How to Develop a Growth Mindset in Business

Share This Post

Feeling stuck in a rut lately? Maybe you’re not manifesting the right mindset, making your business stagnant and unpredictable. A growth mindset means you’re ready to take the bull by the horns, accepting every challenge. This also means taking risks and opening yourself up for more learning moments.

Running a business doesn’t lead to success without a growth mindset. Although you want to aim for the “scaling stage” of the business, you need to ingrain the growth mentality to reach that stage. You need to switch your mindset into the growth mode from the fixed mode to allow your business, or any other aspect in your life, to flourish and bring you perennial fulfillment. Here’s how to develop a growth mindset that will enrich and hone your overall personal and professional character.

Related Article: 10 Best Business Books You Must Read

1. Embrace failures

It’s hard to develop a positive mindset when the world seems to crumble down on you. When starting a business from scratch, expect setbacks to pile up. No seasoned entrepreneur ever said that running a business is smooth sailing. There will always be mistakes along the way, and that’s okay.

Embrace failures and treat every failure as a stepping stone to learning new things. To openly embrace failure, practice replacing the word “failure” with “learning.” This way, you’ll immediately process failure as learning instead of getting anxious or scared of what’s to come afterward.

2. Know the “why”

It takes various personal and professional characters and skills to know how to develop a growth mindset, and knowing the why and identifying the purpose are two factors that get you beyond the fixed mindset.

Having a sense of purpose will be your driving force to reach whatever goal you’re aiming for. The first step is knowing WHY you’re putting in all the efforts into the business in the first place. Ask yourself why you’ve established the business and what goals you’re reaching for. If you know the WHY to every WHAT, every task or challenge will make sense.

3. Don’t speed up the process, master it

People sometimes categorize learners into slow learners or fast learners. More often than not, most employers or colleagues would prefer the latter. But are fast learners really more capable than slow learners? The answer is no. It simply doesn’t follow.

A study involving ninth-graders debunked the myth about fast learners being more capable than slow learners. It showed that speed doesn’t account for learning abilities. But what matters in the learning process is mastery.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes for you to learn something. If you’ve reached a point of competence in your work, it’s what matters. Employees look for three things in their jobs: Meaning, Autonomy, and Mastery. Learn more about why high flyers are built the way they are through this Super Scaling playbook.

4. Accept your flaws

Even the most seasoned entrepreneur isn’t skilled in all business aspects. They may have to learn other facets of the industry from leaders, or colleagues. And that’s not a bad thing. This only means more room for improvement and learning, ensuring your information bucket will keep filling up.

Knowing how to develop a growth mindset entails accepting that you’re not perfect or skilled in all things business. Instead, accept your imperfections or flaws as these are the things that will drive you to be the best version of yourself.

5. Empower others

A new business owner may not be knowledgeable in every department of the business. This is th reason why employers hire skilled people to do the job. And that’s why some new entrepreneurs work with business mentors. For instance, you may not know the ins and outs of your company’s R&D team. One of the indications that will imply you’re in that mindset of growth is when you empower others.

Don’t try to impede your organization’s system by trying to put all the burdens on your shoulders. Instead, hire people who will do the job satisfactorily. Instead of being the bottleneck in your company, you’re allowing your organization to grow and scale at maximum heights.

6. Be authentic

One of the steps on how to develop a growth mindset, especially in business, is to be more authentic. Both consumers and entrepreneurs alike know that only authentic brands will rise above the competition. Those that don’t follow through on what they say or brands that aren’t relatable in terms of values stay behind the curtains.

Authenticity in business means being true to your brand. You walk the talk and never do any process or system that contradicts your brand vision and values. When your brand is authentic, it provides more substance to your brand story, people, and products. Plus, you become more relatable with your target audience. Finally, genuine businesses are also more influential than those that aren’t.

7. Be open to feedback

One of the reasons that cripple brands, keeping them stagnant, is shortsightedness. If you, as the business owner, aren’t open-minded enough to see things in a different light, then you’re going to have issues with making your business thrive.

