Small Steps to Create a Culture of Constant Growth

What are you thinking about when you are thinking about obligation? What are you thinking about when you are thinking about the things you have to do?

Now, what are you thinking about when you are thinking about opportunity? What are you thinking about when you are thinking about the things you get to do?

The difference between these two things is the difference between indifference and energy, power, creativity and excellence. And it’s all in your mind, in how you see the world.

Obligation can creep into our work. If you are in sales, your boss wants to know how many meetings you booked, how many proposals you sent out, how many phone calls you made. If you are a developer, your boss wants to know how many bugs you fixed, how many lines of code you wrote. Whatever role you might be in, the nagging question is about how many deliverables you shipped, how many points you put on the board, what you have to do.

That constant demand of obligation affects our outlook and our behavior. In your workplace, do you feel like people are judging and evaluating your behavior and actions? Or do you feel like they are honestly curious about your work, giving useful ideas, lifting you up?

Are your ideas encouraged or dismissed? And most of all, do people in the organization talk about who is the smartest, with the most power and budget, or do they talk about who is passionate, and doing really exciting work?

The difference between these two conflicting attitudes is mindset. People have mindsets, and ways they see circumstances and opportunities. So do entire teams and whole organizations. The habits of individuals will eventually make up the culture of the whole.

Turning a culture from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset can be accomplished by changing the language we use and the habits we encourage.

We can learn everywhere, nearly all of the time, if we are open to it, and prepared. Books, movies, conversations, situations, schools, and focused research on the internet can all be valuable learning sources, but only if we are open and prepared for the unexpected, the surprising. Because when we recognize surprising events, or changes in circumstances, we develop new mental connections which incite active learning.

The way to build a company and culture that is alive with innovation, collaboration and energy is by first creating a culture that encourages constant growth and learning.

Cultures of learning have three driving principles:

• We can reach high learning standards when the culture provides rich and readily available experiences and resources
• We are most successful when we are held responsible for our own learning and have autonomy to pursue our interests
• Social interactions and active practice are fundamental to learning

While cultures of learning can transform the speed and agility of your business, it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes deliberate practice.

Most managers and leaders talk about deliverables, milestones and outputs. Instead, consider using language which creates an expectation that people take time and mental space for learning on a regular basis. That’s right; create an expectation that everyone learns a little something every day and then shares what they learned.

If you encourage constant learning, you will have a much higher performing team in the long run, not just a stream of undifferentiated deliverables. Here’s a framework that will help guide people to develop more intentional learning habits:

Schedule the time

For the most consistently creative and diligent people in the world, learning is a sacred time of day. Maybe it’s first thing in the morning; maybe after exercise, maybe before breakfast. The time of day isn’t necessarily that important when starting out. What’s important is the starting. Later, when the habit gets more ingrained, you can find out which particular times of day work best for you.

Make it easy

Minimize the amount of energy it takes to get started and remove all the hurdles to taking action that you can. If you want to start jogging more, lay your gear and your shoes by the bed before going to sleep. That way, it will be right there staring at you in the morning. If you want to be a better guitar player, start by taking the guitar out of the closet and tuning it up, and have it nearby. That way, it’s easier to pick up and start playing when the mood strikes.

Prime your mind

Most of the writers, creators and constant learners I know keep a scratch pad handy. I use Evernote, but you can use anything to capture ideas throughout the day. Usually I write short fragments or expressions that mean something only to me. I’ll be in the grocery store, have a little insight, and then write a few words to recollect that moment later. Otherwise it’ll be gone.

Make teaching the goal

Aristotle once said, “Teaching is the highest form of understanding.” In order to teach something thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively, you have to understand it yourself. To have a deeper understanding of something, there is no substitute for research, writing, immersion, and practice of that idea. The very act of trying to write about something you don’t understand is itself an act of learning. Dan Pink is a celebrated public speaker, but I once heard him say that first and foremost, he considers himself a writer, because before he can speak coherently about anything he has to first understand it.

Become a fan

If you want to become better at anything, start as a fan. Follow, study, and friend anyone in that domain that you want to get better at. The first step to getting better is to be a fan of those who are better. And when you find someone who does what you want to do, what you aspire to, stare at them, study their every move, their every brush stroke, their every breath, because that’s how to break it down. Once you break down what you love, you can rebuild using those tools, but in your own voice.

Building a culture with a growth mindset is building success for the long term. After all, our work should be a journey to love and enjoy, not an obligation.

About the Author

Shawn Hunter is President and Founder of Mindscaling, a company building online learning courses based on the work of best-selling authors. His new book is Small Acts of Leadership: 12 Intentional Behaviors That Lead to Big Impact, (Bibliomotion). Please visit www.shawnhunter.com for more information.

Twitter: @gshunter