Why Mindset Matters to Innovation!
Your mindset determines business innovation effort and is one of the most powerful determinates of success and the outcomes you achieve in your life.
It can be the fuel for ongoing learning, continuous improvement and the foundation for your success, or it can be the source of insurmountable obstacles that forever hold you back.
Your success depends on your mindset and that of those who you engage in the pursuit of your success.
- A Growth mindset fans the flames of creativity, innovation and success
- A Fixed mindset smothers creativity, innovation and frustrates success
There is No ‘Right’ Path to Follow to Create Success!
Favourably negotiating the path to success is a matter of maintaining the right mindset, knowing what is truly most important to you and focusing intently where it matters most.
A growth mindset shapes perception to enhance motivation, performance and capability.
Your ability to inspire motivation and maintain focus on the items that matter most is critical to creating success.
Your mindset influences the people around you. You will either inspire resilience, creativity and innovation, or you won’t.
Your mindset is a choice you make for yourself and for your business’s success.
What is Mindset?
Mindset is the image of reality, the frame of mind, the lens or the perspective we use to interpret the world. It’s the deeply held assumptions and beliefs, both conscious and unconscious that reflect our interpretation of reality.
These assumptions become part of our identity and shape what we do and what we achieve with our lives.
We experience our mindset at work through the self-talk we engage in, the voice in our head that examines and judges almost everything we experience.
Mindset Types
The most relevant for our purpose are the two broad but opposing mindset classifications:
- Fixed, and
- Growth
A person with a fixed mindset believes that they and other people are born with a certain level of intelligence and ability.
They believe that these personal traits do not, or cannot change over time – they come naturally, are fixed and consequently place limits on the person’s abilities.
A person with a growth mindset believes that they (and others) can develop and change most aspects of themselves, including their level of intelligence and capabilities.
Which Mindset do You and Your Staff Have?
Our mindset influences almost every aspect of our lives, including:
- The goals we set and pursue
- The responses we have to the challenges and difficulties we face
- The amount of effort we commit and the strategies we adopt in the pursuit of success.
Your mindset shapes your life – it shaped your past, is shaping your present and it will shape your future.
Imagine if you could control the drivers of your behaviour and actions and take control of your learned habits.
You Can Change Your Mindset!
When we understand our assumptions and beliefs, we give ourselves the power to change them. With this power, we gain the ability to shape our future.
Controlling this process is a fundamental step to maximising your effectiveness and influencing those you engage with to grow your business and achieve success.
This commences with becoming more self- aware.
Failing to take control of this process results in a self-fulfilling prophesy with you potentially becoming your own worst enemy.
How Does This Apply to Innovation?
People with fixed mindsets tend to retain the same beliefs, have the same thoughts and follow the same routines. These habits typically lead to similar outcomes.
A fixed mindset is a fear mindset.
They think, ‘What’s the point?’ and do nothing.
They only value outcomes. If the outcome wasn’t successful, a person with a fixed mindset views the entire project as a waste. They assign blame, fail to learn and limit progress.
A Growth Mindset is a Successful Mindset
A person with a growth mindset is empowered by the belief that they can change.
They see that effort can result in change for the better, and this provides them with motivation.
They think ‘What if…?’ and they act.
People with a growth mindset motivate themselves, others and add value to your business. They:
- Place value on the process of learning and development
- Are less susceptible to fear of failure
- Experiment with new ideas
- Take risks and manage failure
A growth mindset makes innovation a natural process and business growth an inevitable progression.
Which mindset do you choose to have? What mindset do your staff have?
Remember, failing to innovate puts your business at risk.
If you would like to learn more about mindset and how you can use it to fan the flames of innovation, give the team at Fortitude Business Consulting a call on 1300 551 040.
