How Ag leaders build a growth mindset and lift productivity on the land

There is a lot of talk in the world at the moment about adopting a growth mindset, and rightly so, because it helps us grow as individuals and also as businesses.  It is also what helps us navigate change and uncertainty in the shift to an agricultural environment. It helps us see challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities, and see change not as something to push against but as something to embrace.

But how do you help your people adopt a growth mindset? Especially when everyone is so busy.

Carol Dweck’s ‘Growth Mindset’

Back in 2007, Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist, wrote a book called ‘Mindset’ and sparked a revolution in how we think about and nurture the right mindset. The premise is that we all adopt one of two mindsets: either fixed or growth.

If you adopt a fixed mindset, you tend to believe your skills, talents, and abilities are fixed and that you are born with a certain level of smarts. You tend to see things as very black-and-white, and focus on outcomes where you either win or you lose; You know how to do something or you don’t. “I’m not a tech person, so we won’t try that drone.”  As a result, you like to stay in your comfort zone.

If you adopt a growth mindset, you believe your skills, talents, and abilities can be expanded upon, and you can learn new things and continually grow. You focus on progress and effort and if you don’t know how you say ‘let’s start one paddock at a time and learn as we go’. You ask what you missed, what you can improve, what you can learn, and who can help you? As a result, you see challenges as opportunities, and you tend to be curious and hanker to learn new things.

And here’s the thing, Carol Dweck suggests you are not born with one or the other, you adopt either a fixed or growth mindset. She adds that once you understand the difference most people tend to gravitate towards growth.

4 things to get started

Great leaders understand that it’s not just about nurturing their own mindset, it’s about finding ways to help their people also adopt and nurture a growth mindset. So how do you start to help your people nurture a growth mindset? From my experience, there are three really simple things you can do

Nurture your own growth mindset. 

And the best way I know to do that is to go directly to the source and grab a copy, or dust off your old one, of Carols Dweck’s work ‘Mindset’. (Sidenote, I reckon this should be compulsory on any executive leader’s bookshelf).

Understand it’s a process, not a one-off process.

Help your team understand that shifting their thinking and adopting a growth mindset isn’t a once-off project. It’s not just about doing a short course; it’s a continual process. And like anything, it’s the little things you do that make the biggest difference. That takes the overwhelm away and makes shifting mindset accessible to everyone.

Watch our language.

Not just our self-talk, but how we talk to others. For example, using the words yes and, instead of yes but. For example, rather than saying something like ‘yes but that’ll never work’ try ‘yes and, tell me a little bit more about your thought process’. Also, as Dweck suggests, try adding other words like ‘yet’, or ‘not yet’ to the end of a sentence. For example, rather than saying ‘we didn’t make our budget’ try ‘we didn’t make our budget yet’, which opens the door to further exploration

Tap into collective wisdom

On many Australian farms, leadership is collective. That’s a strength because skills are shared. To make mindset stick, be deliberate about building a culture of knowledge sharing, open communication and mentorship. The answer to most problems is around there, if you tap into the genius of your team.

Final thoughts

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview and work with many successful individuals and leaders across regional Australia, and one thing that stands out is the importance of nurturing the right mindset. 

Can you imagine the impact on productivity if we try to help our people develop a growth mindset?