Personal and organizational mindsets at work

Abstract

Decades of research have shown that people’s mindsets beliefs—their beliefs about the fixedness or malleability of talent, ability, and intelligence—can powerfully influence their motivation, engagement, and performance. This article explores the role of mindsets in organizational contexts. We start by describing the evolution of mindset theory and research and review why mindsets matter for people’s workplace outcomes. We discuss some of the most common growth mindset misconceptions—termed “false growth mindset”—that emerged as the fixed and growth mindset became popularized and (mis)applied in educational settings. We review literature on the situations that move people between their fixed and growth mindsets. Finally, we review new research on organizational mindsets and how organizations’ mindset culture—communicated through its norms, policies, practices, and leadership messages—influences people’s motivation and behavior in the workplace. We outline open theoretical and methodological questions as well as promising future directions for a forward-looking research agenda on mindsets at work. We suggest that extending mindset research—at the personal and organizational levels—to workplace contexts may shed new light on classic organizational behavior questions such as how to create more positive, innovative, and ethical organizational cultures; how to increase employee engagement; and how to reduce group-based disparities and inequalities in organizations.