“First, you need to know I’m going to do it, because it’s my job.”
That was my opening line when I walked into the VP’s office and closed the door behind me. I needed to have a private conversation with him. He was sitting behind his desk reading and seemed a little startled. When he saw me close the door, he knew I was serious about something.
I was the training manager and felt an obligation to speak up. We had done two rounds of hiring and training which yielded nothing. And now, we were about to do a third. It was a train wreck waiting to happen and I had to see if I could stop it. So, after my opening line, I continued, “This clearly isn’t working. We’re bringing them in the front door, but then they’re running out the back.”
The company wanted to increase diversity in the sales force. We had invested time and money in selecting and training the new hires. They had invested time, enthusiasm and brainpower in learning their new roles. They were so excited to be working for one of the most recognized companies in the world. It was a big step in their young careers.
The process was the same for both rounds. After completing a three-week training program, they were assigned to a sales center and sent off to sell! But, in the first round, within a month, half were sitting on the fence, trying to decide whether or not to stay. By the end of three months, all but one had left.
In the second round (by the third month,) all had left, including the one that that remained from the first round. We had zero retention. We could rightfully claim that we hired women for sales, but we couldn’t say we had retained them. Not a good ROI.
So, you can see why I felt compelled to share my thoughts and ideas on the changes we could make prior to doing the third round. The VP politely listened and then I could see him considering his options. It took him less than 5 minutes to announce that we were going to proceed as planned. Really? We weren’t going make any changes?
Why Proceed As Planned?
Although our experience through the first two rounds screamed that there was an issue, the VP was certain that the third round would work. It didn’t.
Why did he make the decision to proceed without making any changes? Because he was operating from a fixed mindset. The initiative could fail, but he couldn’t. The reasons he gave his leader for the failure, had nothing to do with him.
This scenario continues to be played out in organizations today – opportunities lost, time wasted and potential thwarted because of fixed mindsets. How many opportunities is your company losing out on? How much is it costing in time and money? How is it impacting your ability to attract and retain talent?
What is a Mindset?
A mindset is a set of beliefs you have about yourself and your abilities. It shapes your thinking, directs your behavior and influences what you achieve and what you don’t. Dr. Carol Dweck, author of Mindsets: The New Psychology of Success spent over 30 years researching how people think about themselves and how it affects their lives. Her work identified two mindsets – fixed and growth, based on different views of where our ability comes from.
A fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence and talents are fixed or static. You’re either born with it or you aren’t. You are smart and you are talented. Effort can’t increase either. Trying something new is risky and may be avoided because if you can’t be good at it immediately, you feel like a failure. Setbacks are considered personal. With this mindset, you look for opportunities to confirm and validate how smart and talented you are because you already have all the smarts and talent you’ll ever have. This mindset values expertise and innate talent.
In contrast, a growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and talents are not fixed and can be developed through effort. You can get smarter. You can be more talented. Trying something new is a challenge that creates positive action, not fear to be avoided. Why? Because deficiency and setbacks are considered opportunities to develop and grow. There is no need to validate how smart you are or how talented you are, because you can change. This mindset values learning and improving over time.
Different Mindset, Different Outcome?
Mindsets aren’t people. It’s the way people think and the actions they take based on the way they think. Mindsets can change with choice, effort and time.
What if the VP had a growth mindset? Would the outcome have been different? I believe the answer is yes. He would have acknowledged that change was needed after the first round. He would have explored the options and may have generated some ideas of his own. Changes would have been made and there would have been a retention rate! It wouldn’t have been about him. He would have done everything he could to ensure the initiative was successful.
Becoming more aware of mindsets and understanding how they influence your organization, is a tool you want to have in your toolkit. It will give you a different perspective on what’s driving and holding back your organization, team-by-team, person-by-person. And, you’ll have greater insight into how to influence behavior.
By the way, what’s your mindset? Remember, you can change it!