When we have an initial discovery meeting with a prospective client, we seek first to understand them as a whole person, not only their current financial situation and future monetary requirements, but also their broader life context, their motivations, values, aspirations and goals, including desired outcomes for others they care about.

The ”lens” or “framework” through which a person sees themselves, their own experiences, other people, and the world around them, can be referred to by many terms, including a “perspective”, a “worldview”, a “paradigm”, a “mindset” or simply a “point of view”.

Understanding and raising awareness of how a person came to be using a particular “lens” can open up opportunities to update it and expand it. This can lead to a deeper appreciation of self and one’s underlying motivations, and open up greater possibility of accessing and unlocking higher potentials within, and in collaboration with others.   

There are numerous writings on “mindset” and related topics. In this short post we’ll build on the work of psychologist Carol S. Dweck Ph.D. who has spent years researching how people think – specifically, how people think about learning. 

Dweck popularised the notion of a “growth mindset”, as contrasted with a “fixed mindset”, in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, originally published in 2007.

Individuals with a fixed mindset are people who believe their basic qualities - their intelligence, their talents, their abilities, are predetermined and finite. They have a certain amount, and that’s that. Individuals who have a growth mindset believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies and input from others. Dweck’s research shows these individuals tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset. This is because they are not always worried about how smart they are, how they’ll look, or what a mistake will mean. They challenge themselves and grow.

In a growth mindset, challenges are experienced as exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh no, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here’s a chance to grow. If you find yourself afraid of challenges, you can get yourself into a growth mindset by thinking about all of the growth potential you can realise by following this opportunity, even if it’s out of your comfort zone. In this mindset, you are focused on the process - the reflection, learning and development process that you engage in to bring about your successes.

Dweck says “People often confuse a growth mindset with being flexible or open-minded or having a positive outlook — qualities they believe they’ve always had. My colleagues and I call this a false growth mindset. Everyone is actually a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets, and that mixture continually evolves with experience. A pure growth mindset doesn’t exist, which we must acknowledge (in order) to attain the benefits we seek.”

Building on this and applying a growth mindset to “worldviews” can be transformational at much larger scales. Being open to exploring, understanding and reflecting on different worldviews in order to “see” greater collective potential of “the whole”, whether that be at the level of a single organisation or network of organisations, an industry, a city, a country, an economy, an ecosystem, can unlock systemic change to address root causes of systemic problems, many of which are highlighted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.