Does Growth Mindset Do What It Promises? It doesn't

Does Growth Mindset Work? Marc Effron, Talent Strategy Group, May 2020. https://talentstrategygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Does-Growth-Mindset-Work.pdf

But there has to be something there!

Many reasonable people will ask, “if growth mindset doesn’t do what it promises, how come when I changed my mindset I was able to overcome obstacles or to succeed where I previously couldn’t?” There are a multitude of reasons that people succeed at something after they first fail or under-perform. The most obvious reason is that they were capable the entire time but didn’t try or didn’t try hard enough. When they either tried, tried again or tried harder, their existing capabilities allowed them to succeed.

Why isn’t that the epitome of growth mindset? First, because Dweck explicitly states that growth mindset is not about effort.32 Second, because you could put a less intelligent person in that same situation, have them apply the same mindset and the same amount of effort and they wouldn’t achieve the same results.

A less intelligent, personality-disadvantaged individual with a growth mindset will not outperform a more intelligent person with a growth mindset. The difference in achievement will be due to fixed characteristics like intelligence and personality, not to someone’s mindset.

People can also succeed at Time B where they didn’t succeed at Time A if they apply any of the scientifically proven methods to improve their performance at work. Those methods include setting goals, changing their behaviors, working harder, influencing better or any of the other scientifically-proven approaches I wrote about in 8 Steps to High Performance.

In that book, I also cautioned that our core personality traits and intelligence are the largest factors in our success and that one’s efforts and mindset will only move someone as far as those fixed characteristics will allow.  It would be wonderful if everyone engaged in all of those scientifically proven tactics so they could be as successful as possible.  There’s no proof that also having a growth or fixed mindset would make any difference in the outcome.


Why you should avoid the term “growth mindset”

You may believe that there’s no harm in urging people to have a growth mindset. It may not hurt if, when you say that term, you mean that someone should engage in tactics that are proven to make them more successful. But, in that case, why not tell someone specifically that they should try harder or practice more or keep a positive attitude.  If you mean that they should have a "growth mindset" (they should believe that intelligence and personality can change and that they will be more successful for that belief), you’re harming individuals who may not be able to succeed and doing nothing for people who would have succeeded anyway.


Let’s separate positive intention from scientific proof

The growth mindset concept captures the best of our humanistic spirit (anyone can improve if they just believe!) and confirms the worst of our scientific ignorance (can’t anyone improve if they just believe?).  It purports to solve a problem that may not exist or that may be more effectively addressed by other means if it does exist. In any case, a growth mindset intervention would be sharply constrained by the more powerful influence of intelligence and personality.  The science is clear that adopting a growth mindset does not meaningfully increase performance in adults or children. You become a higher performer when you engage in any of the multitude of activities that are proven to make you a high performer. If we want to help more people to succeed, let's focus our efforts there first.