When it comes to success, it’s easy to think that people blessed with brains are inevitably going to leave the rest of us in the dust. But new research from Stanford University will change your mind (and your attitude).
Psychologist Carol Dweck has spent her entire career studying attitude and performance, and her latest study shows that your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.
Dweck found that people’s core attitudes fall into one of two categories: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.
With a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are and you cannot change. This creates problems when you’re challenged because anything that appears to be more than you can handle is bound to make you feel hopeless and overwhelmed.
People with a growth mindset believe that they can improve with effort. They outperform those with a fixed mindset, even when they have a lower IQ, because they embrace challenges, treating them as opportunities to learn something new.
Image: LinkedIn
Common sense would suggest that having ability, like being smart, inspires confidence. It does, but only while the going is easy. The deciding factor in life is how you handle setbacks and challenges. People with a growth mindset welcome setbacks with open arms.
According to Dweck, success in life is all about how you deal with failure. She describes the approach to failure of people with the growth mindset this way,
“Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else.’”
Regardless of which side of the chart you fall on, you can make changes and develop a growth mindset. What follows are some strategies that will fine-tune your mindset and help you make certain it’s as growth oriented as possible.
Don’t stay helpless. We all hit moments when we feel helpless. The test is how we react to that feeling. We can either learn from it and move forward or let it drag us down. There are countless successful people who would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas,” Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being “too emotionally invested in her stories,” Henry Ford had two failed car companies prior to succeeding with Ford, and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC’s Cinematic Arts School multiple times. Imagine what would have happened if any of these people had a fixed mindset. They would have succumbed to the rejection and given up hope. People with a growth mindset don’t feel helpless because they know that in order to be successful, you need to be willing to fail hard and then bounce right back.
Be passionate. Empowered people pursue their passions relentlessly. There’s always going to be someone who’s more naturally talented than you are, but what you lack in talent, you can make up for in passion. Empowered people’s passion is what drives their unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Warren Buffet recommends finding your truest passions using, what he calls, the 5/25 technique: Write down the 25 things that you care about the most. Then, cross out the bottom 20. The remaining 5 are your true passions. Everything else is merely a distraction.
Take action. It’s not that people with a growth mindset are able to overcome their fears because they are braver than the rest of us; it’s just that they know fear and anxiety are paralyzing emotions and that the best way to overcome this paralysis is to take action. People with a growth mindset are empowered, and empowered people know that there’s no such thing as a truly perfect moment to move forward. So why wait for one? Taking action turns all your worry and concern about failure into positive, focused energy.
Then go the extra mile (or two). Empowered people give it their all, even on their worst days. They’re always pushing themselves to go the extra mile. One of Bruce Lee’s pupils ran three miles every day with him. One day, they were about to hit the three-mile mark when Bruce said, “Let’s do two more.” His pupil was tired and said, “I’ll die if I run two more.” Bruce’s response? “Then do it.” His pupil became so angry that he finished the full five miles. Exhausted and furious, he confronted Bruce about his comment, and Bruce explained it this way: “Quit and you might as well be dead. If you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”
If you aren’t getting a little bit better each day, then you’re most likely getting a little worse—and what kind of life is that?
Expect results. People with a growth mindset know that they’re going to fail from time to time, but they never let that keep them from expecting results. Expecting results keeps you motivated and feeds the cycle of empowerment. After all, if you don’t think you’re going to succeed, then why bother?
Be flexible. Everyone encounters unanticipated adversity. People with an empowered, growth-oriented mindset embrace adversity as a means for improvement, as opposed to something that holds them back. When an unexpected situation challenges an empowered person, they flex until they get results.
Don't complain when things don't go your way. Complaining is an obvious sign of a fixed mindset. A growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, so there’s no room for complaints.
Bringing It All Together
By keeping track of how you respond to the little things, you can work every day to keep yourself on the right side of the chart above.
Here are 8 Artificial Intelligence predictions/insights to help CxO leaders shape business strategy in 2018:
1. AI will impact employers before it impacts employment
AI likely won’t devastate the job market in the long run—and it certainly won’t do so in 2018. But organizations face a challenge: AI works best when it brings together data and teams from different disciplines. It also requires structures and skills for human-machine collaboration.
2. AI will show up for work
This aspect may not attract media headlines, but AI is ready right now to automate increasingly complex processes, identify trends to create business value and provide forward-looking intelligence. This AI is often “entering through the backdoor” as everyday applications incorporate it.
3. AI will find answers in Big Data
Many investments in data technology and integration have failed to answer the big question: Where’s the ROI? But AI is now delivering business cases for data initiatives, and new tools are making these initiatives more affordable than before.
4. Functional specialists will decide the AI talent war
It's a race for computer and data scientists, but top tech talent is not enough for success with AI. Organizations need domain experts who can work with AI and AI specialists. They don't have to be programmers but they will have to understand the basics of data science and data visualization and something of how AI “thinks.”