The business landscape is constantly changing. This is the reason why some companies don’t survive during the first few years of the business. Take, for example, Nokia or Kodak. These brands didn’t anticipate the changing customer behavior and needs. Plus, they didn’t put in the effort to revolutionize products that will match up to innovations on the market. That said, take criticisms and feedback more seriously and ensure you keep yourself updated on all the industry news and trends.

8. Learn from others’ mistakes

Knowing how to develop a growth mindset doesn’t only entail your experience. However, entrepreneurs can learn from other entrepreneurs’ experiences as well. This is one of the reasons why business owners enroll in entrepreneurship mentoring. A business mentor has probably employed proven methods to bring their business from zero to hero. And working with one will not only provide new business owners guidance but also with a comprehension of how some business aspects work.

9. Take risks

Embracing risk-taking behavior only means one thing — more innovation and success for your business. But, if you’re not stepping out of your comfort zone, expect that your business will also stay hidden in its shell. You’ll never be able to outperform new brands that aren’t afraid to reinvent the wheel.

We encourage that you think outside the box to make your organization and its people grow. However, don’t be afraid of failed risks. Failed risks offer entrepreneurs valuable lessons that they can use to modify future marketing campaigns.

10. Cultivate patience

When you’re inquiring for tips on how to develop a growth mindset on Google, you’re probably thinking of steps that can speed up the growth process. But it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, the only way to experience growth is to weigh things carefully and thoughtfully. And this will entail time and patience.

That said, it’s important to cultivate patience in business. If you haven’t reached the “scale stage” yet, don’t worry. It just means there are more areas for improvement that can benefit your business in the long run. So be a bit more patient with yourself, your people, and the entire brand’s development.

11. Have accountability

As business owners, it’s crucial to own the repercussions of your actions. Successful entrepreneurs never play the blame game. Instead, they take accountability for all their actions. If they manage a team and their members commit mistakes, they treat this situation as if they’re the ones who made the mistakes for not overseeing things clearly.

Moreover, an accountable leader means displaying a sense of humility. And these are some of the impressive factors that make you a good team player or supervisor.

12. Take on challenges

Running and supervising a business inevitably has its ups and downs. During the initial phase of the company, expect to accumulate challenges such as retaining employees, satisfying customers, maintaining a good reputation, or creating an influential brand.

However, more new challenges will arise, and business owners mustn’t be afraid of a good test. The right attitude, when faced with new challenges, should revolve around positivity, perseverance, and intuition. Taking on exciting challenges will prepare you for future unforeseeable situations, and this will only make you stronger as an individual and entrepreneur.

13. Jot down goals

One common mistake of most business owners is not writing down their short-term and long-term goals. Learning how to develop a growth mindset should start with your primary goals and objectives. Answer all the 5 Ws in determining what your goals are.

What are your goals? Why are you trying to achieve those goals? When is your desired timeline to accomplish those goals? Where would you want those goals to be applied? Who is responsible for helping you achieve those goals? Jotting down your goals will provide you with a reminder and clarity about why you’re doing this in the first place.

14. Practice mindfulness

One of the growth mindset activities that some business owners take lightly is mindfulness. While mindfulness is innate, some people don’t know how to approach it correctly. Mindfulness is the awareness of what’s going on in your surroundings or environment.

It’s an essential ability to be fully aware and present without getting too overwhelmed with the things happening around you. You have to be mindful of what business you’re operating and why you’re doing it. Once you gain enough mindfulness, you can assess things more efficiently and deal with situations better.

Some quick ways to practice mindfulness for personal and professional development are meditation, active listening, acceptance, appreciation, focus, and regular breaks.

15. Praise actions, not traits

Some employers are big on rewards and recognition. Though this might not be a priority for some, business leaders must consider this very carefully. Employees feel more valued when recognized for their hard work. In turn, this increases employee engagement.

