Friday, August 5, 2011

Five Ways To Foster a Growth Mindset in Your Team


Managers with a growth mindset are more productive than those with a fixed mindset, as is well known. Now that teamwork is becoming commonplace, it is important for leaders to foster the growth mindset so the team can tide over challenges. Writankar Mukherjee lists crucial points that help in this direction. 


Develop Talent
The first thing about creating a growth mindset is to focus on talent and develop people’s skills and abilities. This will give colleagues the confidence that they are an integral part of the team, and will create a growth mindset. Experts say team leaders and managers need to create a work environment and practices that enable employees to develop new skills and learn by working with others.


Rotate Roles
In tandem with talent development, experts say managers should try to develop their team as multi-skilled and capable for multi-tasking. This will give a lot of confidence to team members about their capability. “It is vital for managers to try out the employees across various roles and functions and ultimately keep them in areas where they are able to perform the best. This will increase their confidence,” says headhunter GlobalHunt India director Sunil Goel.


Communicate Growth Plans
Goel adds that managers should clearly communicate the organisation and division’s growth plans and goals to teams. Such transparency will foster a spirit of optimism amongst team members and inspire them to work hard. “The manager should try and synchronise the organisation’s growth plan with the team member’s plan, which will show how the organisation’s growth is dependant on personal growth,” says Goel.


Set Clear KRAs
Transparency is the key. HR experts feel companies and team leaders should make the entire KRA process simple which would show how the employee is contributing to the company’s overall success story. “The line of sight for the employees should be clearly visible. Such a growth story will motivate the employees most and keep them in a growth phase,” says telecom firm MTS India chief of HR, Manish Kharbanda.


Aim for Ambitious Goals
Experts say since people get excited about newer adventures or doing something beyond the ordinary, managers should try and imbibe that in their teams. L’Oreal India director (HR) Mohit James says that if managers can position the opportunities within the company and create a larger-than-life work opportunity for their team, everyone will be excited. “For instance, they can tell their team how they can play a role to beat the competition or launch new initiatives. It will create a sense of purpose that the team members are part of the overall growth agenda,” says James.

(The Economic Times, Mumbai, 05-08-2011)



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