5. AI will fuel cyberattacks but also cyberdefense
Intelligent malware and ransomware that learns as it spreads, machine intelligence coordinating global cyberattacks, advanced data analytics to customize attacks—unfortunately, it’s all on its way.
6. Explainable AI will become a priority
AI taking control of humans isn’t a danger for 2018. It’s not smart enough right now. But AI that acts inexplicably—and therefore makes leaders and consumers wary of using it—is a real risk leading to the rise of ethical AI.
7. AI will join the real arms-race
Governments are working to make sure that their countries are leaders in AI for both economic and reasons of defense. Canada, Japan, the UK, Germany, and the UAE all have national AI plans. Tax reform and deregulation in the US may give AI a boost in the US.
8. AI frameworks will aim to build public trust
Invasion of privacy, algorithmic bias, environmental damage, threats to brands and the bottom line—the fears around AI are numerous. Fortunately, a global consensus is emerging around principles for responsible AI. These principles can safeguard organizations—and position them to reap economic benefits.
4 things c-suite leaders can do today
1. Identify practical problems CEOs, CDOs, CFOs, and CMOs want to solve with AI. US businesses: Consider whether some capital that will be freed up as a result of tax reform might be earmarked for AI investment instead of employee bonuses, shareholder returns, or other investments.
2. Begin upskilling your talent and your workforce: All workers--and Chief Human Resource Officers (CHRO) executives--need to develop AI literacy and a digital mindset for their organizations. Domain specialists will need more advanced skills to help develop and deploy AI.
3. Chief Risk Officers (CRO) can engage in discussions about what responsibility means to your business, its shareholders, customers, partners, and other stakeholders. Consider joining public-private partnerships or getting involved in other collaborative efforts.
4. Discuss with your Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Security Officer (CISO) how your organization is using or plans to use AI in its cybersecurity efforts.
Different types of leadership styles exist in work environments. The culture and goals of an organization determine which leadership style fits the firm best, while personality differences often dictate which is most often used. Some companies offer several leadership styles within the organization, dependent upon the necessary tasks to complete and departmental needs.
The Laissez-Faire Leader
A laissez-faire leader lacks direct supervision of employees and fails to provide regular feedback to those under his supervision. Highly experienced and trained employees requiring little supervision fall under the laissez-faire leadership style. However, not all employees possess those characteristics. This leadership style hinders the production of employees needing supervision. The laissez-faire style produces no leadership or supervision efforts from managers, which can lead to poor production, lack of control and increasing costs.
The Autocrat
The autocratic leadership style allows managers to make decisions alone without the input of others. Managers possess total authority and impose their will on employees. No one challenges the decisions of autocratic leaders. Countries such as Cuba and North Korea operate under the autocratic leadership style. This leadership style benefits employees who require close supervision. Creative employees who thrive in group functions detest this leadership style.
The Participative Leader
Often called the democratic leadership style, participative leadership values the input of team members and peers, but the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the participative leader. Participative leadership boosts employee morale because employees make contributions to the decision-making process. It causes them to feel as if their opinions matter. When a company needs to make changes within the organization, the participative leadership style helps employees accept changes easily because they play a role in the process. This style meets challenges when companies need to make a decision in a short period.
The Transactional Leader
Managers using the transactional leadership style receive certain tasks to perform and provide rewards or punishments to team members based on performance results. Managers and team members set predetermined goals together, and employees agree to follow the direction and leadership of the manager to accomplish those goals. The manager possesses power to review results and train or correct employees when team members fail to meet goals. Employees receive rewards, such as bonuses, when they accomplish goals.
The Transformational Leader
The transformational leadership style depends on high levels of communication from management to meet goals. Leaders motivate employees and enhance productivity and efficiency through communication and high visibility. This style of leadership requires the involvement of management to meet goals. Leaders focus on the big picture within an organization and delegate smaller tasks to the team to accomplish goals.
Professional:
I'm a Software Techie, Specialized in Microsoft technologies. Worked in CMM Level 5 organizations like KPMG, Bosch, Honeywell, ValueLabs, Capgemini and HCL. I have done freelancing. My interests are Software Development, Graphics design and Photography.
Certifications:
I hold PMP, SAFe 6, CSPO, CSM, Six Sigma Green Belt, Microsoft and CCNA Certifications.
Academic:
All my schooling life was spent in Coimbatore and I have good friends for life. I completed my post graduate in computers(MCA). Plus a lot of self learning, inspirations and perspiration are the ingredients of the person what i am now.
Personal Life:
I am a simple person and proud son of Coimbatore. I studied and grew up there. I lost my father at young age. My mom and wife are proud home-makers and greatest cook on earth. My kiddo in her junior school.
Finally:
I am a film buff and like to travel a lot. I visited 3 countries - United States of America, Norway and United Kingdom. I believe in honesty after learning a lot of lessons the hard way around. I love to read books & articles, Definitely not journals. :)
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