🤯 From Fixed to Growth
Transforming your Mindset for Success 📈
Hey there 👋🏼
In today’s email:
Growth Mindset: Old dogs can learn new tricks.
Keep fighting: January is over.
Cool stuff on the web: The best stuff on the web.
Post of the week: 5-star on social media.
GROWTH MINDSET
In every interview I've been in, we search for one skill on top of all others: Growth Mindset.
For those unfamiliar with the term, someone having or displaying traits of a Growth Mindset means that this person is willing to learn new topics and new ways of doing things.
This person understands that an error is part of the process of learning and will continue to try to develop their trait further.
Something exciting about someone with a Growth Mindset is that even though they might not know about a particular topic today, they know that if they devote the time, effort and energy, they can learn about it.
Contrasting this mindset of learning, you have the Fixed Mindset, where the concept is that you cannot evolve and learn new things through time.
Think about that developer that says that Kubernetes or Docker is not for them and that they don't want to learn it. That their job is to write code, not to know how that code runs.
Considering how the industry has evolved, this developer that is not willing to learn a new stack, a new language, or a new way of doing things is displaying clear traits of a Fixed Mindset.
If this I mentioned is, unfortunately, more common in senior engineers, it's a clear red flag when you find hints of these traits in junior engineers. What we're always looking for in junior engineers is the willingness to learn new things and act like a sponge, absorbing as much knowledge as possible.
Focusing on leadership, Growth Mindset should be mandatory. The idea behind modern leadership is that we work alongside the teams to help them deliver as much as possible, not by way of the whip but by collaboration.
This means that a Leader must be able to learn, fail, evolve and try new things.
Don't be afraid to say you don't know something. Be afraid, not wanting to learn something new.
So here are five ways you can improve your growth mindset:
Embrace feedback and new information: Seek constructive criticism, listen to new ideas and perspectives, and keep improving your skills.
Foster a culture of learning and development: Encourage your team to keep learning new skills. Create the opportunity for them to do that by suggesting certifications, clearing schedules, etc.
Empower your team: Support your team in taking risks and learning through their failures. Use a blameless approach to failures.
Practice continuous self-reflection: Recurrently review your actions and identify areas where you can grow. Be OK with down months and work towards more opportunities in the future.
Encourage a Growth Mindset in others: Lead by example and promote an environment of growth mindset and safety to fail within your teams.
If you want to go inside the rabbit's hole and learn more about Growth Mindset, here are some excellent resources on the topic:
📝 HBS: Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: What’s the Difference?
📝🚂 How to Nurture a Growth Mindset in Kids: 8 Best Activities
KEEP FIGHTING
We don’t always win. And… It’s ok.
For me, January sucked. We were swamped with unexpected events that completely consumed our time and mental health. On top of that, it was difficult for me to detach from work, going strong for many hours.
This sums up a January that didn’t go as planned. But it’s okay.
The whole point with our natural iterations is that if we’re unable to change course at the natural mark of the end of the week, then we need to focus on changing by the end of the month.
That’s what I’ve done.
I just want to share these words in case your January sucked.
January’s over. Close that book and go again.
COOL STUFF ON THE WEB
📰 TLDR Newsletter
Up to date about tech in just 5 minutes.🤔 The Engineering/Manager Pendulum by Charity Majors
The shift between the path of individual contributor and leadership is not always clear. This is an excellent article on how you can start to understand this non-linear journey.🧠 The strategies of Julian Shapiro
One of the most exciting websites I know. Julian Shapiro writes in-depth guides on several topics. Look at it from the perspective of deconstructing a topic and exposing your idea through impeccable writing.🎧 Writing Flow by Julian Shapiro
Playlist to promote the flow state.
POST OF THE WEEK
If you're not finding value in this newsletter, please consider unsubscribing. There are no hard feelings, and I appreciate your part in my journey. Perhaps in the future, we'll meet again!
If you are enjoying the newsletter, the best compliment you can make is to share it with one person.
Thank you for being part of my journey!
Have an incredible week! 💪🏼
Parada 👊🏼 A Leader's Mindset