However, there’s a difference between praising or rewarding someone for their traits instead of their actions. If you praise someone for their trait, you’re saying that they are naturally better than others.

But you want to inspire other employees by implying that excellent actions are doable by anyone. And that’s why you need to praise actions, not traits. Avoid saying, “You’re smart,” instead say, “The way you handled the angry customer by offering other product packages is smart.”

16. Do regular introspection

Employers and employees must maintain a balanced and healthy mental state to keep their motivation up and creativity flowing. When you’re weak emotionally and mentally, this impedes your opportunity for growth and learning. As a result, you’re disengaged, unwilling, and shortsighted.

To ensure that you’re always in your healthy mental state, perform regular introspection. Introspection is a process where you examine or observe your emotional or mental processes. Then, reflect on yourself and the way you handle things in your organization and see what needs change.

17. Nurture grit

Grit is one of the most effective steps in developing a growth mindset. Grit is the passion and perseverance to move forward and focus on the task at hand. When you nurture grit in business, you won’t easily give up every time a difficult situation slaps you in the face.

Nurturing organizational grit means you’ll stay committed and determined to accomplish even the most tedious task. When grit is combined with skill and intelligence, you can do wonders for your brand.

18. Try various learning methods

Knowing how to develop a growth mindset in business would involve a lot of learning. And that doesn’t only entail learning about the ins and outs of running a business. You have to know about industry trends, practices, or even interpersonal skills.

Moreover, there is no cookie-cutter method in learning. As a business owner, you want to challenge yourself in every new strategy you can think of to grow and scale the business. If you’re not familiar with the strategy, try different learning methods to give you various perspectives and ways to attain mastery of the strategy or task at hand.

19. Be grateful for the journey

One of the ways you can manifest a growth mindset is if you’re appreciative of the journey. New entrepreneurs might be too hard on themselves, especially if most of their plans don’t seem to fall into place. But every seasoned entrepreneur will tell you that it never almost does.

Plans, methods, goals won’t always take shape even after setting up shop for a few months or years. But that’s not something you should gripe about. Instead, be happy with every failure, mistake, or mishap you experience because these will enable you to become a better team leader for your company. Appreciate the journey and celebrate small wins, milestones, or achievements. No matter how small they are, they’re still monumental in contributing to a more profitable company.

20. Have realistic expectations

They say that if you have to dream, dream big. New business owners should lay out their goals and expectations before running the company. Most successful brands now are run by innovative and risk-taking individuals like Steve Jobs for Apple.

While it’s completely normal to imagine your business reaching great heights, you have to be realistic with the whole process. Running a business takes effort, time, and a lot of resources for everything to go as planned. You’ll experience bumps along the way, not to mention deal with established competitors already on the market.

Be realistic with your expectations. For example, don’t expect the business to flourish after a year, considering you’re not allocating budget and exerting effort in advertising. Better yet, don’t expect increased revenue if you’re not constantly innovating valuable products.

Conclusion

Now that you know the steps on how to develop a growth mindset, it’s time to put them into practice. Avoid getting too fixated on the results and focus on the journey. Being too focused on the outcome will lead to frustrations and disappointments that thwart your productivity and motivation. The most important thing is learning something from experience and enjoying every second of the entire journey, regardless of the outcome.

If you’re eager to know how to move your business from the “growth” to the “scaling” stage, read about the 5E Scale Engine method.

Make Growing Your Business Fun Again

Are you tired of feeling like you’re growing your business all by yourself? Even Elon Musk sought guidance from Larry Page.

If you’re like many entrepreneurs, you may be stuck and don’t know where to turn to. Or you may be working on the wrong things (and may not even know it!).

Let us help you take back ownership of your business and achieve the success you deserve with our free Launchpad community for entrepreneurs just like yourself.

✅ Get free resources for you to scale up your business
✅ Support from 100s of other entrepreneurs just like yourself
✅ Access to our team of world-class coaches

Sign up today and start making progress! Oh, and did we mention that this is completely free? You just need to be an existing business owner because this is a specially curated community.