allowing us to loosen their grip, turn them over in our hands, and shed them when necessary.
It’s human. An Uninhibited Mindset unlocks the whole of us –our curiosity, vulnerabilities, uncertainties and empathy, as much as our skills and capabilities– and uses it as fuel to reach our goals. The growth mindset has served us well, but its time for a new modality that serves the modern world. It's time for the "Uninhibited Mindset."
