{"id":38958,"date":"2024-11-07T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T17:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=38958"},"modified":"2024-10-21T14:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T21:39:21","slug":"flourishing-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/flourishing-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Flourishing Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carol Dweck\u2019s\u00a0Mindset: The New Psychology of Success<\/em> is a seminal work which explores the profound impact that adopting a mindset can have on someone\u2019s development and personal growth in every facet of life. She writes that \u201cIt can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Growing up in a household with parents who exhibited perfectionist tendencies significantly influenced my own development of perfectionism. This observation is not intended as an attribution of blame but rather as an acknowledgment of the environmental factors that shaped my own mindset. During my childhood, I did not excel academically. I distinctly recall an instance when I returned home with a report card that included a \u201cB\u201d grade, which I proudly presented to my parents. My father, likely trying to motivate me, suggested that I strive for higher grades in the future. Such experiences instilled in me the belief that performance results were the most important factor. Unwittingly, I perpetuated this mindset in my earlier life. Thankfully, I became free from this mindset through times of healing prayer and spiritual formation but couldn\u2019t really articulate this until I read Dweck.<\/p>\n

The two mindsets compared by Dweck in the book are the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. I found the growth mindset to be freeing, encouraging and inviting. Dweck writes, \u201cThis growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others. Although people may differ in every which way\u2014in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments\u2014everyone can change and grow through application and experience.\u201d[2]<\/a> The distinctive feature of a growth mindset is, \u201cThe passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it\u2019s not going well\u2026\u201d[3]<\/a> Conversely, I found the fixed mindset to be anxious, diminishing, and crippling. A person with a fixed mindset believes that everyone\u2019s qualities are set in stone and that each person in only given a certain amount of talent, intelligence and moral attributes. Thus, the person with this mindset attempts to prove themselves over and over. Every situation is a confirmation of competence or defining failure when not measuring up.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

As I interacted with Carol Dweck\u2019s\u00a0Mindset<\/em>, I found myself reflecting on my initial experiences in pastoral ministry. During those early days, I was acutely aware of the immense pressure to excel in every service, meeting, and interaction. Along with other environmental factors, this relentless inner pursuit of perfection induced significant anxiety, leading to overwork and a tendency to over-perform. One of the factors that helped me to thrive as a leader was embracing the concept of a growth mindset, as opposed to the fixed mindset that had previously diminished me.<\/p>\n

The negative effects of a fixed mindset that I experienced are remarkably like those observed in many church leaders today that I work with. In the remainder of this blog, I intend to explore how adopting a growth mindset can facilitate the flourishing of leaders within this context and how this interacts with my NPO.<\/p>\n

In Chapter 5 of the updated edition, Dweck focuses on the growth mindset in leadership. Citing the discovery of the \u201cLevel 5 Leader\u201d by Jim Collins in Good to Great <\/em>she writes:<\/p>\n

\u2026they are constantly trying to improve. They surround themselves with the most able people they can find, they look squarely at their own mistakes and deficiencies, and they ask frankly what skills they and the company will need in the future. And because of this, they can move forward with confidence that\u2019s grounded in the facts, not built on fantasies about their talent.[5]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This description evokes the mindset articulated in Eve Poole\u2019s\u00a0Leadersmithing<\/em>. Poole advocates for an apprenticeship approach to leadership development, wherein a leader with a growth mindset would inherently value the continuous process of learning and growth much like an apprentice.[6]<\/a> Such a model has the potential to liberate leaders from the pervasive performance trap in which they are the expert or hero. It challenges the notion that leadership is a rare, innate endowment possessed by a select few, promoting instead the idea that leadership skills can be cultivated through dedicated practice and experience.<\/p>\n

Moreover, an apprenticeship model fosters an environment conducive to experimentation, innovation, and even failure, thereby encouraging leaders to take risks and learn from their experiences. This approach not only enhances individual development but also contributes to a more dynamic and resilient leadership culture.<\/p>\n

As I reflect on a growth mindset and my NPO there are certainly some implications. My NPO states: Leaders in The Alliance Canada lack collaborative leadership skills which inhibits innovation and diminishes member empowerment for mission. Collaborative skills require leaders to take a learning and growth posture, rather than expert posture. Collaborative leaders will lead through processes that highlight the strengths and draws on the perspectives of others. Dweck reflects on leaders with a growth mindset, \u201cThey\u2019re not constantly trying to prove they\u2019re better than others. For example, they don\u2019t highlight the pecking order with themselves at the top, they don\u2019t claim credit for other people\u2019s contributions, and they don\u2019t undermine others to feel powerful.\u201d[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Carol Dweck\u2019s research on growth mindset provides a valuable map for understanding the potential transformation in leader and organizational development. Leaders with a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, and view effort as a pathway to success. This mindset fosters an environment where continuous learning and development are prioritized, enhancing collaborative efforts and innovation within their ministries.<\/p>\n

While the development of a growth mindset has been an ongoing journey for me, beginning well before my engagement with this book, I am committed to cultivating this mindset for myself and among leaders. My desire is to assist them in developing a growth-oriented perspective, both for their personal development and for the ministries they oversee.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success<\/em>, Updated edition (New York: Random House, 2016).Kindle.6.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Dweck.6.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Dweck.7.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Dweck.6.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Dweck.110.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Eve Poole, Leadersmithing: An Apprenticeship Approach to Making Great Leaders<\/em> (London\u202f; New York, NY: Bloomsbury Business, 2017).<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Dweck, Mindset<\/em>.Kindle.110.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carol Dweck\u2019s\u00a0Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is a seminal work which explores the profound impact that adopting a mindset can have on someone\u2019s development and personal growth in every facet of life. She writes that \u201cIt can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3312,2328,2090],"class_list":["post-38958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-glgp03","tag-dweck","tag-poole","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38958"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38984,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38958\/revisions\/38984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}